The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1876-11-15

ceeding became apparent To me at nee
and, making desperate effort 70 ch-el
my mirth AMI t. speak graveiy, | began
81 assure you, Aunt Gregg
There's no good in assuring me any
thing, interrupted my aunt. III YOU
were To 90 o. assuring ms from now TIL
the last moment Of my life. / s.ouli not
believe YOU"
But, dear aunt
Don't dear aunt me Do you think
I'm not capable Of putting two and twJ
together and making FOUR And when
find you alone IN a room, and then find
myself in such position as this, 10 you
suppose that / am going to believe that
4 you didn't do it on purpose
/ Evidently my aunt had 10 strong per-
cep;ion Of what was funny, or she would
never have spoken of what had happened
/ in this way Her gravity ticl,led me
/ even more than the accident itself, and |
had to bite my lip nearly through before
[ could get out
''But do try to believe"
81 shan'ttry to do any thing of the kind :
Is your behavior likely To make me- be-
lieve in your innocence If You are sorry
for what has happened, why don't you
come and help me out instead OF stopping
there and laughing like an IDIOT"
Il really can't move. [ would get out
if could, F." answered, struggling family.
"But | am fixed tight, and can DO moth
ing" and again | was nearly choked to
swallow my laughter.
''Nonsense" Miss Gregg returned in a
tone of increased severity; ''people Of
your age are never helpless unless they
choose to be So" And thereupon she
lapsed into a digniied silence. leaving me
to feel more ridiculous than | had ever
done in my life before.
We were not left many moments in
this most unenviable situation before the
door of the room opened and my mother
came in. With surprise and horror she
perceived the plight in which we were
placed, and, running to my aunt, helped
her up, apologzng to the worthy lady
enough, as it seemed to me, to have eX-
cused the most dire injury.
Miss Gregg once more began to eX-
press her opinion that | had done it on
purpose, when my mother thought II
better to join her and abuse me soundiy.
Nv assurances that the misfortune was a
pure accident convinced her of my inno-
cence, though they had quite failed To
lnvnce my aunt, and she came over to
my side at once, and tried, with all the
eloquence of which she WAS possessed, to
win the irate old lady, but in vain. Miss
Gregg was most fully persuaded that |
hal Intentionally offered to her dignity
the insult it had recently received, and
she continued to express her hostile sen
timents in the most indignant terms.
We proceeded for some time to talk in
the most persuasive and convincing man.
ner at our command, b;:t to 10 purpose.
Nv aunt would not listen to what we had
to say in my defence, and declared per
sistentlv and in the most emphatic terms
that she would go home at once and never
enter our house again. We knew too
well what effect such conduct would have
upon us, chat it would be the end of all
our hopes and we were getting more
and more into despair, when suddenly
bright idea came to me. | would 60 and
fetch Claribel. | had the utmost belief In
her power Of soothing people.
Ny mother soon understood from the
signs made her what [ thought of do
ing, and she evidently approved my
Iued. lcII ISt Il IuS W HiNli1 L.
aunt and persuade her of my innocence,
and started Off 1t didn't take me long
to get over the ground between our house
and Mr.. Myers, or to explain what had
happened to his daughter; and III very
short time Claribel and | returned to-
gether.
Itturned out just as l expected. Al
though my aunt was still very angry, and
at first would not look at the intended
mediator, before long she had given IN
to her pretty, coaxing ways (who, IN
deed, could help giving in when Clarlbel
set to work to make them?) and and was
sitting at the dinner in the best parlor on
my fathers right hand, with my dear girl
on the other side of her.
OF course after this there was no good
in pretending to keep up her resentful
feelings, and my aunt spent the rest OF
the day and the succeeding night under
our roof as she had originally intended.
l did my very best during that time to
cancel, by constant attention, the bad
impression that had been made upon
her. Aud l suppose | in great meas
away, and | was standing at the door OF
the coach in which she was seated wait
ing for it to start, she put her hand upon
mine and SAID
q believe that you did not intention
ally insult me, after all, Sebastian"
Another moment and the coach had
driven off, and l had seen my aunt for
the last time.
1t is now some years since this memo
rabe event happened. l have become
a farmer on my own account, and am
settled not very far from the place in
in which Mr. Myer and my father still
live. Clarlbel has changed from lively
girl into sweet contented woman, and
we are surrounded by numerous rosy
checked, healthy looking children. Not
very long after her visit to our house,
nv aunt died, and left me her heir. The
property was enough to enable me to pur-
chase the farm l now possess, and to
marry CIaribel at once.
We are very happy and never forget to
associate the memory of Miss Gregg with
our happiness. But even at this distance
of time we can never think without
smile of the accident that so nearly made
shipwreck of all our hopes. And of all
the stories tell my children, as we sit
around the fire of a winters evening, The
one they like to hear the best is the his
tory of how nearly lost my aunts leg
acy.-London Argosy.