Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1872-08-08
VOL. 1S.
gu @rigimal grize Sturg*
Written for the Yorkville Enquirer.
AN HE|RESSIN HER0WN RIGHT.
BY EMILY j. ROMEO.
CHAPTER XIII.

BY EMILY J. ROMEO.
CHAPTER XIII. .s
...... LETTERS AND LOVE.
e., s.Do you like letter reading? If you do,
Ihave some twenty dozen very pretty ones,
GAY, sober, rapturous, solemn, very true,
And very lying stupid ones and witty t;y, ones
And frequently in fancy colored ink"
Marriage is a matter of more WORTH,
Than to be dealt in by attorneyship.'
SHAKSPEARE.
"Love is not in our power, :,
Nay, what seems stranger, is not in our choice. :.
There had been great difficulty in getting
letters and papers regularly, ever since the
war closed. The Charleston and Savannah
railroad was not completed, and there was no
mail route established. While Jack was in
town, he had sent the mail whenever there
was an opportunity; but that had been only at
irregular intervals, which were very provoking
to one who craved daily or even weekly
paper. Mr.. Elliott did not care anything
abouta paper if it was little out of date,
but his wife and the Wrights were such read
ers they could enjoy all, new or old. Ar
rangements were now made for Russell to
take charge of the mail in the city, and every
time wagons were sent for supplies, or any
one in the neighborhood went on business,
they should bring all there was for every one
who would join them in it. In this way there
would be scarcely week without a mail.
One day when Mr.. Elliott's wagon had re-
turned, Mr.. Wright went over for his share.
Arthur was sorting it over, and as paper after
paper was laid on Mr.. Wright's pile, he ut
tered long whistle and broke out
"What kind of a man are you that you
have such medley of papers as this? Here's
a Southern Cultiuator and Western Rural J;
the Charleston Courier and Republican !;
Harper's Magazine and the atlantic; besides
two religious papers-the Southern Christian
Advocate and the Churchman. Arey going
to make your family mongrels in politics and
religion, that you give them all sorts of read
ing, and of such opposite kinds?"
20, no, I don't think shall" replied Mr..
Wright, smiling at Arthur's look Of surprise,
as he turned over one paper and magazine
after another. II am more afraid my children
will grow narrow and illiberal, prejudiced and
unreasonable, if they see but one side of a
subject, than injured by knowledge gained
from side with which we do not altogether
agree"
"But you are not politician, that you
should take Republican papers and help sup
port them in doing the country so much harm.
Every subscriber adds to their influence"
eff am no politician, am man who
wishes to know what is going on, and how the
great questions of the day are presented by
both sides. cannot always support meas
ure merely because it is brought forward by
my party, no matter how we'll I may agree
with it generally. must see both sides and
compare them before I decide what course to
pursue. am not governed by the dicterm of
any party. And as to believing either party
is wholly right or entirely wrong, why, no one
of common sense does that"
"But if you can read both sides and view
things impartially, are you not afraid your
children may not be able to do so, and may
become poisoned by wrong views speciously
presented ?" asked Mr.. Elliott.
"There is little danger Of that, for they
hear so much in favor of one side and against
the other; and the party in power are blum
dering so miserably and wilfully, they will
hardly be inclined to give sufficient credit to
good views and well attested facts, if they
read them in any but our party organs"
"Our own papers color truths too highly, 1
sometimes find" said Mr.. Elliott, to the sur
prise of MI. Wright, as he was generally very
strongly onesided, very heated in hearing
views different from his own.
II think the tendency of the times is not
only to color too highly, but to 60 to such ex-
tremes that it is hard for one to keep on
middle grounds and try to stand firm on some
solid basis. If you commit yourself to some
good, reasonable measure; before you are
aware, you are swept and swayed far beyond
the point first intended, and carried to an ex-
treme you cannot more than half sanction.
But talking wont mend matters. I see you
take variety of papers as we'll as I. Don't
you fear for Stuartw Yet Mr.. Wright
smiled as he asked it.
"He takes no interest in political news, or I
might have given him caution; and as to
those literary periodicals, my wife, like you,
will have the best, no matter where they are
published. Because we do not agree with a
people politically, and suffer from the hard
and unjust expressions of their unscrupulous
rulers, that need not make US condemn what is
good, nor prevent our enjoying it if we can"
Ellen was surely correct in saying "the
wine of Mr.. Elliott's nature had not turned
to vinegar" After he could see clearly that
the employed was not necessarily the inferior
of the employer-the grourd he had taken,
when so excited over the business Russell
chose-he had been growing less hard and
bitter. When that prejudice had been con-
quered, it paved the way for others to be up
rooted, though enough remained to show
there was plenty of the "Elliott" left in him.
Now that the mail bag is opened, we will
give extracts from letters received during the
year. The first is from Mr.. Henry-was re-
ceived early in March-and was then two
months old. Of course the whole letter
would be too long for insertion, but these SEN
tences will show its drift:
81 wrote you in '65, asking you to attend
my silver weddings small yet pleasant