, 1876-02-27

| made to him, and the klnd-hetrted o0 man nao
raised his bend to look at tho boz, standing Dare
say, with q queer emilio, ''Well. little Timothy
| Stnbblelield, whnt can you do?" The answer
pleased the quessioner, and the conceit en-
hodied in the name tickled his fancy: In time
the boy told his story. was adopted ny planu-
father Dlakeman, became the pet OF the house
hold, and was known everywhere as Timothy
Stubblefeld. When ho vas 81 he loft his
patron, and, taking his name OF William Vincent,
began life in earnest. He married as MIR. Vim
| cent, and as Mr. Vincent had many miarortunes
and severe trials. The Toss Of children sad
dened him, the continued illness of bis wife de-
pressed him, and sickness came to break his
spirit. In state Of mind induced BY these cir
cumstauces, he Was called to the bedside of his
old patron, childish, and sick unto death. He
was induced to renounce tho name Of Vincent
aud take again the name of Stnbbleticld for him
self and children, aud retain it always; and Was,
on this condition, to como into possession OF
considerable property. As boy, he had been
miserable as William Vincent happy as limo
thy Stubbiefield. AS q man, William Vincent
had been failure. Let him stand aside for
Timothy Stubblcieid.
The situation was accepted without auy 1cali-
zation Of its difficulties. These demanded at
tension in Quo time. The old lifo had to be for
gotscn,-an easy matter for the man, but diff
cult enc for his wife. They began life anew,
however; their health was restored; q new
child came to brighten their home. In time,
Mrs. Nncent's people, coming into full knowl-
edge Of the circumstances, protested: There
vas trouble: from ;. which tue stnbble-
now State. From this date, William
Vincent, now an old man, had serious miseiyugs
as to the course lie had adopted !; and, as his
daughter recudiated the uana OF Stubbletield,
and was known az Caroline Vincent the situa-
ton was very uncomfortable to uan extremely
sensitive. In allowing his daughter to resume
the old family name, ho was not carrying out tho
provisions Of the will under which the property
came into his posscBElou, and yet ho Bhrank from
any course that would allenate the affection OF
his only child. This daughter thoughtless and
stubborn as girl realized as woman the diff
ticultiea in the way Of her father, and decided
that she would give up the name Vincent, and
accept that of Stubblefeld Thoy carried out
tho new plan BY locating in another city, where
they had been but a few months when the awk-
ward adventure Of the head Of the house intro
duccd him to Messrs. Bell and Brown, and paved
The way for notoriety.
Mr.. StupbleGoil was much troubled about the
disposition OF funds held for the Immediate use
OF the family. aud. had become impressed that
tho bank where ho deposited WAS not safe. This
led to his slecp-waikng explorations in that d.
rection. His daughter had agreed to particu-
lar line Of conduct as to her old friends, which
complicated affairs when hhe met Mr. Brown.
The latter was confused by the denouement in
tie Park but, as he was very much in love, he
sought an explanation, and received it. Alr.
Stubbledeld, sensitive and timid 81 to exposure,
shrank again from publicity, and resolved to
store his furniture and go to Europe Mr..
Brown could not favor this plan ; but his atsi-
tude as adviser made Wr. Stubblefold extremely
rescntful.
He could not prevent the arrest Of the old
gentleman, could make no explanations but he
followed clew given By the note sent to Officer
Suipkius, and had the real culprlts arrested.
He had insisted on tho secret conference, und.
through the arguments Of the lawyers, had suc-
ceeded in clearing hlr. Stubbledelds mind OF
much OF its morbid sensitiveness-
The troublesome question Of the daughters
name he proposed to meet BY the proposition to
maize her his wife.
Timothy stubble6eld, old, whimsical timid,
morbid was jotted out OF his line OF action. as it
were, by the accusation that ho Was guilty Of
crime. lie Eas nov plucky, Mgh-spirited nsn,
before. Never had the fresh-faced but vener-
able man seemed so much man to admire, to
his wife snd daughter, as when he turned to
meet the accusation against him, forgetting for
the moment his own peculiar erets and annoy
anccs; and, true women as trey were, they
turned to help him fight his battles.
The queer namo WAS accounted for ; but tho
enterpElsins reporter. lmpelled by the desire to
do justice TO. the subject, went 9 step further.
He had Investigated tho mail-lists OF tho Weekly
Observer. which was mailed regularly to nearly
100, 000 subscribers living in every State OF
the Union, and found several persons named
Stubblefeld. Aa the names had been on the
books for twenty or thirty years, tho families
were ancient and respectable.
The effect Of this gratu,tous explanation was
to destroy the interest of the public. The pub
lie pulse went down from feyer-heat to q common
place beat at once: aud the announcement,
few Days later, Of the marriage Of Miss Caroline
Vincent Stubblefield to Mr. Thomas Brown, al
most escaped notice.
The result Of all is, that Mr. Fred Bell walks
homo at night alone. and with less general
iauntiness Of manner than when Timothy Stub
bleield's son-iu-law Was his companion