Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1882-05-30

| it was clear there were strangers present.
These latter were Mr.. Josiah Blagden
and his sister. Mr.. Blagden did not
impress me favorably. He was stout,
aorid-complexioned man, remarkable tor
the extreme breadth of his white waist
coat and for the profusion Of jewelry dis
played thereon.
"a safe man, my dear sir; a very
safe man." said Mr.. Spalding to me at
lunch. "why, suppose his turnover
is about half million a year-the iron
trade, you know" added the old gentle.
man by way of explaining that Mr.. Blas-
den was one of the metal kings Of Eng
land.
"Self-made man, too" said Mr.. Spal-
ding, "began life as foundry-boy.'
From what saw Of Mr.. Blagden with
in the next few weeks, his origin could
have been pretty accurately guessed from
the manner in which he imported the
"foundry boys" manners into the sphere
in which his industry and success had led
him. He was essentially vulgar man,
who bullied his sister, meek, silent lit
tie woman, with q good heart and q
kindly nature, as l discovered later on
As we drove home from lunch that day
Jim was strangely depressed. l guessed
4, his thoughts pretty accurately, for he
hurst out into TRADE against Mrs. Spal-
ding on our arrival at home.
II shouldn't wonder, Regy," said he,
"if that fellow Blagden has been invited
down here as sui.or for Nelly. He's q
friend of Mrs. Spaldings know, because
she harself comes from the BLACK Coun-
try"
inns state of mind from the moment
he broached this theory may be better
imagined than described. For the next
three weekes I am bound to say that his
temper was well-nigh uncomfortable. One
evening at dinner. at Mount Grove l iei'
half afraid that he was going to inh'ct
! nersonal chastisement upon Mr.. Blagden /;
a feat that | should much have reJolced
to see skillfully performed, after the 'ron'
m ,s,ers coarse invectives against the
medical profession, which had been call
ed forth during some argument concern
inc doctors fees. Nelly's attitude tow
ard Jim appeared to have undergone no
percep,ible change. She was loving and
gentle as before; but fancied that MIS-
Spalding contrived dexterously to keep
Mr.. Blagden and Nelly as frequently to-
eether as possible and thus Jims tele-
a.tetes were reduced to miserable min'
;mum. Worst of all, as jim remarked
to me one day, Nelly had confessed that
her stepmo,her had on more than occa.
sion hin,ed that Mr.. Blagden's visit and
stay were not solely prompted by friend
ship to her parents. Mrs spalding was
in other words, clever woman, playing
nice little game Of diplomacy and
while keeping on the most friendly terms
with jim, was to my mind turthenns
her own aims and ideas Of matnmon'
! ;sl alliance Tor Nelly with the eideri!
| ;nn founder. know that most OF my
/ leaders will say that Miss Spald'ne
should have settled the matter for her
seIf and have given Mr.. Blagden to un'
der,,a, ID that his attentions were unwei
come ant hopeless. But as | remarked
before we are not all cast in one mould
and the most loving natures may some
times be coer,.ed by what seems to o'
their duty, into self-sacrifice OF the mos
unreasonable kind, and which can oni.
entail misery in the end.
So things went on at Rockhampton
with diplomacy at Mount Grove and de
spair at No. IA High Street, where Dr
lame, Brooke announced his willingness
to relieve the afflicted daily from 10 to |
A. NJ, and from 6 to N. l had oeel
sitting cogitating over matter, one eve
, ming, at Red Lion-Jim having oeel
called to distant part Of the parish
when an idea, founded, l believe, on
ouo,.t;o n from an old French author oc
CURED to me-. The quotation was to tn
effect that "wh en- moral suasion fails iron
any cause to chan. -e an opinion, it is law
full to appeal to the most trivial OF ou
en-, smo,ioa'l" ii H.uDy II id. =! thought I.
shall see whether or not / can work
out the advantage of DR.. Jal "' o.'
and-shall / add TITO the c, 'n'u''o'
of Josiah Blagden, Esquire.
Morning, noon and night find me bu '
in the old church. lam hard at work on
a canvas, in which the interior of the ed
i6ce grows under my brush day by day
There are no sounds of the "Kyrie" now
nor are the jubilant strains of Mendels-
sohn heard, as on q bright sunny day moi