Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1873-07-21
LOOKING INTO MILLsTONEs.

My DEAR Bon: May the blessing of Heavei
rest on you for that lew pair ofspectacles yor
| sent me few days ago, and fort he very kline
| letter which accompanied the IN! Sympathy is
| great deal like money, my dear boy; people are
| always delighted to yet ii, even when they are
not in any.need of it. And sweet as was youi
sympathy, | didn't need il all dear Bob, for.don'
stare-my eyesight is far better than ever
When L was Of your age, used mirror great
| deal, and distinctly remember that had clear
| bright brown eyes, and the same mirror shows
| me now that those same eyes are of very un.
certain color, and are dim and watery. Bui
still insist upon it that my sight Is better
than ever. Our village cobber used to gauge
people by estimating how tar they could "see
| into milestone" and we young people voted
| the expression decidedly vulgar. But since
| have become miller myself, have seen that
the cobbler's favorite saw embodied vast
amount Of philosophy and poetry. For this
world is Il mill, my dear boy, and as we will
| admit that the giea. miller will have his own
way, it behooves lis 10 look rs far as possible
into the stones, that we receive 10 more crush
Ing than is absolutely necessary Did you ever
hear your mother talk eff "dead" Gou,, dear
Bob? 1t is flour that is ground so very fine that
the grinding seems to have destroyed its life
and il is either feeble Or ifeess, no matter how
| excellent the leaven. We both know people,
my de ar boy, that seem equally dead while
bearing the semblance of life, and they became
so because they fought tn. mlllstone instead of
looking into it.
For instance, there are the idols. You re
member the Strappers' party, where Mrs. Idol
was the delight of all eyes. We both admired
Il n line Roman profile, her handsome dark eyes,
her rich, proud red lips and her wonderfully
stylish and expensive dress. saw you, dear
Bob, look from her to that charming young lady
VINO expects soon to number me among her
grandpas, and your eyes told Inc that you sighed
at your inability to adorn her like unto Mrs.
Idol But doubt whether any of the young
peoples eyes saw what all the Cd people noticed
saw poor Tom Idol wrinkle his brow betmes,
anu bit his lips, and gaze at the carpet with u
fixedntss far greater than the beautiful pattern
demanded. And perhaps they did not notice
That While he listened graceful and studlous p)-
lteliess to all conversation addressed to him. his
Thoughts seemed somewhere else, and his eyes
wandered vacantly into space where there was
nothing to se,. Even if the young people had
seen it, they would have thought IL incompre-
hensible, for they all know that he and his wife
fondly adore each other, and that they have
handsome house, grand piano, beautiful dres.
ses aud all that heart can wish. But we old
people saw that Tom was living beyond his in
come, and that he could not do it mitch longer
without doing it with other peoples money, and
that Tom himself saw all this. He is an ex-
tremely fine fellow, and the managers of he
Pocket-book National Bank, in which Tom
Is paying teller, would not know what to do
without him. Rut the bank managers are HI
man and have bills of their own to ne 1t, and
know very well how far Toms salary will 20, so
they quietly but carefully watch him, and Tom
knows it or thinks he does.
No wonder lie smiles so grimly and deiiantly
on the Sabbath, as IL lie thought it might be a
relief TO go to that horrible place whose horrors
the Reverend Lugubrious Choker depicts SO
eloquen.ly. Is it not terrible pity, my dear
boy, that neither Tom nor his beautiful wife
can take one deep look into the great mi lstone
and avoid the terrible crushing that awaits
them?
Young Woodbine is in he same bank with
Tom Idol, but his salary is much smaller. lie
lives in a tiny cottage, scarcely large enough to
hold piano If he owned one; aud if YOU be-
lIeve m, dear d ,b, there Is not II ward of Brus-
sells carpet or single lace curtain in that whole
house. Yet never heard. one of his acqnain-
tance mention this fact or complain of the
sniallness of the lDuse, for Woodbine and his
wife are so CHEEKY, and chat so pleasantly, and
sing such merry songs, aud tell you such funny
and touching stories about their baby-of
course there never was such another baby
and read you such pleasant bits of prose and
poetry that they have picked up somewhere,
bring in such wonderful hyacinth for you TO
see and smell, that YOU lind them an excellent
antidote for blues, dyspepsia or bad temper
They've looked in.o the mills.one, my dear
boy; and though thry have to bear their share
Of the crushing, they always come out the bet
ter for it, Atlrctionately yours,
UNCLE Wn AT.