Union and American. [volume] (Greeneville, Tenn.) 1875-1877, 1875-12-16
nent missive~was gone, while the
real bona .fde letter lay there
amongst q heap OF discarded pa

amongst hehp ot uieCafueu pa
pers. .aL0}LAL1la
..And I hadn't courage to confess
my misdemeanor, papa is so op
posed to my innocent little jokes--
and Jack is of with that indiscrib
able letter. shall certainly win
the sleeve,buttons, Olive, but wha'
, tornado there will be when my
mischief leaks out" -....-. 1
And Minnie looked SO bewitch-
ingly lovely in her alternate par I
oxysm of terror and laughter, that 1
Olive, grave old sister though she
was, had not the heart to lecture
her as roundly as she deserved.
Il The crimson sunset of the very |
lnext evening shown radiantly into
the special sanctum of worthy old |
Jabez Thorn. of Thornvilie, JUS
tice OF the Peace. and chairman Of
all the agricultural meetings for
! ten miles around. It was no
scholsrly-looking library, like that |
Of his ancient comrade, Chester.
bat q, square, light room, with four
uncurtained windows. and oraa-
mented with numerous black-fram-
ed engravings. of prize cattle and
giant turnips. He was seated in a
leather-cushioned arm chair, look /
| ing over the files of an agricul-
tural journal, to find some coveted |
information on the subject of
''phosphates" and ''superphos-
phates," when servant brought
him a card and letter. H1s
"rhe gentleman is in the parlor,
sir" ...r-.. go. ..r....
! Jabez Thorn laid aside his news
paper, glanced at the card, which
bore the simple inscription, "John
Lacy''-then ut the letter which
purported to be the introductory
to that individual. an
t"Hew-ha-from my old college
chum. Chee.er, as live. Remark
able change in his handwriting,
but time alters us all. Hsven't
heard from him in twenty years,
and-hello, what is this2 A pretty
cool question, upon my word
nephew wants wife, and has
heard that possess daughter
has lots of money-wants me to
and him with my well-known ex
perience in such matters. What
does the rascal mean? CALCULATED
Jabez, the fringe of gray hair that
surrounded his bald head standing
absolutely erect with indignation.
l"Ill send Jeffrs to kick. the impu-
Gent scamp out of the house"
But with.:a moments reflections
came calmness. l.a '..-
"Well, after all, I don't see what
there is in the matter to make me
so foolishly angry. Guess I'll see
what Mary says. An excellent
family these Chesters-and- this
| letter is just like Zebedee Chester
t-he always was singular in his
notions. Rather unlike the ordi-
nary method of coming to an un-
! derstanding on such matters, but
there's nothing like a dash of orig
inality in this world. and II the
boy is rich and Mary don't object
lat all events I'll see him on this
subject"
And Jabez Thorn thrust the let
ter into his pocket, and strobe de
terminedly into the parlor, where
| yonng Lacy was quietly awaiting
his appearance. The old gentle
| mans face was scarlet with embar-
rassment, he was half disposed to
be angry with his guests cool self
possession. "a
~ had thought of settling in
this vicinity, Mr.. Thorn" said
Jack, after the ceremonies of greet
ing had been exchanged, "and un-
derstand from my uncle that you
had a desirable piece of property
you might be disposed to part
with" -r.- ......
| .'Piece of propertyr' thought
the old gentleman, beginning to
fire up again; but he controlled
his. emotion, and only answered,
Really sir, this is a very strange
request. One can hardly be ex-
pected to answer definitely upon 80
very short notice" --aF ssa7! 4
"Certainly not, Mr. Thorn. /
have no wish to hurry you," said
Jack, politely; ..but / am rather
anxious, to see for myself, and if
you will favor me with brief de-
! scription of the prominent features
Of" ..,..- .f-...r r- ,--.. g..--.s
Ia But Mr.. Thorn was igeting TN
easily on his chair. $3.50 ~ --
~ "What do you mean, sir" he
exclaimed, wrathfully. 20 2 'i -
/ Jack was rather perplexed at
this cavalier reception, but he an
swered, as courteously as possible:
'Why, sir, of course it is not
best to be too precipitous on mat
ter Of such Importance"
/ 'If this is specimen of the
rising generation" thought the in
dignant Jabez, ''tbey are about as
Impudent a set OF Jacanapes rs /
want to see. But owe something
to my long friendship with old
Zebedee Chester-I won't turn the
puppy out of doors quite yet"
4 II suppose it is healthyT' asked
Lacy, blaudly. ~ ,s
.'What is healthyf' -t @
"Your property. Sometimes in
these low grounds diseases are apt
to prevail and"
"Does he expect my Mary has
the fever and agueT thought old
Thorn, leaping briskly out of his
chair as if an insect had stung
him; I'll send my daughter to you,
young man-that vii. settle the
business at once" -ts.- E--
Ard before Lacy could express
his surprise his choleric host had
banged the door behind him and
disappeared. .........
Mary Thorn's as.onishment was
even greater than her fathers had
been. She was attired in white
muslin, with bouquet of crimson
moss, ,rosebuds in her bosom, and
spray of the same exquisite
flowers in her hair, for some rural
party or picnic, and at first abso-
| l.. Il