Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1881-08-11

So, until its happy end,
Your life shall never lack a friend.
AN OLD NUISANCE. I"
Mind, 1 quote those three words
They are none of mine. Only, thinking
over three or four equally appropriate
titles, l chose the one l use as being
the oldest, and Railways had fancy fol
odd things. And now for my story.
On what my aunt (by 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, had been told, and SO had
been his father before him, and his
fathers father before that. That his
business in his most prosperous time
was intimately connected with China is
impressed upon my mind Il became an
inmate of his house when I was about
six years of age, in consequence of the
death Of both my parents within week
of each other. leaving me with no means
of support, and no other reiative) 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 mantels 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.
Noxr oaaordinr ~ o71 hova n Il
on the subject, real Simon Pure aristo-
Gratis look down upon trade even on the
grandest scale, and never have anything
to do with it further than once in while
marrying one of its sons or daughters
who have come into possession of mil
lions enough to offset the honor.
However, 05safi family Il venture to in
clude myself, none of my cousins being
within hearing) assumed all the airs Of
the blue bloods" of the old country.
Eleanor, our second, wore look o.
deep indignation for several days aftel
manly, clever, good looking fellow
the brother of one of her old school
mates, with considerable income, but
who was junior partner of firm keep
ing a retail store On Sixth avenue, pro
posed for her hand.
"The presumption of the man p she
exclaimed, raising her arched eyebrows
in astonishment, and curling her full rec
upper lip in scorn; '' to imagine for s
moment that because I honored hin
with my company to the opera two o.
three times, I would marry him If hil
business had been wholesale, it would
have been bad enough; but fancy per
son who sells pins and needles by the
paper and lace by the yardl Never
would die first"
Minerva, our fourth, was equally hor
! ror-stricken at the effroE terry of young
kEeeper whom her brother Lau-
xcauIhce had introduced into the family
cscircle "a rare thing for one of hel
brothers TO do, for, like all other men, a,
far as my limited experience goes, they
scarcely ever thought their companions
to be good enough to be the compan
ions of their sisters-when he venturec
to express his admiration for her. The
young man soon after succeeded to {
very handsome property, and became s
great swell-"a perfect too-too," as
believe the fashionable way of express
ing it now is-a kind of being after Mi
nerva's own heart; but she was never
invited to ride behind his fast horses,
and what was much worse, never agair
asked to take the head Of his table.
And in like manner the graceful and
enthusiastic professor of music, the stout
good -natured proprietor of the extensive
iron-works (s'wholesale and retail y on
the next block, the young artist, who
has since risen to wealth and fame, ano
sundry others, all falling short of the
aristocratic standard set up by ou1
family, were snubbed by my lady cousins
aided by their brothers, and not wholly
unassisted by their mother. Inever hae
had, at the time this story commences
being theninmy eighteenth year, chance
to snub any one; for, lacking the persona
attractions of my relatives, as well a.
their "high-toned" natures truth tc
tell, having decidedly democratic ten
dencies-I was kept in the background
Pon all occasions.
Let it be remarked in passing tha
Eleanor eventually married, when rathe,
an old girl, a widower, in the mill
business very wholesale, however ths
father of four children. At the sam.
time Mineryss few years younger
deigned to become the wife of al
elderly bachelor, something or other in
shoe manufactory. But they held thei
heads as high as ever, and declared the,
had sacrificed themselves for the family
uncle having failed for the second tim,
through no fault of his own, dear OLD
mana few months before the doubl
wedding.
That their sacrifice" was for th,
good Of the family I don't deny; bu
there still were left at home to be takel
care Of after their departure three oil
maids, young one, and two helples
young men, who, having been brough
up to do nothing, did it to perfection.
After the failure uncle got situation
as superintendent of one of the man
departments in the large establishment
of the gentleman who sold "pins an,
needles by the paper and lace by th
yard" (he was now head of the firm, an,
had a pretty, lady-like wife and tw
pretty children), and we dismissed on
of our servants and moved into a mucl
smaller house.
But in spite Of all our efforts at econ
&my our income proved vastly made
quate to our expenses, and this was th
cause of SO much bewailing al