Beaufort Republican. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1871-1873, 1873-08-14
Something Of a Romance.
A story of a Life Time.

spectacle merchant was moved to grave
anxiety by his only daughters infatua-
tion with masculine admirer, of whose
antecedents and character it was very
difficult for her or her family to gain
any definite knowledge. She had been
introduced to him in mixed company,
ON some semi-public occasion, by an ac-
quaintance knowing him only slightly
and by name his first subsequent call
upon her at her home had been without
formal invitation and, indeed, his for
wardness in improving the introduction
would have been resented by the young
lady herself but for her immediate
"strong liking" as the phrase is, for
the man. He was handsome and gentle
manly; and, beyond this, had what she
persisted in regarding as face to be
implicitly trusted. Her parents-and
her father, particularly-refused to ae-
cept this latter characteristic In lieu OF
all other ordinary guarantees of social
trustworthiness and, after expostulat-
ing vainly with her against encouraging
an acquaintance with visitor of whose
origin and avocation no one in town
seemed able to give any satisfactory in
formation, took renewed pains to ascer-
tain what manner of person their daugh-
ter's suspicious admirer really was.
Little by little came the discovery that
he lived, in a covert way, by his wits.
A friend of the merchants was sure that
he had once seen him coming out of
gaming g-bouse another, who boarded
in the same house with him, reported
that he kept strange hours. In short,
the father gathered enough information
of this kind to feel justified in assuring
his daughter that her now devoted caller
was not respectable character, and de-
claring that he must come to the house
no more. The parental fault had been
in allowing the acquaintance to 60 on
even thus far under matter of such
doubt, and its penalty was shown in the
girls resolute refusal to belive anything
against her hero. He had a face, she
persisted in saying, that refuted every
calumny upon his honor, and any one
who knew the first thing about physiog-
nomy would say that such frank, hon
est countenance could not belong to a
bad man. Parental authority, refusing
to be moved by this argument, and con-
tinuing its ban against the lover, the in
fatuated damsel capped the climax OF
her filial disobedience at last by clan
destine marriage and elopement with
the object of her incorrigible faith.
They were traced to the parsonage where
the matrimonial knot had been tied, and
from thence had disappeared from the
| city. Never having anticipated such q
result as this, the deserted parents were
overwhelmed with grief and fearful ap-
prehension, and lost all heart for the
future. The mother, who had been an
invalid for some time, died under the
shock and the father, at this accumu-
lation of misfortunes, sank into leth-
argy from which he rallied only to
find himself a bankrupt. Thus were
family and fortune both broken up in
brief time by thankless child's disloy-
atty and willfulness. Then the ruined
merchant, too, disappeared from Port
land with what little he could save from
the wreck of his old home. and the
story travels with him to California,
whether he wandered desolately, in the
hope of distracting his thoughts from
the past, and seeking lonely liveli-
hood. Too old and worn to contend
successfully for new career anywhere,
his business experiences on the Pacific
side of the continent were but series
of feeble failures, until day about five
years ago found him the keeper OF
small candy-stand on Washington street,
near the old post-effice, in San Francis
co. Every day since then, says the Post
of the latter city, which now takes up
| the tale, no matter how heavily the win
ter rain came down, or the gusty sum-
mer winds swept down from Telegraph
Hill, the old man has appeared at his
humble stand and sold cheap sweets to
to passing children until the occurrence
of incidents now to be mentioned.
Amongst his little customers there came
one day, about q week ago, bright
eyed, neatly dressed lad, apparently in
his ninth or tenth year, who bought
candy to his taste and seemed greatly
pleased at its cheapness. Well he might
have been, too, for the poor, old, shah
by, generally grabbed vender, had seen
that in the boyish face which impelled
him to tempt the little fellow to come
again. And never doubt that the temp
tation was successful. The boy came
day after day for his bargain in confec-
tionery, and always his face was studied
by the old man with strange kind of
wistfulness. At last there was a conf
dence between the two, and the elder
asked and was told the youngsters
name. 81 thought 1 knew that counte.
uance!" exclaimed the white-haired
candy-man, with curious expression of
face and, requesting neighboring
merchant of the curb to take supervi-
sion of his stand for few moments, he
told the boy that he would accompany
him to his mothers house. "The
YOUTH" continued the San Francisco
paper, surprised, perhaps, at this no.
tifcation, but nothing loath to oblige
his old friend, led the way to fine
mansion on Bryant street, where rich
ly dressed, handsome lady appeared at
his cry and Immediately fell sobbing
upon the neck of the candy-man, calling
him Father ," Thus, after ten years,
the ex-merchant of Portland met his un-
dutiful, runaway daughter again, hav-
ing been led to such reunion by her
sons inheritance of his fathers face.
The story to be told, with many peni-
tential tears, by the lady was follows: