Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-09-04

so | came back last night and tn
same sort of presentiment compelle,
me to go to church. But tell me
Marco, once again, exactly what thi
fellow said
Beckwlnk, eager as ever 10 retail
news, then recountea in detail wha
had hitherto only been given in shor
and broken CALCULATIONS
You see, he went on, in his usua
airy and playful manner, when W.
all crowded into the yestry, and th,
reverend gentleman gets him into +;
corner and puts it to him, according
to the rubric, which runneth some
what to this effect-'At which da,
OF marriage, If any man do alegs
and declare any impeachment &c
then the solemnization, &c, 'mnsl
be Deferred &C., then the Hon. Jas
per q. Ruse explains himself.
must say / never saw fellow looa
so yellow; in fact, he was all eolors
and no wonder, for it was what his
conntrymen call "a tarnation fix (!
In two words, he says, Il canno,
marry that girl, for the simple reason
that she has black blood in heI
veins He declared that he had nc
idea of it until he saw her hand, Blu,
her delicate finger tips betrayed her.
The faint dark tinge which she has
beneath her nails,' he said, was 8
plain and unmistakable proof of her
origin / have always heard this il
the case. continued Beckwith. sand
that this sign never escapes the in
itiated and prejudiced eye of a
Northern American. / must do Mr..
Ruse the justice to say that he was
much moved, and once or twice
quite overcome. He said he had
fallen in love with her at first sight
that his affection had increased the
more he knew her, and he com.
planned bitterly that the forms OF our
English etiquette had forbidden any
approach TO those slight familiarities
which might have allowed him to
discover her secret before things had
gone SO far. He cited as an instance
the fact that he had never held her
hand for single moment ungloved.
Old Lady Tresselton never left them
alone together kept him at a dis
lance, on the noh me tanqere prin.
ciple, and always put him on his
best behavior. He cursed these
formalities of our society as the cause
Of the whole disaster for he went
on. with more dignity than | could
have given him credit for, sshatever
comes of it, however much my own
affections and feelings are wounded,
| reckon that my social status would
be gone forever in my country, set.
ting aside my own self respect, if
contracted an alliance with a woman
whose blood is tainted with that of
the negro, however far back Then
Ruse turned to Lady Tresselton's old
friend Hallar, whom she had got to
come to give the bride way, and said,
How Lady Tresselton is going to
make it out to her own conscience
for having hoodwinked me in the
matter | do not pretend to Judge,
sir; but when it comes to speaking
of insult calculate / am the person
who has been insulted and outraged;
and had it been you, Mr.. Hallar, who
had been the young girls guardian
instead of an old woman, and had
negotiated the affair from the begin.
ring as she did-well, sir, whatever
the law of your country may be, /
should have taken it into my own
hands, though you are an old man.
| cannot pretend to tell you fellows
continued Beckwith, 'halfthat passed.
There was such clamof and rattle
of tongues, never assisted at such
a scene in my life =
But broke in Hampden, SIS it a
fact? Do you suppose that that
sweet, pure, delicate complexioned
girl can have had any dark ancestry :?
Not that it matters rap to me.
would marry her this moment if even
she had grandfather as black as
ink; for, as | admit, never was so
hard hit before; aud the cookbook
ing young fellow rose from his chair,
flushed and thoughtful, and began
pacing the room.
Il quite agree with you, said Beck
with. what the deuce have you to
do with Miss Nays origin? She is
a thorough lady in every sense of the
word, delightful, charming, and if
you love her, that's enough isn't it !?
always provided she loves you.''
AT the same tlme,' said Hernehill,
we must remember, in justice to
Ruse, that he has been grossly de-
ceived, and that the Northerners do
not take this view of the subject.
The prejudice is utterly absurd, we
know; but to them it's a matter of
social ostracism, almost of life and
death and just now, while they are
at war with the South, they are
keener about the whole subject than
ever
Yes cried Beckwith /; 'to the
true Yankee, "a niger is pison when.
ever met | have never been in the
States myself; bnt fellows who have
tell me that he will not get into a
railway carriage-will barely go into
a room where niger is sitting.
And yet, by Jove, they are all for
letting them loose--the slaves,
mean. Well, free countryside as
you like-all right. dare say; but |
am no good at these things-don't
understand them
'Ah, slaves yes, to te sure,
cried Hampden, suddenly bringing
his restless pacing 70 and fro to a
standstill, as though a thought had
struck him. Have not heard that
Sir Hans Tresselton (the old woman Is
husband, you know at one time
owned large property in the Yves,
Indies ?-sugar canes and that sort
OF thing
Yes, certainly answered Beck.
wink :; sand It was to look after i,
that the only scion of the noble house
went out years ago, don't you know
and caught yellow fever, or had ID
I. or something, aud never came
back. | recollect hearing all abou
it when was a boy at Elton.
Them said Hampden, dropping