Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1876-05-03
MY CHOICE.

You see, Mrs. Chappell, when an
elderly woman's memory goes into the
dreamland of her courtship and honey
moon she does not like the jolting Jour
1ey back to common life So when
you left me thinking of Oliver Marbury
as he appeared in his short wasted,
Ttight-ftting, claret colored coat, his
white satin stock and waistcoat, pale
stone colored trousers, and patent
leather boots, and myself in my pretty
white satin drawn bonnet and blonde
fall, my white bookmuslin dress and
satin sash, my small white Paisley-bor-
dered Norwich shawl and sandaled
slippers, | was SO full of that happy
marriage morn In our old church at S.,
and the dinner afterwards, when ray
father astonished Amos and Leah by
giving me the thousand pounds, that [
did not care to shut out the picture, and
took myself off instead
"Then did your marriage turn out so
badly?' questioned Mrs Chappen,
with one eye on the shop door the
while
Badly It was an unfortunate day
when David Beech allowed himself to
be taken over, and let his pet daughter
become Mary Marbury. Better ten
thousand times have remained Mary
Beech to the end of my days"
Yet as [ went with Oliver inside the
hired chaise to the new home had not
yet seen, and he stopped now and then
to whisper, My wife, and tell me how
much be loved me, and how happy we
should be, [ thought that one word
wife comprehended all that was
ecstatic and sublime, and the vista of
the future held not cloud
At first he drove me about here and
there, and one Or two of his fathers
very old friends called upon me; but
his own acquaintance were mostly
men Id newmarket coats like his own,
who talked slang, smoked iacessantly,
stared at me, or made freer than L
liked, and who walked In and out of the
house, ordered the servants, drank beer
and brandy, went and stayed with a
freedom very foreign to my notions,
and altogether upset my theories of the
privacy of domestic life.
There was one, a Captain Thornton,
[ especially disliked, and [ told Oliver
SO. He will ruin you if you continue
TO associate with him." [ said.
Oliver laughed, patted my cheek,
and replied, knowingly: My dear, he
anight If [ were not too deep for him
/ mean to make fortune out of the
Captain before long"
| had heard from my father that
divers property was not large, and,
little as [ knew Of such matters, could
tell my FL 600 would not go far to sup
port such mode of life. But he only
laughed when said captains and coun-
try squires were not associates for him.
q Never you mind, Mary; I know what
I'm about" And then he grew angry
when l spoke on the subject, 50 I de-
sisted.
Frequently he was away for a week
or two together, and then the whole
tribe went with him-not that at other
times We always had the house full;
but it was seldom quite empty. We
rarely had a quiet evening to ourselves.
He was away when my baby was born,
and was partly glad Of it for the
house was quiet.
Oliver had insisted upon christen-
ing feast, and gave his orders as if
Potosi had been at his command.
Hang the cost What do I care I"
was his reply to my wish to keep ex-
penditure within bounds.
Of course there were friends of
his own invited, and there was heavy
drinking; and whilst father, Leah, Mrs
Matthews and | sat together in the
drawing room, listening to the March
winds clustering without, a noise of
voices IN loud contention came from
the dlning-room across the hall.
Liar p Cheat Sharper p
:" Vagabond - were among the epithets
Which smote our ears. Then there was
scuft1e. We met the servants In the
hall, also hurrying to ascertain what
was the matter, and as we .opened the |
dining-room door, we saw Captain
Thornton with his hands on divers
throat. shrieked. Sam, our man
eryant. darted in and heIned tn sora-