Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1873-05-01
Davy Jones, Junior 10

Davy Jones, Junior o
Although they admitted that sh
might, possibly, by some people, b
accounted pleasing" Miss Nancy
friends always said Of her I" that sh'
was certainly not pretty" for, as they
were good enough to explain, sht
had. not feature in her face" Th'
obsSvation was not, Of course, to b.
interpreted literally. 1t was indis
putable that Miss Block was in pos
session of certain lineaments which
answered sufficiently well all the pur'
poses which features are presumed tc
serve, and are ordinarily applied to
albeit they might not satisfy the
critical. requirements Of the friends
nor accord completely with their
ideas on the subject of abstract beau
ty. But our friends, it may be noted
are, as rule, little exacring in this
and some other matters. They are
disposed to constitute themselves our
critics, and to Judge us by rather gu
perior standards. They are fond Of
holding the scales concerning US
our mental and bodily endowments,
and they hold them up a little too
high sometimes. 1t is one Of their
privileges to pronounce freely and
frankly upon our defects and short
comings; and the privilege, SO far as
one can see, is not likely to suffer
abatement from falling into disuse.
Miss Blocks friends smoke their
minds in regard to he
candor that was eyoogaVe Il
most disagreebly so oaai9T
is one of those good 'a:ags ,h
the proverb notwit
have too much. jOy so4 IT, 5ar
point of view, she ben
reflection of aver ei, .os,
person. Insomuch ta,, 80 ea0ls
labors to persuade ies e
she might be ".:'llsss.l.s e-as
certainly not pretty" were, upon
the whole, in the nature Of that un-
profitable toll which we associate
with the fable of Sisyphus and his
stone.
Her figure, her friends decided,
was uniformed, and therefore, not
worth considering. (They were,
plainly, people who would disparage
a rosebud because it was mt a full
blown rosa.) AS for her mind, Miss
Blocks friends glanced upward and
raised their hands: their looks and
gestures signifying hopeless despair.
She had no mind, they affirmed /;
none whatever For her disposition,
poor thing; we'll, perhaps it was not
SO much her fault, she had been
badly brought p,-thoroaghly spoil
ed by her absurdly ipdulgent old
father.
Mr.. Blocks daughter, if she is still
living, (and I am not certain whether
she is or not, must be now very old
lady ;. though, I will venture to say,
very nice-looking old lady, what
ever may be asserted to the contrary /;
remarkable, at any rate, for that
goodness which is the chief beauty OF
old age, and an irresistible attraction
at all times. For it is now more than
half a century since Miss Block was
in her teens, pleasing but not pref
ty," and when the circumstances oc,
Cured which am about.to narrate.
Mr.. Block styled himself "a ship
breaker that is to say, he pur-
chased the hulls of old ships of all
shapes and sizes, and broke them up
in order to sell again, piecemeal, the
wood and iron Of which they were
constructed. His wharf was on the
south bank of the Thames, in the
parish of St. Mary, -Rotherhithe. In
those days traders made it a rule to
live where they carried on their busi-
ness. Mr.. Block lived in small but
comfortable house !; attached to his
wharf-premises, and looking en- to the
river. He traded under the name Of
"Block& Co.." and had lately taken
into partnership young man named
Godfrey Starkie, who had been OF
much service to him as clerk, book
keeper, and general assistant. MIR.
Block was regarded by his neighbors
asaproaperous, "well-to-do" man. He
was about sixty years Of age, remark
bic in appearance for his clean, faml-
ly complexion, and for the silvery
whiteness Of his hair. He was anna
BILE and benevolent, and it had%b been
said of him that his only enemy was
himself. He was fond Of his ease
and of good living; indeed to MS
excessive partiality for port wine and
punch, the ailirg health to which OF
late he had been liable was very gen
orally attributed. Hiswife had been
dead some years. His only child
was the Miss Nancy Block of whom
some mention has already been made,
and TO whom he was tenderly at.
tached. His establishment consisted
of one female servant. who acted as
cook and. .housemaid, and who. having
originally been Miss Blocks nurse
when that young woman; was an infant
in arms, had Of course been many
years in the service Of the family,
and obtained its entire confidence
and regard and an apprentice, one
{ David, or, as he was more often
called, Davy Jones, a workhouse lad,
deserted by his parents, and brought
up, therefore, gby that unpleasant
step-mother, the parish. His. appel
lofsnn sk ono- - ofofod xu1o dino IN