The Indianapolis journal., 1885-08-22
Printed by Special Arrangement srih the Author.
RICHING Us. PROVIDENCE.
By LOUISE CHANDLER MoULToN..
Copyrighted 1885 by s. S. McClure-An
Rights Reserved.
A 8 T Q r Y.

Jacob Riching sat alone in his solid, old
fashioned house. in Washington Square Fash
ionable New York had moved up town, but
Jacob Riching had no idea of following He was
q stern, hard man, not fond of change. His
father before him had lived and died in Wash
ipg:on Square, and there had Jacob Riching
passed his long life.
tie was not a man given to retrospect, and 1t
was an odd thing in his experience that, on this
evening of Dec. 81, 1888 memory should have
taken his unwilling hand and led him quietly
backward, all through the long and lonesome
years, to the old time when he, even he, was a
young fellow and sat- on such night as this,
before the fire, with his mother at one corner of
the hearthstone and his father on the other, and
ne between them, was dreaming to the tune of
their droning talk his own dreams.
They were solid dreams, solid enough, even
then Poetry had never wooed him, art en-
thralled him, nor even romance touched him with
her glamour He had passed the two years
since he left school in his fathers business, and
his dream was that at some not far distant day
he should be made partner and the old sign
Of 'Richine's" should be taken down and new
one of 'Riching & Son" put up in its place.
People would not be long in learning that the
new sign meant new fashions. He would extend
the business far and wide, and they would find
there was new life in the old concern
And that next year his business education
went forward so rapidly that his father grew
into almost habit of looking up to him; and,
as it happened that Oh New Years day he would
1a III hat hot
the old sign should come down and the new one
60 up, and "Riching & Son" should take their
place among the business houses of New
York, on the 1st of January, 184O. Adver-
tisements III the papers had heraded the
coming event. James Riching had made a
speech to the men he employed, and told them
that from the next morning his sons authority
would be equal with his own. Yet after all it
never came to pass That very night of Dec 81,
1889, as if death had a grudge against well-laid
human plans sudden apop!exy called James
Richng out of this perplexing world, and his son
reigned in his stead, ,nd the sign was still ''Rch
ing'sn
Jacob Riching was wonderfully bright fell
low from a business point of view, but all the
same he would have been very much at loss in
those days but for the aid of his fathers head
boOkkeeper young man himself Of not more
than twenty eight, but thoroughly familiar with
every detail of the business. People made plans
for young Riching as people always do make
plans for their neighbors OF course, they said,
he would take Shines into the business. Simes's
ital, and it would be o good thing all round.
~, t.
ing or his commercial ambitions. He raised
Tom SImess salary and made it quite worth the
book keepers while to stay on, but he himself
was the moving spirit of all and remained sole
master,
In his secret thoughts he resolved that the
firm name should never be changed until son
of his own should be ready to come into it. He
had much the same kind of pleasure, perhaps, in
the thought of handing down his name and
business from generation to generation, that
the head Of ducal house might have in trans
mitting to the direct heir of his body his title
and estate.
For dozen years after his fathers death he
did not get time to marry. His mother sat at
one corner Of the fire. and he sat in his fathers
place at the other, and everything in the house
went on with such monotonous regularity, and
one year was so like another, that he hardly
realized how they were gliding by him until
aftear a winter of slow Decline death took away
the widow Riching and brought her face to
face. rather abruptly, with the final goal to
which ali life tends.
1t was not because Jacob Riching was lonely
that at thirty three he married Emily Ford, but
with the thought of "Riching & Sons" in his
mind He came home from his mothers funeral
realizing that he was thirty-three, and that he
would do well to look to the prospects of the
future firm. Emily Ford was young, and sweet
and pretty enough to justify any man in marry
ing her; but Jacob Riching was far too busy and
too hard hearted for such romance as falling in
love- He saw in bonny Emily girl quite suita-
bic in age, fortune and character to be his wife
"a very proper person to bring into the world
the Junior member of the future firm of 'Riching
& Son"
If pretty Emily had any hidden romance of
her own in connection with the marriage she
soon learned bow out of place it was and put it
away with her wedding fnery; but oddly enough
the substantial comfort of Washington Square
did not seem to agree with her. She
introduced to the light of day and the inspec-
ton of her lord and master one or two babes,
who barely looked around them long enough to
come TO hasty conclusion that they did not
like the world on which they had entered, and
so departed from it. Jacob was honestly sorry;
since these dsaffected Anyways, who would not
remain with him, were sons, and might have in
time fulfilled his hopes had they chosen to stay
here.
1t was not until he had been five years mar
ried that any child concluded to abide with the
household, and this time it was girl who. with
the patience of her sex, decided to make the best
of life having once entered upon it. Oddly
enough, as she was the first child that decided to
live so she was the last. After her birth Mrs
Richings health seemed to fail gradually, and
though she staid fifteen years longer she be-
came a sort of freside fixture, and the outside