Whig and tribune. [volume] (Jackson, Tenn.) 1870-1877, 1873-07-05
MY PRETTY COUSIN.

MY PRETTY COUSIN.
She was so pretty that from a lit
tie child it had been a matter of
course for Meta to be admired by all
who saw her; and, unlike most child
beauty, hers grew with her growth,
so that at seventeen she was the
pretliest of the flock of girls at
home. / was the oldest of six Sis
tiers, and Meta was our orphan cous-
in, who had been our mothers
charge from infancy, sharing all
things with us, one of ourselves,
although in her own individual
right she did not possess one penny,
and we were small heiresses, having
about one thousand dollars each
from our late fathers estate.
My sisters were all pretty girls,
though none of them were so lovely
as Meta. Perhaps some of her adj
miring friends were influenced by
the laws of contrast, for we were
ali brunettes, while she had a COM
plexiOn like an ivory miniature,
large violet eyes, and hair as fine,
soft and waving as a child's, of the
loveliest golden color. Her figure,
too, was petite, plump and graceful,
while we were all tail and slender.
Nobody disputed her claim to be
the beauty Of our circle; and she
reigned winning grace amongst us.
1t was at the wedding party Civ
en- for May, my third sister-Bertha
and Lola were already married, and
l was an acknowledged old maid
that we made the acquaintance of
TIavrnou UonHnrcnnYsf rryau nnr.
new brOther-in-laW's groomsman,
facing Meta as bridesmaid.
He was long, he was gaunt, he was
almost as ugly as Meta was pretty;
he was as shy as u school boy, and
laughed at him, flirted with him,
and fairly bewildered his slow
brains with her butterfly Vivacity
and coquettish tricks. All the even
ing he kept near her, his big black
eyes resting on her face in dumb adj
miration, and his awkward gallant
tries awakening her sRueiest airs
and speeches.
Carl, Mays German husband, car
ried her of for a wedding trip to
Berlin; but before he left he told us
something about Herman.
"Do make him feel at home, girls,
if you can," he said. ''He is the
best fellow in the world when you
know him. He has Just sent over
for his father to come here, and
they are going to live on the hill.
His father is u great chemist, and
Herman is studying medicine. lie
is not handsome"
Here Meta gave saucy eXclama-
tion of wonder, and the laugh that
followed ended the description.
DR.. VandercoOrt arrived in due
season, and the house on the hill,
only a short distance from our own,
was taken possession of by aplump
German housekeeper, and the two
gentlemen. We seldom saw Van
dercOOrt PeTe, but Herman seemed
always lowering about the house.
lie began to be spoken of as a
young physician of great promise,
and his list of patients increased
rapidly, people having an implicit
faith in the invisible father, who
was supposed to direct his profess
siOnal movements. But oh, what a
''butn it was The never seemed to
improve on the shy awkwardness
of the first evening. We all knew
that he was couTting Meta, and the
girls - for Bertha ann Lola lived
next door to us on each side, aud
included yet in that plural-Were
never tired of teasing her about her
new admirer. Such courtiDgi he
would come in with one garment of
radiant cleanliness, contrasting with
| the general carelcssness of his dress
| in q most ludicrOus manner. Some
| times cuffs of brilliant whiteness
cleaned from the well-worn coat
| sleeve, making more conspicuous a
/ shirt front stained with coffee or
/ eggs; or if the bosom was snowy
hued, the cuffs were sure to bear
/ marks of service. He seldom spoke
more than four sentences in an even
ing, but would gaze at Meta, as she
sang, worked or chatted with an alb
| sorbed air that was very trying TO
our gravity.
Meta accepted his devotion with
a careless grace, never disputing the
fact when it was mentioned, but
never admitting any return of his
affection.
meta, my DEAR" Bertha would
say, "has Herman proposed yet:"
''Did he tell you he intended to
proPose?" .
his youthful affections when he
| does"
"Why! would it affect his beauty?
He is so handsome and graceful"
''What did he say last ewing when
YOU were on the pOrch?"
"He said, "Ah ~ twice and "Oh 20
four times; eyes, miss" once and
and 81 think 50, so once"
.'MetaW
"Fact. l assure you y
But, if we ridicule him IN the
character of lover, we were forced
to respect Herman Vandercoert in
the light of public opinion. His
private fortune was large, and he
had a very large practice amongst
the very poor. Every voice was
willing to give him praise for his
| generous charities and his devotion
to those who could never repay him
dollar. In my capacity of old
maid sister l was one of the church
parish visitors of the poor, and ]
soon gave to Metals awkward suitOT
my warmest respect
"'Did you see the beautiful cork
leg the doctor has given Mike?n
said one woman to me. "All the
winter, since he lost his leg in the
factory, Mike has been under DR.
Vandercoort's care, and many's the
dollar he's slipped under the bottle
or given the children when l was
out washing, and niVer a Gems of Z
bill for all his visits. And now he's
bought an elegant false leg, so Mix,
can get about again"
"See," said another, ''the littl,
newsstand DR.. Yandercoort's start