Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1888-04-27


cramped chirography which char
acterized his usual correspondence;
but with free and easy business
hand which proclaimed 1t stran'
ger IN the house OF Dobbs. 1t
quite took the family by surprise,
and pa DObbs felt hurriedly for his
glasses, and turned quite pale as
he reflected that 1t might be sum
mons OF a subpoena, or some other
dreadful instrument of law sent for
his special torture.
The spectacles on, the envelope
was opened, and after much bump
ing of heads in the strife to get and
retain the best position from which
to look over the paternal shoulder,
and after much spelling out and re-
reading, to make sure of the right,
the letter was deciphered as follows:
Mr.. JOHN DoBBs-SIR: Yourlot-
terry ticket, bearing the number u
797, has drawn a cash prize of fifty
thousand dollars (e50, ,0O0). Please
draw on Third National Bank OF
New York city for the amount, and
accept our congratulations.
Yours, very truly,
II. KETCHUN & Co.
"Je.ru- salem ~ solemnly ejacu-
lated Mr.. John Dobbs, as the whole
tremendous purport OF the letter
burst upon him in all its magni'
tude.
"Oh, lorkyl I'll bet we'll crow
over them Jennings girls some"
said Miss Susan, triumphantly.
"You mustn't say 'lorky' now"
replied the graveIy rebuhng voice
of Miss Sally, the eldest; "we're
rich, an we mustn't use none of
them 'ere words"
"Sals putin on style so quick"
observed young Thomas, with a
burst OF childhood's joyous laugh
ter, as he turned consecutive sum-
mersaults on the hard floor. 81
say, pa Dobbs, can have five
dollars all of my own when you get
that money 7" said the young gym
mast, to whom, prior to date, ffty
cents had appeared a colossal for
tune il possessed in his own right.
eyes, bub, yes" replied Dobbs'
Sr., looking about on his family
with a beaming smile +; "and, Jeml'
ma, you 60 straight an order just
the best bunnit this town can scare
up," he continued, with a still
broader smile; and amid many a
"La, sus ~ and 81 never !" the story
OF the purchase Of the ticket was
told.
The DObbses had been humble
people once, and, like many Others
of the same stamp, very much
afraid some one else was going to
get a round above them on the So
cial ladder and look down upon
them so it followed, as a cOnse-
Quence, that, after this stroke of
fortune, humility should become
very far below par in their estima.
ton, and the important question
became, not, as in the past, "Who
will associate with us?" but, one
better suited to the present Dobbs
standard of inquiry, viz; "Who
shall We associate with 7"
This grave query was the subject
of many family councils, and 1t
seemed as if the tedious process OF
the selection of "Our set" would !
never be completed, especially as
many of those considered eligible |
refused the selection, and declined |
to bow before a calf gilded even
fifty thousand dollars deep.
All this was a mystery to the |
Dobbses, who had supposed, to use
a vulgar phrase which often graced |
the conversation of the private fam.
lily circle, that it only "takes money |
to make the mare go; )" and when
that quadruped, with plenty of
money to accelerate her notions,
refused to move in the desired So
cial direction, her dryers were at a
loss to know what to do. No house
in town was more elegant than
theirs; no silks could stand alone
more imposingly than did Mrs.
Dobbs'; the girls had snubbed their |
old beaux (the blacksmith's son,
and the young man who earned bis
daily bread dis dispensing shining |
tin.ware throughout the country in
return tor paper, rags and old from; |
and Miss Sallie ordered her dress
maker around equal to the haught-
lest heroine in her last novel still
no Improvement was dscernible.
At last happy thought struck
the family mind. Without doubt
Miss Susan suggested, the reason
so few of the elite had called to
make their acquaintance was that
they had omitted the usual house
warming, which custOmarily fol
lowed the establishment of home,
and the explanation was 80 beautI-
fully simple, so entirely reasonable,
that the motion that the oversight
be at once remedied was seconded
and carried without dissenting
voice. As none of the family had
ever attended a real creme de Ia
creme affair of the kind, the execu-
ton of the scheme was necessarily
attended with difficulties.
The first mountain that present
ed itself was the invitations, and it
was only after qulre OF paper, a