Sharp County record., 1880-12-23

live i'm
Rather large for an old maid,
Auntie,n suggested, and I'm afraid
| Sha'n't have money enough to keep it
up"
"O!I shall leave you the interest on
my U. s. bonds. After you are dead |
want the capital itself to 90 toward an
endowment in the Theological Semi
nary, and my very idea in giving ii to
you is that you sha'n't be an old maid
You see, Blanche is coming on prodig-
iously and she monopolizes all your
young men. You are not SO sprightly
as you were once, and Blanche pushes
you to the wall; but just let them know
thatyou are an heiresS and we'll see the
tables turned. | should be glad of it,
too, though | always have had pre-
sentiment that you would be an old
maid.h
But, Auntie, l don't want any one
to marry me for money"
Now. Margaret, you are plenty old
enough to have good sense. Nothing
increases mans respect for his wife
so muck as Tor her to have
property; especially if he is a
little hampered himself, my dear. And
you've no idea how l shall enjoy it
while l am at the Poor-house to know
that"
"Auntie! Aunte! If you intend to
leave me these things in your a0iU you
won't be at the Poor-house when l have
them; and if you die there how can you
leave me anything?"
Aunt Prisca's eyes twinkled gleefully.
"You are a bright girl, Margaret, a
bright girl" she said, "but you don't
know everything yet. l intend you
shall go into that Doolittle house just
as soon as you can scare up husband,
though l don't intend to give it to you
out and out until l die. And as for the
matter of the Poor-house, leave that to
Providence and line. And Just remember
that never knew one of my Fremont
tions to fail-never.
l placed Aunt Prisca's basket of
goodies beside her in the street-car, and
returned to the house thinking that if
our house held a candidate for the in
sane asylum it was certainly not mother
but Aunt Prisca. | was a little sensi-
tive on the point of Blanche stealing
away my admirers. Aunt's random
shot was too near the truth. There was
George Sterling, young physician,
whom | had always counted on
as my staunchest friend. He
had not altogether deserted the
house, but when he came he devoted
himself entirely to Blanche, seemingly
obliviOus Of my presence. | think that
| am not Of jealous temperament and
could have borne the hard trial of CIV
ing up George to my sister had Blanche
really cared for him. but she was only
q giddy child, about whom mother and
l were extremely anxious. She was
only fourteen but she looked seventeen
was as pretty as peach and had
mothers ladylike air With all this
she was an ignorant little thing, pre-
ferring to keep novel under her desk
instead of studying her lessons and her
spelling, punctuation and capitals were
a disgrace to the family.
Blanche said Aunt Prisca one day
some time before this, "you remind me
very much of q cousin of your mother S
Pamela Sturtevant.
"Yes?" replied Blanche, interroga-
lively.
"She had just your complexion, just
your shade of eyes, and hair of a sam
pie with yours, and your mental char
acteristlcs are also OF piece. I've no
doubt your fate will be the same"
Blanche remembered to have seen a
miniature of pretty Pamela Sturtevant,
and was much hattered by the compari-
son. She moved her chair so that she
might glance at herself occasionally in
the dimity-draped mirror that sur
mounted Aunts dreSSing-table and in
quired sweetly:
"What were her special character
istics, Auntie? and what became of
her?"
"She was q fool" replied Aunt
Prisca, shortly, "and she eloped with a
butcher"
"Aunt Priscam
"YeS, my dear, q butcher. But of
course she did not know what his pro-
fession was when she married him. He
was Frenchman, and when he called
he was always dressed with perfect gen
.ility. She made his acquaintance at a
public ball, and she climbed out of the
pantry window one night and married
him. She came back with her little
bundle when she found out his busi-
ness, but her father sent her back
again. He said that slaughtering was a
respectable business and she might
count herself happy that things were no
worse"
1t was after my return from seeing
Aunt to the street cars that detected,
from my window, very peculiar per-
formance. Blanche slipped out of the
house and placed note in hollow of
the old elm that was quite accessible to
any one passing on the street. On the
lookout for Irritation, was about to de-
scend and capture the missive, when
George Sterling passed the house. He
colored as he touched his hat to me,
but he stopped before the lree and
drew the letter from the knot-hole, and
/ think was never so insulted in my
life as when he threw me kiss with it
with the audacity of gay cavalier.
This was carrying matters a little too
far. and I hurried to Blanche's room