The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1882-08-16
FASHION REPEATS ITSELF.

~
/, Robert Ogden, at twenty-four, was
q tolerably Rood-looking youth, with
position in Wells & Bankers Wholesale
store as bookkeeper at a salary of
seventy five dollars per month. Moth
ing very brilliant about all this. to b,
sure but l think / should have felt
very well satisfied with my lot in life
had never indulged in dreams of sud-
den wealth-in other words, il l had
never heard of my rich Aunt Mahala.
Now unfortunately or fortunately, just
as vou please to consider i'll bad not
only heard of her, but she was the
oracle to which our family listened on
all occasi, MS. She was spinster 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 a multitude of defects.
When was six years old and my
cousins, Bert and Jim OsRood, were
about the same age, Aunt Mahala an
nouncod her intention of setting one oi
us up in business to the extent OF hall
her fortune Nhen he, the lucky boy.
should become twenty-five years
age. Whichever one OF us best snited
her in general behavior and in the
choice OF o W fe should be the favored
one, she declared. On that day my
trouble commenced. OF course the
choice of wife had not vet entered my
youthful ima0ination. but as grew
into boyhood / manifested natural
desire to have as good time as other
boys, and this was entirely contrary to
Aunt Mahala's strict idea of propriety.
"The idea of your letting that boy
60 of with lot of other young loafers
to ride down hill till 10 o'clock at
night !" she would say to my mother,
and for that winter, at least, my fun was
spoiled, or else procured under the
greatest difficulties. Oh, hated Aunt
Mahala in those days, and wished her
q thousand miles away
When was old enough to realize the
immense help her money would be to
me, l 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! / de.
clared wrathfally to my mother, who
was always expostulating against my
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 II J.; at the same time
one hundred thousand dollars was a
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
lime acknowledged herself pleased.
like to see young men get into
I" siness," she said, emphatically.
There's nothing more disgusting than
to see young sprie like yourself saun-
tering around wi h a cane and cigar,
trying to make folks think he's a man
when he don't know any more than 8
baby"
Strangely enough, she advised all hei
nephews to get married.
HMen are poor, miserable creatures
unless they have a sensible woman tC
look after them and keep them from
making fools of themselves" she said
TO me.
1 did not contradict this sweeping
assertion, but l might just as we'll have
done so, for she took up her last remark
exactly rs il had.
"Yes, fools-perfect foolsl They
always will be, for they always have
been"
Was that the reason you never
married one of them ?" 1 ventured tC
ask, although knew that my chance
for the one hundred thousand woulC
sink trifle thereby.
"None of your impudence, young
man refused better fellows than yoJ
before I was sixteen years old, because
they didn't know anything"
This was very fattering, but mod
estly refrained from making any repl.
whatever, and Aunt Mahala went on:
"The worst of it is the women don
know anything nowadays-a shiltless
lazy set, with no more common sens
than a peacock. Why, when I was
young"
But recollscted a pressing engage
ment. and left the room.
II was about this time that met Ra,
Ansdell. She was an only child, anC
although her father was not wealthy h.
was in possession of good income; 81
Ray dressed handsomely, went in tn
besi society and had every wish graft
She was not a beauty strictl,
I...f. AZ. 1.oI 1. frnah a.fn4.ns.