The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1877-10-04
A GOOD TURN.

1t was not intended in the Magilvray
family that Miss Alice of that name
should marry Eugene Descamps. Not
that young Eugene was not good enough
for the said Miss Alice, but that, being
exceedingly pretty, bright and attract
i've, she might do better, as the phrase
goes, and the Magilvrays were greatly
in need of her doing better. In their
old days they used to be somebodies !;
now, owing to disaster, poverty, i'll luck,
and lack of enterprise, they were no.
bodies. If Alice, the flower Of the fam
lily, should have a success matrimonially,
it would bring her much less lovely Sis
ters into connections where they, COM
paratively speaking, might do well, and
her brothers where some sort of business
chance might meet them. Mrs. Magil-
vray beguiled many a tedious hour in
speculotions on the advantages that
would follow a brilliant marriage on
Alice's part she saw her other girls in
the splendid dresses and jewels that their
wealthy brother-in-law would give them
she saw her own home made yearly more
delightful by the delicate but expensive
little attentions of Alice herself and
she saw business chances absolutely
throwing themselves at the boys feet.
1t all depended upon Alice's yet meeting
this millionaire of lover IN posse before
she became fatally entangled with any
body else and here she was now fancy
ing herself in love with that Eugene
Descamps, who, having nothing but a
profession, w,uld probably never be
able to give her any thing but living
And every time she saw them parting at
the gate, or glancing across the aisle in
church, down would go all of Mrs.
Magilvray's dreams, like Alnaschar's
tray of glasses.
81 don't know why 1 should be ex-
pected to bring up the family" Miss
Alice would cry. eff the girls want to
marry well, I'm willing. Let them mar
ry themselves. To marry Eugene would
be marrying well enough for me. If
you'd told me about it before, ma, I'd
have tried never to look at Eugene but
it's too late now."
"How is it possible" Mrs. Magilvray
would exclaim, rolling up her eyes, and
in her most tragic manner, "for my
daughter to talk to me in such an un-
maidenly style as that?"
81 don't know any thing unmaidenly
in saying it's too late to think of one
husband when I've given my promise to
another" Alice cried, as well as tears
and anger would allow. "Maybe 1
never can marry him; but never, never,
never will marry any body else. So
there, ma !"
"You unnatural, undutiful girl"
" l should think it was reproach to
be girl, cried the sauce-box.
"You had better call to mind that
whose mocketh his mother" said Mrs.
Magilvray, in hollow tones. "the ravens
shall pick out his eyes, and the young
eagles shall eat them"
Then the naughty girl laughed. 81
don't believe you have it right, ma, u
she answered. Maybe it's the eagles
come first. Anyway, Eugene will never
let any ravens get at my eyes; L love
him. And you would love him
too, ma, if you knew him" And
the little minx's tears being gone, she
kissed the severe and awful matron,
bending her head back under her arm to
reach her mouth, with gay sweet i'm
pudence that none of the other children
would have dared use, and skipped from
the room in happy peal of laughter,
presently to be heard warbling out,
sob, l shall marry my ain love-"
as if that settled the business.
"You know perfectly well, ma" she
said, when they were talking over the
same untiring theme again. "that il
Eugenes uncle had left his money tc
him instead of to that Institution for the
Blind Feeieeans-as he always said he
meant to do after he found Eugene, and
as he educated him to suppose be would
you'd have never said word"
Possibly not" replied Mrs. Magil-
vray, with dignity. But he didn't.
And the circumstance remains to be con.
sidered that We are all poor, and that
Eugene is poor too, and that your good
looks and good manners are the only
hope we have of improving our condi.
tion; for what" said Mrs. Magilyray,
twill Maria do, with her squint, oi
Ella, with her teeth like row OF grave
stones? And SO it is the very depth OF
selfishness in you to think for moment
of merely gratifying yourself, and mar,