Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1879-07-01
THE TIDAL WAVE

"Larnin' p said Obadiah Beales, witt
a contemptuous sniff, as he threw dowr
an armful of scrags that were intended
to replenish the none too generous flame
in the open fireplace" larnin'! Whats
the good of it? There amt no need O
it, as [ can see; an as for keepin' Hetty
Moriah any longer at that ere school
an payin' such big bills, l jest amt a.
goin to do it,
"Now, Diah," demonstrated Mrs
Beales, ''you know there ain t no schools
here fit to send our gal to, an we won't
be doin' our duty by her unless we give
her good eddication. How proud
we'll be of Hetty when she comes home
with diploma, an is able to hold hel
head as high as any O Squire Kings
darters!''
Now, Mandy" said Obadiah, as he
seated himself in low rush bottomed
chair, GO there amt no use of our tryin
to hold candle to Squire King folks
They amt our kind, an we amt nc
businesst to copy after 'em." II "
Mandy sighed. but not because she
was convinced of the correctness of he1
husbands opinion. She was an ambi-
tious woman-more ambitious for her
only child, Hetty Moriab, than for her
self, or Obadiah, whom it was impossi-
BILE to move. from the old traditions. He
was a parsimonious fellow. rho had in
herited more land than he was able to
pay taxes upon. and followed in. the
footsteps of his predecessors so literally
that those who had ever. seen old Amos
Beales, or the deacon, his son. would
know that Obadiah came of the same
stock. Graces may not be transmitted,
but oddities are handed down from
generation to generation. 80
Mandy Beales was accustomed to
these remonstrances from her husband,
especially after the receipt of the quar-
terly bill for Hetty's tuition; and as she
drew the mock orange from the toe of
he sock she was darning, she had time
to collect her thoughts and make an
other appeal to paternAl pride.
"We've as good a right to do as well
by our own child as Squire King does by
his'n, ''.said Mrs. Beales, plunging her
needle into the ragged edge'of a hole the
dimensions Of which were rather dis
couraging to the feminine refcrmer; for
it4ooked as If, when the wearer of the
sock set his foot down, he was likely to
keep it there firmly until something
gave way, :. You amt as proud as, you
ought to be of Hetty Moriah.n q Fs G
II am. too," said Obadiah, doggedly.
The trouble is, we're too proud an if
we go to settin' her up an putin high
tangled notions into her head, she won't
think we're fit to 'sociate with, or that
anything in Crowfeld is good enough
for her. When she was ter home last
vacation she thought the old house
wasn't fit to live i'm
well, 1T amt, y said Mandy, with
considerable spirit. "You know i amt
never had coat of paint on it since we
lived here, nigh on ter twenty years, an
the roof leaks like riddle, so that them
upper chambers amt no use at all, 'cept
in clear weather. s.-z-
ssWel1, It costs money to be maxim
improvements all the time" said Oba-
diah, to whom Mandy's suggestions and
hints were like water on aduck's back.
''It costs like Jehu; and what's good
enough for me is good enough for my
children. But that amt ALL he con-
tinued, the allusion to his. own neglect
of duty increasing his consciousness of
Hetty's shortcomings; the last time
she was ter home she turned UP her nose
more'n ever at Tom Kennedy; an gal
don't know which side her breads but
tered on when she snubs such Teller as
that" EE 9F& -
"Tom Kennedy!n said Mandy, with
much Che same emphasis and more than
the amountof scorn Obadiah had thrown
into the !" larnin'n with which he began
the discussion. Tom Kennedy, in
deedi j hope Hetty WON'T take up with
any of that trash. Not but what he's
good enough as far as disposition goes,
an clever enough, maybe; but he amt
neverlgoin' to set the river on fire."
% Well who wants him TOP Hetty
Moriah may do worse than to marry
Tom Kennedy, who amt nobody's foo" !"
The discussions in the Beales family
generally began with Hetty Moriah, and
ended with Tom, who h ad long. served
as bone of contention. He had been
in the habit of dropping in Evenings
ever since Hetty Beales had been old
enough to 90 out in company, and kept
it up, notwithstanding the daughters
absence, quite oblivious of the fact that
Mrs. Beales, who welcomed him as a
guest, was opposed to him as son-in-
law. He had known Hetty ever, since
she was a. little girl-had grown up with
her, in fact--and always acted the part
of an elder brother, and it was quite
natural that be should want to hear OF
her progress at school and the interest
ing items with which she flied the
letters Mrs. Beales very kindly made a
point ct reading to him.,
Tom himself was not what you might
call a cultivated gentleman, but he had
seen a great deal of the world, was
shrewd and observing, and had his
mind rt0rad with a FIND of ocporo1 ~
formation, that made him excellent
company for those who seldom took the
trouble to read even q newspaper. To