Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-10-02
MARRIED AFTER AL.

Al tuC thts WHcI all Tue WuTlt
was romantic, and no one ashame,
OF it, two gentlemen of England con
ceived the preposterous. hut at tba
time ra.ner fashionable idea, that, be
cause they were friends, their sol
End daughter, then infants in thei
cradles, must love each other wher
they grew to be man and woman
and having compared notes, an,
found that hey quite agreed on thi
point, Sci 10 work with zeal worth,
OF better cause, to arrange matter
so that they must turn ont exactly Al
they desired.
| If they lived, of course their com
mands would be sufficient. Of thi
they were assured but if they died
who knew what two misguided yount
people might do? Consequently
each made will, ana matters wer
30 arranged that if either of tn,
young people declined the hand o
the other that young person would
be penniless. After some years, tn,
gentleman whose child was daugh
ter, left his native England for Amer
lea, while the other, who was a wild
over, his wife having given her lif,
for that of her son, remained in Eng
land so that the ocean rolled be
tween the romantic friends.
The English resident was named
Edmund Harrington the American
Charles Seabright. Both were, a,
we have said, wealthy, and botl
brought their children up carefully
As they grew older, they permitted
them to correspond with each other
but each detested the task SO, tina
the letters were actually written b,
the elders themselves. Once, at tn,
age of fourteen, when news cam,
that little Harold Harrington hat
fallen from tree and broken his leg
Elsie Seabright was desired to repl,
that she felt great regret, and sen(
her best love and wishes for hi.
speedy recovery but the girl, who
never could listen to the boys name
with anything like patience, refused
to write one word of this amiablt
epistle.
Il wish he had broken his neck, 80
that | might never hear any more
about him. she said, with stamp O
her little foot; Il won't write fbs.'
So again mamma wrote the letter
having first locked Elsie up in darl
pantry by way of punishment
Il am sorry to find a child of min,
80 upfeeling,' said she. "a broker
leg causes great pain, and may make
one lame for life.
"A nice thing for me that would b,
if am to marry him, said Elsie.
Indeed, If she had been as sympa
thetic as her mother desired her t
be, Elsie would have had opportu
nifty enough to exercise those feel
ings, for her young betrothed wa
always in some pickle, and had near
ly drowned, and nearly shot himsel
a dozen times, to say nothing of or
binary tumbes.
1t was tit for tat, at all events TO
wher Elsie hal the measles, Maste
Harold had received the intormatio,
with contemptuous indifference
amounting to he artlessness, and hat
indeed said that he did not care
He hated girls, and this one tn,
worst of them all.
| so with fha nnaop hat,y bo
the young people grew to maturity
and the year approached in which
they were TO meet.
But meanwhile all sorts of sac
things happened. Elsie lost boil
her father and her mother, and ava,
in England, Mr.. Harrington dice
suddenly of apoplexy. So the TIVE
men who had looked forward for 81
many years to meeting when thei
children were married, never me
again.
Mr.. Harrington would not brins
his son to America to see the Lowell,
Elsie, as he had proposed, and 70
those obstinate wills the whole mat
ter would have dropped, for the las
thing the young people desired wa
to meet each other. But the young
man was of age, and the young lad,
also, and the property must be set
tied; and could not be until the mattel
was either on or off The Old law
yers in whose hands the affair rest
ed, knew the feelings of their wards
but they judged that meeting nigh
mend matters. At least, it was nee
essary that they should meet. S,
Harold, as in duty bound, was t.
cross the ocean to meet his betrothet
in America, and give her an oppor
tunity to refuse him.
The news Of his arrival brought in
to full activity those feelings of re
pugnance that Elsie bad conceive,
for Harold in her childhood. Sh
had for while resolved to yield t,
her dead fathers wishes, but now
she felt that it would be impossible
Yet there was enough worldly wis
dom in her head to teach her hoy
much better it was to be rich than t
be poor. If he refused her, her fort
une and his also would be her owl
by law. She would force him TO re
fuse her, aud then she would return
him his, and all would be as it should
But how could she do this?
The girl sat for a while in dec
reverie, and then arose and clappet
her hands together. A thought bat
struck her. There was in the hous
seamstress-a vulgar girl, as plail
as it was possible for a woman to be
and with as much concelt as an
young beauty was ever blessed with
Her rough manners had become pro
verbal amongst her own class, th
other servants speaking o. her gen
orally as Crusty Betsy. And tbi
| girl had of late been occupied in tn
room of her young mistress owe
some new dresses.
Straight to this apartment Elsi
flew, and locking the door, sat dow
opposite Betsy, and said, Il hav
something for you to do. Betsy, ant
III pay you well for II.
Just name it, then, mss sal,
Betsy.
When | was little glrl, Betsy,
said Elsie, poor papa promised tia
| should marry young gentleman
II