The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1884-01-24
A sort of family shipwreck had

| UlfSiJ Joob9 AA1 SS@iS, 'Ao-A - S>>
invalid father, large house, ant
very little money. What more
natural determination than to take
boarders? And among the frs
were Mr.. Crawford and his sor
and sister, who had just beer
wrecked themselves by the death
of the wife and mother in foreign
land-one of those sudden, unex
pected deaths, that leave the sur
vivors in a dazed condition, because
it is so difficult to imagine the gay
wording who has been called hence
into another state of being.
Mr.. Crawford was one of my ad
mirations from the first. Tall, pale
with dark hair and eyes, he re-
minded me of Dante, only that he
was handsomer; and he had such
a general air of knowing every
thing worth knowing without the
least pedantry. however) that I was
quite afraid of him. He was evi-
! dently wrapped up in John, and
| patient to his sister-which was
! asking quite enough Of Christian
charity under the sun, for Mrs.
Shellgrove was an unmitigated nui'
sance. Such q talker! babbling
of her own and her brothers affairs
with equal indiscretion, and treat.
ing the latter as though he were an
incapable infant.
They stayed with us three years
and during that time I was fairly
prosecuted about John. Mrs. Shell
grove wrote me a letter on the sub
feet, in which she informed me
that the whole family were ready to
receive me with open arms-a pros
pect that / did not find at all al
Turing. They seemed to have their
hearts set upon me as a person
peculiarly fitted to train John in the
way he should go. Everything, ]
was told, depended on his getting
the right kind of q wife.
A special interview with Mr.
Crawford, at his particular request
| touched me considerably.
Il hope," said he, "that you will
not refuse nv boy, Miss Edna
He has set his heart SO fully upon
you, and you are everything that l
could desire in q daughter. l want
some one to pet, / feel sadly lone,
lly at times, and l am sure you
! would fill the vacant nich.'
l drew my hand away from his
caress, and almost felt like hating
John Crawford. Life with him
would be one of ease and luxury
but I decided that | had rather
keep boarders.
Not long after this the Cranford's
concluded to go to housekeeping.
and Mrs. Shellgroye was in her
glory. She always came to lun'
cheon in her bonnet, and gave min
ute details OF all that had been
done and talked Of about the house
in the last twenty-four hours.
'.It is really magnificent" said
she lengthening out each syllable.
Brother has such perfect taste.
And he is actually furnishing the
library, Miss Edna, after your sug.
gestion. You s. ) we look upon
you quite as one CO the family
s"That is very good Of you,' | re-
piled, shortly; but 1 certainly have
no expectations of ever belonging
to it"
Mrs. Sheligrove laughed as
though l had perpetrated an ex'
cellent joke.
young ladies always deny these
things, Of course; but John tells a
different story
ratified the cups and saucers
angrily; and my thoughts flew of,
not to John, but Johns father, sit,
ting lonely in the library furnished
after my suggestion. Wasn't it.
after all, my duty to marry the
family generally
The house was finished and
moved into, and John spent his
evenings with me. 1 useG to get
dreadfully tired Of him. He was
too devoted to be at all interesting.
and I had reached that state OF
feeling which, if summarily ordered
to take my choice between him and
the gallows, / would have prepared
myself for the latter with q sort OF
alacrity.
l locked the door upon John on
the evening in question, when ] had
finally got rid of him, with these
things in force; and 1 meditated
while undressing Oh some desperate
move that would bring matters to 8
crisis.
But the boy had been reused al
last. He, too, had reflected in the
watches of the night; and next day
7 received quite a digniied letter
from him, telling me that business
called him from the city for three
or four weeks, and that possibly or
his return / might appreciate his
devotion better.
felt inexpressibly relieved. II
appeared to me the most sensible
movement that John had made il
| the whole course of our acquain
tance, and / began to breathe witt
more freedom.
Time few, however, and the three
weeks heightened to six, without
Johns return. He wrote to me
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