The Mineral argus., 1883-12-06
RICH OR POOR.

SAID old Mr.. SeWell. "Well, We heard
you wa thinkin' Of returnin' to Elm
Mountain. Bad pennies always come
back-ha! hal hal And you did not
make such a big fortune as you calcula-
ted, eh?"
Jerome Clay leaned over the old zig
gag rail fence and rubbed his eyes. Had
time stood still all these years while he
had been in the South For here was
Farmer Sewell IN the same old blue
checked overalls, with the same bat.
tered straw nat, the same wrinkles be-
tween his brows, driving the same old
red cows home through the twilight lane,
where the scent Of trampled spearmint
came up, and the melancholy notes of a
whippoorwill sounded family on the
purple silence.
And yet-and yet it was twenty odd
years since he had left Elm Mountain,
with all his worldly goods balanced in a
bundle on his back. He had been a
dashing lad Of twenty-one, then; there
we're silver hairs in his black locks, now,
and he left a dead past buried under the
sweet magnolia groves. And here was
NlObCb LGN0lf laot tAHC oiAA nc CNCAN
only a trife yellowerand more dried up.
Eyes" Clay said; quietly, 1--WE come
back. And you are right when you say
that fortunes don't grow on every bush."
"Goin' toiyour uLcle's house2" said MI.
Sewell, leaning over the bars. Hes
dead and buried, poor fellow. Always
| had a weak chest you know. And the
gals amt no younger. The three old
maids we call 'em-ha, ha, LA, hal"
And again the old farmer chuckled
himself into a state of semi suffocation.
Come in and see us" said he. my
daughter Aurilla," she's come back a
widow and does tailorin' and plain sewin.'
The old Woman's stone deaf but she's
dreadful quick at catchin' q persons
meaning!'
Aud of he trudged over the patches
| Of sweet smiling spearmint, his broad
figure vanishing Into the gloom like a
shallow.
Three old maids, eh2" repeated Jer-
ONE Clay to himself. "Clara and Bess,
and little Kate, the golden-haired beau
ty, the soft eyed poetess, the wild little
sprite who wasa mixture Of Undine and
Queen Nab. Then, surely, Father Time
has not atood still"
The light shOne out, as Of old, from
the red~-curtained easement, the great
uTt OIL OEH WAS OldLluk Oh NhC II .
and the three cousins greeted the re-
turned wanderer with unaffected
warmth.
They were changed, Of course. What
else could have been expected The
| beauty had grown sharp and freckled
and her lovely hairlhad lost its burrish.,
and che was no quite as tidy as she
used to be in the old days about her
ribbons and frills. Soft-eyed Bessie's
sweet voice had degenerated into a
whine; she had grown round-should-
cred and lost n of her front teath;
and lit lie Kate was a stout, middle-aged
woman, who reminded one OF Undine
no more.
But they were cousins still-the girls
who had played and romped and
hirted,with him in due arithmetical pro-
gression. And there still existed a bond
of steadfast friendship, and he told them
the story of the Southern wife who had
been buried for five years under the
magnolias, and they all sympathized
and beauty even cried a little.
81 have brought my three children
to the North" he said. 81 left them in
New York, and if can get some genu'
inc, whole-souled woman 10 take charge
of my home, IW thinking of settling
here in Elm Mountain. Clara, dear, yoU
used to be fond Of me in the old times
What do you say to undertaking the
charger"
The beauty seemed to grow smaller,
sharper, more business-like in a second
If cousin Jerome had come home a mil
l~ionaire, she would have jumped into
his arms.
But Clara Nicely was not Economically
inclined. To her, love in a cottage pos
sessed no charms.
81 couldn't Jerome she answered
quickly. "Tm not very strong, and
couldn't assume any responsibility oil
this arduous nature. Besides, I'm moi
fond OF children. Pm greatly obliged tC
you, Pm sure, but II rather not"
Jerome CLAY bit his lip.
"Of course" he said, sit is for you 10
decide. But il jessie"
The poetess shrugged her shoulders.
and laughed q light, sh~ril-soundinl
ca .hination.
cousin Jerome" said she, otis JUS
as well to be frank abyut these matters
l wouldn't marry a poor nan-not II
loved him like Romeo and Juliet. III
bad enough 70 scrape along az we do
here. with only half what one requires
to live on decently. But 10 plunge into
poverty, with two or three children be-
longing to another woman no, l thanh
you"
For time, as may easily be perceived
had eliminated a great deal Of poetica
element from Bessie Neely's soul.
The qamdam Undine did not wait fol
the question, as far as she was concern
ed but added, promptly, tn It she quit
agreed with her sister in all these mat
ters.