Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1886-05-06

But old Sparkling, who was our shrewdest
head by long way. hearing this question
asked at Miss Whifin's house one afternoon,
remarked, with comical face to fix our at
tention, that we had not disposed of the
mother yet Surprising that 20 natural
thought had not suggested itself beforeI Mrs.
Temple, as we understood, had been married,
very early, and our most competent female
critics declared that she could not be more
than forty-five, or, rather, ! should say, they
put it that she could not be less We had
several widows and spinsters Of ripe years.
and these agreed that forty-ive was still q
marrying age; indeed, some Of the ladies' de-
clared that it was the best time Of all
an opinion In which. Sparkling con-
tnrred with much vehemence and solern-
atty, only the old fellow was caught
Immediately after, which aroused some sus-
2icion- That Mrs Barbara Temple might be
married before any Of her daughters, that
she was yet an attractive and marrying
woman, we all admitted There was that In
her manner with men which told thatshe had
not yet abandoned either the hope or the
methods Of conquest; and it was plain to us
all that less likely women arc married every
day Of the year. Besides, the fortune was
hers absolutely we had discovered on
undoubted testimony; and since the fortune
could not be less than three thousand q year,
we began to see that for the present it was
Mrs. Temple, not her daughters, who was
likely to be the prize in cur next matrimonial
race. So, having settled this in our minds
we proceeded like rational beings to choose d
husband for the animated widow; and with
scarcely a dissentient opinion, we came to
the conclusion that our rector, the Rev. An
thony Brent, would be the happy man. We
were not altogether wrong in this conjecture,
as my story shah disclose. But Mr. Brent
does not emerge on our historic page at
present. 0 s
Let me tell you here that, in the course Of q
long life, have never met D woman who
women, handsomer women, wittier women /
have met in scores; hut the secret Of Mrs.
Barbara Temple was her utter and hearty
| love Of this present world. OF this present
world she was, ] believe, the sincerest and
most unquestioning worshiper that ever lived
She put no strain upon herself tobecome what
she was; she quenched no aspiration and re-
pressed no misgiving. Worldliness was the
simple honest expression Of her natural dis
position and her Judgment on affairs Never
religious devotee was SO completely inclosed
| in creed as she Fur, indeed, it was creed,
and life, too, and Mrs. Barbara Temple
loved the world jusA as flower lovessunlight;
she obeyed law Of her own nature. But the
cheerfulness with which she obeyed it; her
unquestioning faith in the power Of the
world to satisfy every want; the absence Of
suspicion that there could be any higher
motive in life, or, indeed, any other motive
at all, and the cheerfulness and aiacrity with
! which she followed out her convictions,
| made her Of necessity d vigorous and original
character. All that makes what such people
call athe worldo she longed for and priced.
Accomplishments, money, taste, health, the
/ good opinion Of society, these, and q thous-
and kindred matters, she regarded as sever
| ally constituents Of happiness, to be sought
with the utmost solicitude every hour Of the
day She was grateful to the world for
/ being what II was to her-an ever-running
| fountain Of desire or pleasure.
Have / sufficiently sketched her figured
VIII few strokes more make her clearer
i image in your minds eyer She was short, as
/ have said, trinity built, perhaps trifle too
stout, but that might be disputed. Her nose
was rather large, but finely cut, like her sec
ond daughters, and she dressed her brown
hair in short ringlets, which well suited the
style Of her face. Her color was good and
4 high enough to make people ask questions,
and her eyebrows were not free from sus'
picious traces Of making up Her dress was
always rich and admirably suited TO her
/ figure and years; for she was careful TO look
Il fun forty-Ave, She avoided all absurd affec
tation ot youth, and although d kind 81
sprightly dancing step, which she often fel
Il into, might have seemed rather fault In this
direction, most of us considered this gait moth
ing but surplus vitality acting cn frame x
light and plump that it seemed made TO skip
Il ar bo4Yld He 4 hall 81 n i ssRs