The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-01-20

n1elLGI,
Had Uncle Randolph been man quick to
detect tho exterior evidences of II broken
heart, or even OF @ broken engagement, he
must surely have seen that something was
wrong with Kitty. As it was, however, Uncle
Randolph was not quick to detect anything.
except. perhaps, opinions differing from his
own. man Of political. religious, social or
moral beliefs antagonistic in any way to the
political religious, social or moral beliefs Of
Uncle Randolph was said by the latter to be u
rascal; nor would the minor virtues OF hon
esty. integrity and industry In any manner
mitigate the ultimate conclusion or compen-
safe for the fatal differences, Uncle Randolph
held it to be truth as self-evident as any OF
those set forth in the Declaration Of indie
pendence that q man who supported Thisism
and not Thatism was knave, And yet I'm
Gle Randolph was n very good man at heart.
as was ,abnndantly shown By his act, acts
He talked. like "a terrible blgYo ,'ti
y t boa h c, da III Ssd as en- ip ts
unfortunate father Of Kitty Gibson as q
worthless scamp CHIEFLY because he was q
Thisistl. and yet when this worthless scamp
came to die. he took Kitty to his own home,
had been his own child Besides himself and
his pretty niece Uncle Randolph's household
consisted of his maiden sisten Martha his
aunt, whose memory stretched back through
the mist of eighty years, and Tom, Turner,
troubled himself to find out why it was he
came to be numbered with the family. Uncle
Randolph devoted himself chiefly to pro-
tracted and heated discussions in Hiram Girls
wold's store: old Aunt Charity spent all her
fixed upon the household duties; while Tom
Turner'S mind, such rs it was, drew nourish-
ment principally from tho writings OF Sylvanus
Cobb Jr. Thus seyerally occupied, none oil
the members of the family had found time to
discover that Kitty's heart was broken. 1t
was known, in a vague sort OF q way, that the
Young lady had quarreled with her lover, and
that Jack Burroughs had not visited the
house for q month; but then young ladies'
NO NOD, doubt Jack Would turn s' up again in good
time. Taking this sensible view OF the mat
ter, Uncle Randolph continued his discus
sions. Mrs. Martha her scrubbing, Aunt Char
ity her knitting, and Tom Turner his regular
doses of peppery literature, And it ls to be
added that even Kitty herself, Influenced, no
doubt. by the course of those about her, fol-
lowed very closely in the accustomed grooves
of life ate her three meals n day with tolera-
BILE relish. Yet she had fully made up her
mind to die.
Like all well-conducted herones who drown
themselves, Kitty determined to leave behind
her touching little letter, wherein forgive
ness should be extended to all her enemies,
and an appeal made to her friends not to
mourn her loss
IL will write that letter now" thought she
to herself, pouring the water into the tea-ket-
tie.
And thereupon. as proper preliminary, to
dictionary q sheet of paper, and n lead pen
Gil. and sat down to bid the world a final fare
well. The date was left blank, to be inserted
when the sun should thaw the ice Ia the river.
The early winter twilight was deepening into
darkness, and the kettle was singing on the
stove. when Kitty finished her letter. One or
two OF the hard words In which heart-rooted
grief found utterance. were searched out in the
dictionary; for this suicidal young lady would
have deemed 1t shocking indeed to have left
any slip of photography. Thus Webster, re-
assured her doubling mind as to "melan-
choly." and determined the order OF vowels In
"relief." And it was while Kitty was yet pic
turing to herself the effect which this pathetic
letter would produce upon those who loved
her--in which category Mr.. Jack Borroughs'
was not incuded-that the sound of Uncle
Randolphs voice broke in upon her reveries.
With a blush and start Kitty thrust the
sheet of paper into the dictionary and closed
the volume,
"He Is scoundrel and thief she heard
him say as he drew near the door. "1ou
can't tell me anything about the Marshalls,
I've known the whole race OF EN- for twenty
years. Old Silas Marshall went from Windsor
to Hartford, and sold candles and soap, and
during the Jackson campaign
Precisely what the late Slas Marshall did
during the Jackson campaign was not told at
UUab Dl0ueul. Tie uOOI opening Cut SIlptt
the thread of conversation Uncle Randolph
walked into the kitchen, while behind him,
self-confident and smiling, walked Mn Jack
Burroughs. Trembling all over Kitty, rose
up from her seat and thanked the twilight
which hid her face.
where's your Aunt Maria?' inquired Uncle
Randolph. "Jack has come over to eat supper
with us. Why don't you light upY
Here's a match" said Jack, and he held out
g. 49, ,s..; l.; ,,,, rt,;,,c >, ,,,,,,,o,,J L ~,
addressing herself to her uncle, and paying no
heed to Mr.. Burroughs prolfered match. "I'll
go and call her" And with this the young
lady beat q hasty retreat.
THAT Josiah Marshall is a scoundrel and n
thief" resumed Uncle Randolph as he took
down the Kerosene lamp from the mantle
piece. I'D like to kick him, and the whole
tribe of Marshalls along with him.,
sit is a pretty numerous tribe" observed
Jack -humoredly. Let me help you put
While Jack adjusted the lamp, Miss Mar
tina, who never found time to dress up, as she
expressed it, until late in the afternoon, en-
tered the room. Miss Martha was a capital
New Highlander calls smart" and the
Englishman "clever." And she was what the
world, in diverse tongues and dialects, calls
eccentric" Perhaps one OF her most notice
able eccentricities was that OF mixing the
names Of the members Of her own household.
often as he was ''Tom," and Kitty answered
promptly when addressed as Nancy albeit
the old Nancy in the family had married a
dozen years before and was now living in
Oregon. Jack Burroughs had long before
grown familiar with this popularity, so that
i wf1gn Miss Martha entered the Kitchen ant
said, rs that you, William Jack responded
cheerily, cit is
"Well, I'm proper glad to see you, exclaimed
Miss Martha. 1T seems an age, since you've
been inside the house. Take off your great
coat and come into the sitting room and get
warm. How's Lydia and the folks ?"
Jack gave a satisfactory account Of the
health Of the Burroughs family and Miss
Martha then withdrew to look after the sup
per.
Meanwhile Kitty, who had rushed to her
own room, with face flushed, hands trembling,
and bosom heaving, had donned her best
alpaca and combed out the snarls in her nut
brown hair, which was hers by growth and
not by purchase. Not that she did it in honor
of Jack Burrough. By no means. She would
have done it for anybody anybody who was
going to stay to supper. She tried to convince
herself that it was not because OF Jack that
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