The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1880-05-29


He was a commonplace, hulking fell
low, with loutish manners, who had got
into bad money scrape, and had come to
me with no satisfactory story in his
trouble. knew nothing about himper-
sonally, but he had been in one OF the
colonies, where Alicc's husband is Pre-
nier or something of that sort, and Alice
Is my fayorite sister.
Il was an old compact between my sis
ter and me that we should never refuse
each other anything. We made it one
evening as we sat beside my poor mother
In the garden of her pretty dover house
mt Twickenham. My mother joined us
all three together, taking hand of each;
and, looking out upon a star which had
inst risen, she said, in the tender, loving
way she had: g Iwant you two TO prom
Use me something, and it's that in none
Of the chances or changes of life you
will either Of you say no to a request of
the other Remember my star shall be
the witness between you when | am
gone.' My mother had fancies Of her
own about the stars and had singled out
this one rs having some especial influ-
ence on her and those she held dearest
Then she knew that was apt to be mo-
rose, and that Alice had high spirit, SO
she wished us to assure her we would
never become estranged. We have both
kept the pledge that we made to her. 1t
was among the last her gentle spiritever
asked of us.
SO when Mr.. Jones bounced into my
study one morning, after tumbling over
my man-servant and folio of prints
which was leaning against the writing
table, and when he made known to me
that he was in sore distress for money, /
got IL into my head hat Alice had drawn
upon me at sight for thousand pounds
and that l must honor my sisters sigma
ture.
For 1t was thousand pounds he want
ed. l could make out as much as that
from his confused talk, which had a
strong resemblance to rigmarole cut into
short lengths of gasps and EXPLANATIONS.
1t was only when he saw me silently take
out my check-book and write draft for
the money that he began to grow profuse
and almost ineligible in his language,
He also pulled from the recesses of a
hard, stiff great coat a packet of greasy
parchments and threw them on the table
with loud thud.
q They are not worth much, I" he said,
growing crimson to the roots of his hair,
" but they are all have got, and so l
brought them. I can go through the le-
gal formalities Of conveyancing with your
solicitors IL you will instruct them to pre-
pare tile necessary papers"
i. There is no need Of anything furth-
err answered, coldly.
30, but there Is, though. Suppose
should die; you must have what l leave,
II there Is anything" remarked the man.
liked Mr.. Jones still less than before
after this speech. He.spoke in such a
bluff. coarse voice, and was so loud and
SO bumptious that his pretending to take
care of my interest only appeared to me
q piece of gratuitous impertinence. If
the image Of my mother and sister, al
most the last time we met together had
not started up before my imagination
with strange yividness l should have
said something rude. The fellows very
hair was antipathetic to me. 1t was
wiry, it was tousled, it was obstinate
hair, going the wrong way all over his
pate and forehead. felt a real sense of
relief when he Numbered out of my tran
quill library and left me to my pur-
suits. / was making notes for a new
edition of ia Rochefoucauld's Max
ims,'' which interested me very much
just then, and ! asked myself, with a
wry smile, whether l should be much
grieved il MFR Jones had a fit of
apoplexy before he could tumble his
way to the street door. Still, how
ever, my mother and sister seemed
to look reproachfully at me, and i could
not shake off the secret presentment that
my conduct would appear to Alice as
that of churl. We have all some soft
spot in our nature, and / held to my sis
ter's esteem not less than to her affec-
ton. Still, thousand pounds was q
rvund sum, and Mr.. Jones had got the
money when he asked for it. What
more could he want? Ineyer expected to
see it again, but in this part Of the bust
ness / was disappointed. He paid the