Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-07-24
IAN OLD NUISANCE"

are none of mine. Only, thinking over
three or four equally appropriate titles, L
chose the one use as being the oldest;
and always had fancy for odd things.
And now for my story.
On what my aunt 10y marriage) and
her family founded their claims to aris-
tocracy l never could discover. My uncle
had been merchant, it is true, and one
of considerable prominence in his day, L
have been told, and so had been his father
before him. That his business in his
most prosperous time was intimately con-
nected with China is impressed upon my
mind Il became an inmate of his house
when | was about six years of age, in
consequence of the death of both my par
ents within week of each other, leaving
me with no means Of support, and no
other relative) by the fact that every first
of June saw bright new mattings laid on
our floors, to remain there until cold
weather came again, and that our man
tells and what-nots were decorated with
many pretty, dainty, little porcelain cups,
thin as egg shells-rarities in those days,
but in these plenty and cheap enough.
Now, according to all have learned
on the subject, real Simon Pure aristo-
Gratis look down upon trade even on the
grandest scale, and never have anything
TODD with it further than once in while
marrying one of it's sons and daughters
who have come into possession Of mill
ions enough to offset the honor.
However, our family Il venture to in
clude myself, none Of my cousins being
within hearing) assumed all the airs of
the s'blue bloods" of the old country.
Eleanor, our second, wore look OF
deep indignation for several days after a
manly, clever, good-looking fellow, the
brother of one of her old schoolmates,
with q comfortable income, but who was
Junior partner of q firm keeping retail
store on Sixth Avenue, proposed for her
hand.
''The presumption of the man!'' she ex-
claimed, raising her arched eyebrows in
establishment, and curling her full red
upper lip in scorn: "to imagine that be-
cause | honored him with my company
to the opera two Or three times, | would
marry him! If his business had been
wholesale, it would have been bad
enough; but fancy person who sells pins
and needles by the paper, and lace by
the yard. Never! l would die first!"
Minerva, our fourth, was equally hor-
or-stricken at the effrontery of young
ook-keeper whom her brother Lawrence
had introduced into the family circle-a
rare thing for one of her brothers to do,
for like all other men, as far as my limit
ed experience goes, they scarcely ever
thought their companions to be good
enough to be the companions of their
sisters-when he ventured to express his
admiration for her. The young man
soon after succeeded to very handsome
properly, and became a great swell-ta
perfect too-too," as | believe the fashion
able way of expressing it now is-a kind
of being after Minerva's own heart; but
she was never invited to ride behind his
fast horses, and what was much worse,
never again asked to take the head of his
table.
And in like manner the graceful and
enthusiastic professor of music, the stout,
good proprietor of the extensive
iron-works on the next block, the young
artist, who has since risen to wealth and
fame, and others, all falling short of the
aristocratlc standard set up by our fami-
ly, were snubbed by my lady cousins,
aided by their brothers and not wholly
unassisted by their mother. never had
had, at the time this story commences,
being then in my eighteenth year, a
chance to Snub any one, for lacking the
personal attractions of my relatives, as
well as their heightened natures truth
to tell having decidedly democratic ten
dencies-I was kept in the background
on all occasions.
Let it be remarked in passing that Ele-
amor eventually married, when rather an
old girl, a widower in the milk business
very wholesale, however-the father of
four children. At the same time Miner
va, few years younger, deigned to be-
come the wife of an elderly bachelor,
something or other in a shoe manufac-
tory. But they held their heads as high
as ever, and declared they had sacrificed
themselves for the family, uncle having
failed for the second time, through no
fault Of his. dear old man, few months
before the double wedding
That their sacrifice was for the good of
the family don't deny; but there were
still left at home to be taken care of after
their departure three old maids, Young
one and two helpless young men who,
having been brought up to do nothing,
did it to perfection.
After the failure, uncle got situation
as superintendent of one of the many de-
partments in the large establishment of
the gentleman who sold ''pins and nee
dies by the bunch and lace by the yard"
The was now the head of the firm, and
had pretty, lady-like wife and two pref
ty children) and we dismissed one of our
servants and moved into much smaller
house.
But in spite of all our efforts at econo-
my, our income proved vastly inadeouate
to our expenses. and this was the canse of
SO much bewailing and bemoaning that
our house seemed to be bereft of ali SIM.
shine and .gladness. And one evening
after Ethel our youngest daughter. had
burst into tears because aunt had declared
it would be impossible to have ice-cream
meringues, wine-jellies and similar dain,
ties every day for dessert, for the two
sufficient reasons that we couldn't afford
them and our present cook couldn;t make
them, / ventured to suggest to the ween.
ing damsel that if she found life positive.
ly unbearable without the above men