Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1882-10-19
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TOMS CHOICE.

We had Just finished breakfast, Ton
laid down the egg-spoon he had beer
playing with, and looked across Al
mother.
"Aunt Anne, I think I'll take a wife,
he said, exactly as he might have said,
81 think I'll take another cup Of coffee. y
Take a wife ?" repeated mother, by
no means receiving the information as
TRANQUILITY as it had been given. "Wha,
for %
"Well, don't know" answered Tom,
thoughtfully. "It's notion I've got
in my head somehow"
"Al nonsense |" said mother, sharply,
"Do you think so ?" said Tom, appar-
emily doubtful, but not in the least put
out.
"Think so? know it. What in the
world can you want of wife ? After all
these years we have lived SO comforta.
bly, together, to bring home somebody
to turn the house upside down! And,
then, what is to become Of that poor
child ?"
The "poor child that was red
dening at being brought into the srgu-
ment In this way, was about to speak
for herself, when Tom interposed,
warmly.
"Tm sure May knows I would never
have any wife that would make it less Q
home for her-don't you, May?"
"Of course" said l.
"And I'm sure she knows nothing OF
the Sort" persisted mother, "nor you
either, Tom Dean. How can you an.
swer for what a wife may take into her
head to do, once you get her fixed heref
You can't expect her to forget, as you
do, that May has no real claim on you. /"
That have no real claim on her,
suppose you mean, ma fam" Tom put in
for the second time, just as / was thor
oughly uncomfortable. "But, for all
that, intend to help her-that is"
added Tom, with one of his short sighted
blinks sideways at me, "as long as she'll
stay with me, eh, Mary? And whoever
has anything to say against that ar.
rangement will have to go out of my
house to say it-not that I'm afraid Of
any such result in this case-and, on the
whole, Aunt Anne, should like to try
the experiment.
Mother smiled grimly, but Ton. was
so evidently bent on his "experime 1t, u
as he called it, that she gave up the
argument.
"You can dance if you are ready tc
pay the piper" she said shortly. "And
pray, how soon do you mean to be mar.
ried :"
Toms face fell little at this question.
swell" said he, 81 can't say exact
ly. / suppose we will have to be en-.
gagged first"
"What y said mother, opening her
eyes; "why, you never mean to say,
Tom, you haven't spoken to her yet ?"
"Not yet, answered Tom, cheerfully.
Time enough for that, you know, after
had spoken to you"
else, should say he was cracked but
you were never like other people, and
never will be, Tom Dean. But, at least,
you have fixed on the lady ?"
ooh, yes" answered Tom; "but il
you will excuse me, Aunt Anne, would
rather not say anything about her just
yet; for-if-if anything should happen
it wouldn't be pleasant for either party,
you know" With which yelled allusiorni
to his possible rejection, Tom took his
hat and left the room.
Our household was rather queerly put
together. There is no particular reason
why should have been of it at all. for
L was not really related to Tom, nor even
to "mother," as l called her, though I
am sure we were as dear to each other as
any mother and daughter could be. She
was the second wife of my father, who.
like most ministers, had been richer in
grace than in goods, and left us at his
death with very little to live on. Then
it was that Tom Dean had come forward
and insisted on giving a home to his
aunt and to me, whom he had scarcely
seen dozen times in his life before.
That was exactly like Tom" queer
Tom Dean" as his friends were fond of
saying, "who never did anything like
anybody else." l suppose, in spite OF
his clear head for business, there is no
denying that he was whimsical; but am
sure, when | think OF his unfailing gen.
crosby and delicacy, can't help wish
ing there were few more such whim-
steal people in the world. Naturally, at
the time | am speaking of, my opinion
had not been asked; ali / had to do was
to go where mother went, and, while she
gave her energies to the housekeeping,
Igive mine TO growing up, which by this
time l had pretty well accomplished.
But perhaps for that very reason-fcr one
sees with different eyes at IL and 1S-
my position in the house had already
begun to seem unsatisfactory TO me; and
the mornings words put it in a clearer
light, since it had been used as an argu.
ment against Toms mlrrying. l knew
that mother had spoken honestly, be-
lieving that such step would not be
for his happiness but was he not the
best judge of that? / knew him, If re-
Election should bring him round to her
opinion, to be perfectly capable of quiet
ly sacrificing his own wishes for my
sake, who had not the shadow of claim
upon him /; so it must be my part to pre-
vent his own kindness being turned
against him now. Still, it was not so
easy to see how was to provide for my
self in case it should become advisable.
What could 1 do? Draw and sing and
plsy tolerably, but net in manner to
compete with the hosts that would be
in the field against me. Literature?
had read so many stories whose heroines,
with turn of the pen, dashed into
wealth and fame. That would be very
nice, only-I was not the least bit liter
airy; / had never even kept a journal,
which is saying a great deal for girl In
her teens. The fine arts, /" then, being
out of thequestion for me, whatremained?
There was some clerkship, or place in
some family, and land there was Will
BROMLEY
That may seem like going away from
the point, but it was not / was mat
ter-of-fact, but | could see well enough
what was going ON right under my eyes,
and / had pretty clear idea of what
was bringing Will to the house so often
as he had taken to coming lately. There
was situation" then, that would
give me the home life I liked best and
felt myself best suited for but-would
il answer in other respects? / overcast
the long seam / was Sewing twice over,
/ was so busy trying to make up my
mind whether / liked Will BROMLEY
well enough to pass my whole life with
him and even then / mad not come TO
any decision, when / was called down
stairs to Lefty Walters.
Lefty was the pretiiost, Think, Of ali
my friends, and certainly the hyeliest.
Tom called her " the tonic" and used
to laugh heartily at her bright speeches.
Isuppose it was this that made mother
fix on Lefty as his choice. When ]
came into the sitting room found kind
OF cross examination going on. 1t was
amusing to anybody in the secret, as ]
was, to watch mothers artful way of con-
tinually bringing the conversation round,
as if by chance, TO bear on what she
wantad 10 know. But IL al Amounted "a