The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-07-27
FASHION REPEATS ITSELF.

1, Robert Ogden, at twenty-fotir, wal
tolerably good looking youth, with 6
position in Wells & Bankers wholesale
store as bookkeeper at salary oi
seventy five dollars per month. Moth
ing very brilliant about all this, to b
sure but l think I should have felt
very well satisfied with my lot in life
had I never indulged in dreams Of sud-
den wealth-in other words, if had
never heard Of my rich Aunt Mahala.
Now unfortunately or fortunately, just
as Won please to consider it-T had not
only heard of her, but she was the
oracle to which our family listened on
all occasions. She was svinster OF
the severest type, but she was the pos
SCISSOR of two hundred thousand dollars
In good securities, and this, as you may
imagine, covered multitude of defects
When | was six years old aud my
cousins, Bert and jim Osgood, were
about the same age, Aunt Mahala an
nounced her intention of setting one rt
us up in business to the extent OF hall
her fortane when he, the lucky boz
should become twenty-five years
age. Whichever one of us best suited
her in general behavior and in tn,
choice of W f9 should be The favored
one, she declared. On that day m,
trouble commenced. Of course th,
choice of a wife had not vet entered my
youthful ina .ipation, but as | grew
into boyhood | manifested natura
desire to have as loud time as othe
boys, and this was tntire ly contrary {
Amt Mahala's strict id "a of propliety
The idea of your l,tting that DO,
go off with lot If other young loafer
to ride down hill till 10 o'clock q
night !! she would say to my mother
and for that wiuter, at least, my fun wa
spoiled, or elsa procured under tue
greatest difficulties. On, I hated Auht
Mahala in those days, and wished heI
thousand miles away!
When | was old enough to realize th,
immense help her money would be to
me, did, for time, try to please her
but her whims and her almost constant
interference provoked me beyond the
bounds of endurance.
"Let her keep her money! I de
clared wrathfuliy to my mother, who
was always expostulating against m,
impatience. "if Jim and Bert want to
get down on their knees to her they
can do so, but 1 am resolved to be
independent
Now all this sounded very fine and
felt every word of it /; at the same time
one hundred thousand dollars was
nice sum, and nothing would have
suited me better than to have it at my
disposal.
When obtained situation at Wells
& Bankers, Aunt Mahala for the first
time acknowledged herself pleased.
like to see young men get into
" siness," she said, emphatically
''There's nothing more disgusting than
to see young spris like yourself saun-
tering around with cane and cigar,
trying to make folks think he's man
when he don't know any more than a
baby"
Strangely enough, she advised all her
nephews to get married.
"Men are poor, miserable creatures
unless they have a sensible woman to
look after them and keep them from
making fools of themselves" she said
to me.
/ did not contradict this sweeping
assertion, but might just as we'll have
done SO, for che took up her last remark
exactly as if had.
always will be, for they always have
been"
Was that the reason you never
married one of them ?" 1 ventured TO
ask, although l knew that my chance
for the one hundred thousand would
sirk trifle thereby.
"None of your impudence, young
man refused better fellows than you
before was sixteen years old, because
they didn't know anything"
This was very fattering, but I mod
estly refrained from making any reply
whatever, and Aunt Mahala went on:
"The worst of it is the women don't
know anything nowadays "a shi tless,
lazy set, with no more common sense
than peacock. Why, when 1 was
young"
But recollected pressing engage
ment. and left the room.
It was about this time that l met Ray
AM dell. She was an only child, and
although her father was not wealthy he
was in possession of a good income; so
Ray dressed handsomely, went in the
best society and had every wish graft
fed. She was not beauty, strictly
speaking, but she had fresh, piquant
face that was more attractive than mere
regularity of features, and she knew
how to make herself irresistibly charm
ing to her. friends. Gay, stylish and
Inclined to flirt 1 fount her, but be-
meath it all she was pure and true and
womanly, and l loved her as I had
never even dreamed of loving any
woman.
l piucked up courage at last and told
her SO, although knew she could do
better as far as money was concerned,
unless, indeed, Aunt Mabala decided in
my favor, which at present seemed very