Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1880-09-22

Chalmers, sometime rector If Gill
thwaite' in a the county of Durham
Did I ever tell you the history of Lucy
Gedge? All we'll, it is sad one, but
strangely interesting for all that; SO stir
the fire, my boy-the nights get colder,
this spring, instead Of warmer-and light
your pipe, and you shall hear it.
Poor Lucy! If you had seen her even
rs l last saw her You would have said
that she was just the girl to make an
honest man happy, and to live out
placid, honorable life Of wife and moth
erhood without any great trouble or even
excitement to disturb it; she was such
an innocent, pretty lass. It was notat all
the sort OF face that man would dream
of as being connected with tragedy, but
I doubt if you ever heard OF bitterer
tragedy than That I have to tell you.
Do you remember Morbeck Hall, the
great house yOu exclaimed at when we
were driving yesterday, though you
could only get a glimpse of it in the dis
lance through the trees? That was
Lucy's home, and it has been on my
mind to tell you about her ever since.
She was my niece on the mothers side,
for the last of the Gedges of Morbeck, as
old family as any between Tweed and
Trent, married my youngest sister; it
was lovely fact to be sure, for she had
not a silver, though you know, lad, the
Chalmers are as good a line as any in
the countryside; and they were happy
couple, God rest them! But there was
never but one child, my niece and grand
daughter Lucy, and her dear mother was
taken when she was but little bit of a
thing; so she grew up her fathers pet
and Plaything, and his chief companion;
for he would not put any other woman
in my dead sister Marian's place-and
the older she grew the BONNER she be-
came, till what with her beauty. and
what with the tales of her fathers wealth.
the heads of half the young men in the
country were turned by the heiress of
Morbeck. = o#* :,
Well, 50 it fell out that, just before
she grew to nineteen, old John Gedee
died, and when his will came to be read.
it was found that Lucy, as was lust.
would inherit everything when she came
OF age, saving a few legacies to old SER
wants and the like; but meanwhile she
was left under the joint guardianship of
myself and her fathers sister, Mrs. Pos
tlethwayte, and could not marry without
our joint consent. OF course the child
could not come to the rectory here, with
no companion but an old bachelor like
me; besides it seemed wrong that the
hall should be shut up so long as there
was one of the race to live in it, so it was
arranged that this aunt of hers should
come and live there with her, as chape-
ron and whatno She made great talk,
did Aunt Postlethwayte, about the sac
rifice she was making for the sake of her
family, in burying herself in such an out
of-the-way corner of the world; but for
my part I thought she was the luck of
it, to be living at rack and manager at
Morbeck Hal, with such companion
as my dear lassie, instead of eking out
her widows jointure amongst lot Of old
tabbies in some stuffy London street,
But to do her justice, 1 think the woman
meant vel, and she was kind to Lucy
after fashion Of her own, for I do be.
heve she loved the poor child as much
as she could love any one but herself
After all, she was Gedge of Morbeck
and noblesses oblge you know, my boy
She was just one OF those women dare.
say you have seen plenty of them in Lon
don-who can't forget at fifty that the,
were beauties at half the age, and who
have managed by hook and by crook t.
get their own way all their lives. sup
pose her husband knocked under fo1
peace and !quietness' sake, and she never
had any children to worry, SO she came
to domineer over Lucy with oil the de-
light Of having found new pastime.
remember one time when she was i'll
and, like the obstinate fool, she. was
wouldn't obey the doctor; she said sht
had had her own way all her life and wa.
not gong to be contradicted at her time
OF life! [ thought should have choket
when that slipped out; but it was NJ
laughing matter, lad, the mischief sh,
made through that "way" of hers. =
Wen, to make long story short, tn,
aunt had firmly determined that he,
niece should marry some scrapegrace g
fellow whose name I don't remember
and don't want to- never saw. him
his Chief Recommendations were. q bro
Ken Ken constitution, an empty purse, dis
tant relationship to the late Tom Pos
tlethwayte, and an old title. so MADAM,
had settled that bonnie Lncy, Gede,
should be my lady, and holster up M
lords fallen fortunes With The broae