The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1876-04-13
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
ney back to common life. SO when you
left me thinking of Oliver Marbury as
he appeared in his short wasted, tight
fitting, 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 bordered Nor
wich shawl and sandaled slippers, I
was so full of that happy marriage morn
in our old church at S., and the dinner
afterwards, when my father astonished
Amos and Leah by giving me the thou
sand pounds, that L did not care to
shut out the picture, and took myself off
instead"
"Thon did your marriage turn out so
badly" questioned Mrs. Cheppell, with
one eye on the shop door the while.
"Badly 1t was an unfortunate day
when David Beech allowed himself to be
taken over, and let his pet daughter be-
come Mary Marbury. Better ten thou
sand times have remained Mary Beech
to the end of my days !"
"Yet as I went with Oliver inside the
hired chaise to the new home I had not
yet seen, and his arm held me close to
him all the way, and he stoppednow and
then to whisper, MY wife, and tell
me how much he loved me, and how
happy we should be, thought that one
word wife comprehended all that YVES
ecstatic and sublime, and the vista OF
the future held not cloud.
cat first he drove me about hele and
there, and one or two of his fathers very
old friends called upon me but his
own acquaintances were most = men in
Newmarket coats like his own, who
talked slang, smoked necessarily, stared
at me, or made freer than 1 liked; aud
who walked in aud out of the house,
ordered the servants, drank beer and
brandy, went and stayed with freedom
very foreign to my notions, and alto
gether upset my theories of the privacy
of domestic life.
"There was one, Captain Thornton,
SO. HE will ruin you if you continue
To GSSOClttc Will ulll, l. Sdlus
"Oliver laughed, patted my cheek,
and replied, knowingly: my dear, he
might if were not too deep for him.
| mean to make fortune out of the cap
tain before long
81 had heard from my father that
divers property was not large, and, lit
tie as l knew of such matters, could
tell my G1 600 would not go far to sup
port such a mode of life. But he only
laughed when l said captains and coun-
try sauires We're not associates for him.
Never you mind, Mary; know what
I'm about And then he grew angry
when spoke on the subject, so 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 quiet evening to ourselves. He
WIS 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 7
was his reply to my wish to keep ex-
penditure within bounds.
"Of course there were friends of his
own invited, and of course there was
heavy drinking; and whilst father,
Leah, Mrs. Matthews and sat together
in the drawing listening to the
March winds clustering without, noise
of voices in loud contention came from
the 2ipinn-rOopn anrnca tho hall
"' Liar ! Cheat 7 Sharper =
'Vagabond = were among the epithets
which smote our ears. Then there was
a scuffle. 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 servant, darted
in, and helped to separate them-draw-
ing his master away toward the door.
"The faces of both men worked with
passion; Oliver shook himself free,
snatched a decanter from the dining
table, and hurled it across at his antago-
mist with full force. Instinctively the
captain put up his arm to guard his
face. The decanter smashed upon his
hand, gashing it frightfully.
81 believe there was cry for doc
tor, but not for me, though 1 had faint
ed and been carried back to the drawing
room sofa insensible.
"Captain Thornton's life was in peril
from the hemorrhage. His wrist was
bound tightly before surgeon came to
extract the glass and sew up the wound;
but for all that he was for a long time
in danger of lockjaw. When he did re-
cover the muscles of his right hand
were SO contracted that he could no
longer shuttle cards, ride at hunt or
steeple-chase, handle billiard cue, or
fire q gun; and he vowed vengeance
against the man who had made life a
burden to him.
"Oliver laughed ss was his wont; but