Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1888-07-26
The Merchants Story.

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one, will commence at once, without
any unnecessary introduction-plunge
IN medias res, which l suppose is
Latin for make your running from
the jump and first forcibly uttered
by some sharp fellow who despised
the Greek chorus and the Italian
recitative. | have commenced life
twice--once when went into ousi-
ness on my account, and the second
time when l got married. l don't
count my entrance into the world,
disliking introduetions, as l said be-
fore.
Ten years ago l got married. Nice
little creature, my wifel Brown hair,
golden, as the poets would say. She
was prudent little creature, my wife,
quiet, and of stature that could have
been stated only by inches, as one
could never say she was so many feet
high. Perhaps if l suggest Titania' s
court, and herself as one of the small
est of the fairy ring who took to the
shelter of violets in storm, 1 should
convey something like the fancies that
used to cross my mind in a vagrant
way, when I caught glimpse of her
occasionally before our marriage.
The was an orphan, and lived under
the sway of a Tippoo Saib in petit
coats, step mother. l don't know
how she made up her mind to marry
me, as l was so entirely matter of
fact; but ! have a faint recollection of
one day asking her to take walk with
me, which pedestrian feat terminated
at church door, through which we
passed two people, and came out one
demonstrating that the days of sorcery
had not entirely vanished. 1t is not
at all pertint to the story to say that
she had a brother, who was my init
mate friend; that he was an artist,
poor, and lived principally upon
dreams; that loaned him a sum of
money, purely business transaction,
as took his note of hand for it; that
he was delicate creature, that he fell
into consumption, wasted away, and
vanished like one of his own cloud
dreams; that l watched with him by
night, and buried him at last under
the wild flowers. Poor fellowl In
the worlds estimation he would have
been a great man if he had lived. He
was better than that in mine, a good
man, honest and true; and when he
died he grasped my hand, looked at
his little sister, who was silently Weep
ing over him, and gave me glance
which plainly said, Take care of her;
she will be alone in the world, with no
companion but bitter memoriesp I
believe this accounts for the fact that
not many months afteward Alice and
I walked quietly to the church.
Alice believed that I was most des-
perately in love with her, but being a
mere matter of fact business man, I
must maintain that the idea was a
pure lmposslbility. Every one will
readily admit, when 1 state that I was
in the queensware, glass and procelian
line, the supposition to have been
grossly improbable, to say the least.
However, married we were; left Tip.
poo Saib to her solitude--a sovereig gn
without subjects-an went to house
keeping in a nice little cottage where
we still live.
Alice was an economical little crea.
ture, and having known poverty, was
continually gazing at a mental land
scape, the principal feature being a
steep declivity, at the foot of which
stood q forbidding looking aims aouse.
Nothing during the first year of our
marriage could dispel the illusion that
it was to be the terminus of my
mercantile career; a sacrifice of the
household furniture, and a permanent
imprisonment in the establishment
especially provided for reckless pau
pers. My little wife, however, fought
strongly against this foreshadowed
horror, and kept wakeful watch and
ward over those insidious marauders,
the household expenditures; while the
solitary servant received lectures, in q
quiet way, such as would have doubt
less astonished and confounded Adam
Smith himself l can safely say that
nothing was wasted except on beg
gars, and they flocked to the house
in regiments and battalions. I dis
like beggars myself. It's not busi-
ness like way of getting living.
don't object to feeding the hungry
in fact, Iprotest energetically against
any suffering of the kind. No one can
attend to business on an empty
stomach; but, as ! pay my taxes, am
opposed to the city fathers allowing a
set of vagabonds making tra.ie OF
begging, and extracting sixpences
from the unprotected females of the
community through a recital of fctl--
tious sorrows. A firm belief in the
outrageous romances invented by
these ragged harpies was an unhappy
weakness with Alice, whose sympathies
were always instantaneously awakened
at the first whine of a sturdy mendi-
cant.
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