St. Landry democrat., 1884-01-19
A FORTUNATE FAILURE.

Test Ended in Weddirg.
If you have map at hand giving ten
miles around the city. look carefully
along the outer edge and you will be
sure to see the village and perhaps the
very street where Lucy and Rachel
King live.
An enterprising and a busy man is
John King, the builder. He can see
from any window Of his house one or
another of his operations. Yet he is
not rich, but only on theway to become
so some day. His half dozen .opera-
tions'' are so much stock in trade, that
must be sold before he can pay for
them to the material and other men
who are interested with him.
John Kings family consists of his
wife, Eliza, their two daughters, Lucy
and Rachel, and son Joe, the boy-baby
of the family now twenty years old.
The family is wonderfully well con-
1rasted. The father is a busting, busy,
practical man, the mother both busy
and practical, but without any bustling
whatever. The Oldest daughter, Lucy,
is of light complexion, tall, viYacious;
her sister Rachel rather below the av-
erage height, of the middle complexion
and somewhat staid in manner Brother
Joe, young man of twenty, tall, slim,
given to minicry and practical Jokes.
You would never dream, looking at his
features in repose Shere in his last pho
tograph, that he could play SO many
pranks with them, twisting them into
caricatures of friends and foes with the
strictest impartiality. He has even
gone so far as to make game Of Richard
Stockton, but that was when he was
angry at Lucy, who had an increasing
interest in Richard.
This Richard Stockton was an ambi-
fious young draughtsman, not yet
tWenty-eight, tall, robust, with pleas
ant countenance. His was an inventive
genius. All his thoughts for the past
few years were concentrated upon an
improvement of an agricultural inlple-
ment, which would be invaluable to the
cultiyator and fortune for Richard.
Iwould not pretend to describe it for
you, even if you care to have me do so.
But for Richards sake viii say that
the full details and specifications are to
be found on page 246, volume Xxx, Pat
ee7st Office GGs9tte, and is numbered $751;
654, 1921, from which you will see that
invention is fiourishing business.
An additional incentive TO Richard, If
such were needed, was. Lucy King.
This young lady, who was fully as am
bilious as Richard, took d great interest
in his plans and praised and encour-
aged him in every way. They were
not formally engaged to be married.
but they might as well have been to all
who knew them; and the only reason
that induced these DISTINGUISHED third
persons to wait was shat Richard Stock
ton was going to make q fortune out of
3 patent in few months and then an
astounding wedding would take place.
This was precisely the tacit under
standing between Lucy and Richard.
OF his two daughters John King
thought snost of Lucy, and being of
that hard-headed variety called prac-
tical he did not look with any favor up
on the prospect of Richard becoming
his son-in-law. He had no faith in the
immediate fortune that was to be
poured out to this inventor and he
knew that two young people ike Lucy
and Richard would eventually marry,
success or no.
Beside that, there was much better
man wanting Lucy a keen, smart fell
low Dr.. Stone, who owned and edited
the village newspaper, called the Week
ls Cross Examiner He was q rising
man. and even now head and shoulders
above Stockton The doctor was
rather older man than he would have
chosen for Lucy, but forty is not so
very ancient, after al
An additional interest was created in |
the doctor from the fact that Joe was
employedupon the Weekly Cross EGaai-
i9aef. But Ii this fact helped the doctor
with the father, IL had the reverse eff
feet with the G4ugiter, for Joe thor
ou2,hlr dislsked the doctor, and some of |