Weekly commercial herald. (Vicksburg, Miss.) 1884-18??, 1886-05-21

HiIiuul
fe aw sibyl Trmple. Used ~ be- was 10
bolievs tho finest horses bred Tor him. the
finest vintages crown for him, the richest
dishes cooked for him, be- hearing and seeins
that Sibyl wns the hnndaouirst girl IN Kettle
we'll, easily concluded that she he'd bem
rrarud for him. 80 he began making eyes at
her, and having perceived that she noticed
bis attentiDns-'yhicb she could not fail 20
dO-he treated the conquest a. made, aud told
his uncle on Sunday nj lunch that he loved
Miss Sibyl Temple, anil that he had little
doubt that she reciprOcibed the passion.
Beneath some Of orr big, middle-4ged
waistcoats there lie strange secrets. This
pondcrous Archibald GoldmOre, elevated,
pompous, and remote from sentiment as be
appeared, had a buried sorrow of his own.
Years agohis only brother, Harry Goldmore's
| flther, died. The two brothers had ever
ben fondly attached Life's early struggle
they had faced side by side, and an affection
never to be destroyed had, during those
early years, laced Their hearts together.
The brother died. In dying he put his thin
white hand out from under the bed clothes,
and, catching Archibalds wrist, begged him
not to forget his little son, soon to be an or
phan. Archibald promised. and that prom.
Use, never broken, and REINFORCED year after
year by memories of the dead man, made tie
uncle merciful to the rudeness and the folly
Of this rash and uncongenial youth. When
the young man spoke of marriage, in some
inexplicable way a "reminiscences Of long g
stole into the uncle's heart, and made him sad
and gentle.
Harry he said, with unusual kindness,
you are young to marry, and have little of
your own, but 1 approve Of the idea on the
whole. shall make your way plain"
"Oh, that of course" replied the easy
youth. II settled that in my mind long ago.
and he laughed loudly.
Suppose we make q call on the Temples
to morrow" the uncle said.
"NO, not tomorrow, thank'ee,' the passion
ate lover said, shaking his head. Tomorrow
| ride over to Blancourt to see jefferson.
Never hurry after the women. They think
quite enough of themselves without our
nelp;' which delicate speech he enlivened
with a fresh laugh, loud, hearty and vacant.
The matter dropped, but at dinner that
day, efter the cloth had been removed, Archi-
bald Goldmore, gravely renewing the sub
ject, said:
"In a curious way your choice of Miss
Teniple-we say nothing about her view Of
the matter"
20, that's all right enough young Harry
said.
"That we shall see," his uncle remarked:
for the present, never mind. was going to
say your choice in a curious way approves
itself to me; for do you know, Harry, | once
had thoughts of proposing to the young lady
myself"
"Of tchdt?' screamed the nephew.
"Of proposing to the young lady myself"
the uncle repeated.
"Of tchnt?" exclaimed the nephew, again in
a scream of undoubted surprise. He could
neither believe his ears nor disbelieve them.
"Of proposing to the young lady myself"
Archibald Goldmore answered once more
with steady soemnity.
His nephew would hear no more. He burst
into a roar of laughter, threw himself back in
his chair, laughed loud and long, changed
the key of his laugh, went high, went low,
slapped the table, and in a general way
signifed that the most comical idea ever
heard of since ideas first began had just been
let loose upon the world.
at is perfectly true" the uncle said, used
to his nephaw's mad moods, and not as yet
affronted.
cat your age!' screamed the nephew,
"marry a lovely girl ike that! DO you
think she would have looked at youI" and so
in a variety of phrases he put the absurdity,
s%aluting each fancy with a fresh outburst Of
ridicule, while the uncle sat Tuning over in
suits which were truly exasperating. But he
was a man Of great self-restraint, and he
said nothing.
All that night the nephew persisted in his
ridicule. "Uncle, what kind of a coat would
you be married in!" Where would you
have gone for your Honeymoon "How
many bridesmaids would you have had"
"Would it not have been suitable to have sage
s~pinsters of fifty?' and so on in an insane,
but offensive, succession. The rude young
fellow thought only of his sallies and his
amusement: perhaps a little tincture Of an
noyance lay at the bottom, and made his
jests taunts indeed. In any case, he jested to
his hearts content; and the uncle, boiling
with anger, disclosed nothing of his fury.
The nephew thought of a final witticism.
After they had gone to bed he marched to his
uncle's door and tapped, and the uncle, hear
ing his voice, which for wittier effect he
pitched low and serious, fancied he was going
70 apologize. The great man opened his door.
"Uncle," said the nephew, in a grave tone,
which carried on the illusion.
swell, Henryg"
Something has just struck me-"
swell, HenryP
II could not go to bed without asking you"
what is til"
snake me godfather to number one."
He dropped his voice lower than over. And
screaming again with rapture, he retreated
down the corridor, and left his uncle to go to
bed with what appetite for sleep he might.
The next day he rode over to Blancourt,
and at night returned to dinner. He was
tired, and spoke little beyond a grumble at
tie fisl. But when dessert began, feeling his
energies recruited, he thought it time to show
something more of his playful ways.
Thought again about your marriage,
Uncle!'
Eyes, Henry"
"You could not do a wiser thing than to
propose to a young beauty, said this young
man of fatal rudeness. 1.-THE younger and
the more beautiful, the wiser you will be-"
Here came the f~acetious scream. 1t was
always the ~same-Short, shrill, ~spasmodic,
irrational.
$50 l think, Henry"
"Only don't propose to Miss Sibyl Temple;
she's mine, you know"
Have you asked herr
mo; but l shall tomorrow"
Henry, l asked her to-day"
"What. for me?"