American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1872-11-30
SELLECK VS.. SALTERS.
BY SALLIE SMITH,

HE agent IOT Il new i Ol
q commercial house was one night on
[, Mississippi steamboat. He was loungin
:, i'm the cabin, and near him sat a gentl
L. manipulating person with a white CT
e vat. They soon began cOnversing, an
IS the latter gave the other to understand
i was a clergyman, though he did NJ
s vouchsafe his name. He was good tall
K er, and afforded so much pleasure that
u was eight O'Clock in the evening befor
the agent announced to him his intentio
5 of seeking his sleeping-berth. AS til
agent arose to go into the berth. he di
n the same, and they both found thenselve
destined to occupy berths together. II
t expressing desire for the outer one, TIL
agent took possession of the inner one
{ and was soon fast asleep.
: 1t was bright daylight when the agen
opened his eyes. Most of the sleeper
had left their ber,hs, and his ministeris
companion was already up. With long
: drawn yawn. the agent arose and stood il
the center of the room. while he com
menced putting on his coat. As III
glanced downward to his hand. he in
stantly discovered that valuable opa
ring set with diamonds, was missing. Hi
I, Immediately went to his berth and made
thorough search. but failed to find it. Ht
examined very carefully every part of the
room with no better success. He had seen
it on his finger when he went to bed. OF
this he was positive. The loss gave him
much annoyance, for. apart from its beau
ty and value, it was the gift of a friend.
In his anxiety he commenced to hunt up
his reverend acquaintance; but after look
ing all over the boat, he was no where to
be found. This surprised the agent.
Some OF the passengers expressed doubts
as to the character of his sleeping COM
panion but he could not entertain their
suspicious. There was something about
| the man which forbade the idea of his as
l la nf fn MI
calling OF a thief, SO he dismissed the
thought, which under the circumstances
he might have been justified in entertain
ing. He questioned the boat EMPLOYEES,
but they could not recollect at what land
| ing his companion left the boat.
| Twenty years after this story properly
commences. the incident above recorded
being sort of prologue, and our hero is
formally introduced. He was not of the
| sort that usually figure in romance. His
| name was SOlOmOL Selleck, and he was a
very old bachelor. He was one of those
brown-skinned. leather-cheeked, dried-up
men OF fOrty-five, who had not trace of
resemblance left with their former florid.
round-faced selves of twenty-a man with
whom years had effected an entire trans
formation, so that his nearest school-boy
friends might have sat for hours in his
company without recognizing him as the
agent who lost his pin on the Mississippi
the cause of this entire change. He had
been brown-haired, merry-lOOking, fat
faced boy up to Internationally. and then
he fell in love, and came out of it lean and
angular, soon also gray-headed and bald,
and with heart almost as dry as his
skin.
He had one occupation, his profession,
and one pleasure, sporting; but though
he was good anatOmist, a daring opera
tor, and a rOugh-and-ready kill-Or-cure
practitioner generally, his real inclination
was more tor the stable than for the hos
pital, and the race-cOurSe WAS far more
precious to him than the pharmacopnia.
He was clever, and had one specialty-he
never forgot a face. The DISCUSSES of
time and The blurring effects of absence
made no difference to him. He had the
memory of an elephant; and once seen
was always to be recognized by Solomon
Selleck If by chance met with again. He
had made comfortable fortune in the
medical line, :.tter getting slight inkling
of the business as agent for drug-house.
Mr.. Selleck. after living bachelor for
so long, fell in love. And here the he
rOine must be introduced. Her name was
Mrs. Maria Dakin, and she was widow.
She had some property left by her late
husband, who was reported to have been
sadly hen-pecked. 1t was impossible not
to feel sure as you looked at her, that
she was "careful soul; - that she had
a ''frugal mind" even when IS on pleasure
bent;'' and what was absolutely certain
to arise, when she and Mr.. d ikin formed |
a tableau, was conviction that she was |
master of every household situation, even
if she did not say so. Frequently it would |
be perceived that she was a lOng-headcd |
woman of an imperious temper, and an
adept in the science of hen-pecking. A |
pOrtly person, which OvershadOwed and |
eclipsed Dakin's wizened form, was on
fatn inf Sa1 W nj
heavy materials and pronounced colOrs
it is just doubtful whether, even when cri-
Moline was worn, Mrs. Dakin needed that
aid to the balloOnism of her costume; and
when she was in that COLI
tiition of dress which, if one was speak
ing Ofan Indian, one would call her ''war
paint,'' she was about as formidable a
female to encounter in a crowd, where
she had to dispute her right of precedence,
as any meek man would wish to avoid.
But the hen-pecs ed husband died one day,
and left her to middle the heart of Mr..
Sellecs.
But Mr.. Selleck had rival in the per-
son of a certain Samuel Salters, a brilliant
bear of fifty, and rather his superior in
personal appearance. Where Mr.. Salters
came from was a mystery, but he seemed
to have plenty of money. The struggle
for the widow was long, but Salters tri-
umphed. Selleck retired from the field,
adversary.
The wedding of the well-matured pair
was fixed, and the preparations progress
ed satisfactorily. Meantime Selleck kept
aloof, and seemed to bear up tolerably
well under his disappointment. Time
passed, and the eventful day arrived. The
was to take place at the wild
Dw's mansion, and Mr.. Selleck was one of
the invited guests. And he went. In
fact, he went eariy-at least an hour be-
fore the appointed time. He inquired for
Mr.. Salters, and was shown to the room
set apart for that gentleman's occupancy.
MIR. Salters, he said, pleasantly, ''you
expect to be married to-day"
6 most certainly do.''
g But you will not be-
"I'll bet you anything you please that
WILL
'All right-I'll bet you this ring" said
Selleck, while his eyes twinkled with de-
light, against the one you have on your
niger nOw-the one you stole from me
5wenty years ago, on a Mississippi steam
Doat.''
Salters turned pale, and his knees shook,
while Selleck went on
ssOh, yes, l thought had seen your
ace before somewhere; but the sight of
hat ring settled it. You are thief, and
f you don't leave the city within an hour
I'll have YOU arrested"
g But" pleaded the crestfallen Salters,
: how am l to explain it to the widow"
g Never mind that-or-yes, that will
her a letter explaining it as
shall dictate.'
Salters was willing to do anything to
save himself from prison, even to rclin-
luish the widow and her money. Halt
IN hour afterward he left the house, and