Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1880-02-25
NY WEDDING GIFT.

Since the time when our prime
val parents must first have regret
ted the fact of spectacles, wigs,
etc, not growing, like their tradi-
tioual fig leaf wardrobes, upon
trees, old age and eccentricity have
gone hand-in-hand l suppose. The
human brain Though not always
the human hesrtl undergoes a
hardening process at a certain Pc
Rod Of its existence, by means Of
which ideas are foSsilized into the
most adamantine preiudices; and
the mind shuts itself up, like an
oyster at the approach Of fnned
invaders, against the generally re-
ceived doctrines Of modern life.
Knight tell you many old-fash-
Toned "queernesses' about Grand
mamma Pendleton-peculiarities
and crochets that made her very
difficult person to get along with,
and often turned the visits which /
used 10 give her at that fine coun-
try house in Roxbury into any
thing rather than amusement or
relaxation. But, somehow, people
were inclined, as general rule, to
indulge grandmother's worst whims
and oddities, for the simple reason
that she could afford to despise
their resentment at them.
Grandmamma Pendleton was
very rich; and although she had
more than once publicly announc-
ed her intention Of leaving her
whole fortune to a certain charits-
bic asylum, I. her favorite grand
child, received this statement c,n,
crdno sails, or, in other words, !
didn't believe bit Of it.
Not that I wanted her to die,
that might become an heiress and
give up school-teaching, and wear
fine clothes, and all that sort of
thing. BY no means; for, besides
her being very close in money mat
tiers toward her numerous poor re-
latives, / loved my granmamma
dearly, and would not have OBJ
jected a particle if she had taken
it into her head to out-live all Of
rs. l never grumbled over her
parsimonious conduct but once in
nv life, although the family were
never tired Of doing so. The time
/ did grumble was on the occasion
of nv marriage with Matthew May
land.
"Of course used to say for
weeks before the marriage took
place, something to Matthew. and
more often 10 my own expectant
self-"of course grandmamma will
give me something superb for a
wedding present. True, she knows
/ am marrying well. and shall not
stand in any particular need of her
doing the munifcent ; but, then, /
have always been her favorite, and
believe her only reason for not
giving me q handsome present be-
fore now has been a fear Of caus-
ing jealousy among her other rela-
tives.'
I can remember very distinctly
In what a fiutter. Of excitement /
was on the evening grandmamma's
present was expected to arrive.
Not even my wedding was an af-
fair of sufficient importance to per-
init of her leaving Roxbury, and l
had lately received very genial,
congratulstory letter, written in
her tremulous seventy-year-old
hand, promising to send the bril-
dial gift, so that it might reach me
before my wedding took place.
The bridal gift i am afraid
that Matthew found me very in
attentive listener that evening, as
we sat together in the back parlor
of our shabbily furnished little
house in Thirty-seventh street, and
talked about the future.
mo more school teaching,
Helen Matthew was saying In
bis foud way; mo more struggling