Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1890-09-06
A ROMANCE OF LABOR.

A ROMANCE Or LABOR.
The nnwritten ro,nallco of real life
far exceeds in beauty and instruction
anything tlnf simple fancy ever iiIag-
inc,I. anil lave lla:l only to keep my
eyes and ears open. az | went up and
down in the world. 10 I'LL the store house
of memory with many IL strange drama.
The following trlln incident was brought
to my memory this nrornine. while lis
teling to the rebcIions words Of Il
young man who could not see his IA
theirs wisdom in desiring him TO learn
trade
at will make q common man Of ne,
father" he said nuernlously; Il shall
be as dirty as Il blacksmith. and lave
hands like 81 coalleaver"
And if yon think. Fred. that wear
ing line clothes ;lr,l having white hands
make you gentleman. let me tell you.
sir. you are HOW IL very conrnon man
indeed. TO begin with A good trade
might help You to truer notions of gen
tIeinlnlloo,l.
Then looked 1T the handsome feel
low for he was landsome-and |
thought involuntarily OF young Steve
Gaskill Steve las made his mark HOW.
but many II year ago had heard just
such tuIk between him and old Josiah
GaskilI relative to the young nan
learning his fathers trade of Il wool
stapler.
1T is IL dirty business. father" said
the splendid Steve. in Il fnlI evening
dress. "and | hate the smell of oil and
the sight Of those men in blue
linen blollsps hope shall do some
thing better for myself than that.
Very we'll. lad; wllaten is thou fain
to beY''
"A lawyer. father"
They're nausht but lazy. quar-
relsome set. but thou slla' not say liver
stoodi' thy gate BE II lawyer. lad.
ri speak to Denlam Tomorrow about
thee ="
So young Steve WAS articled to Den
ham g. Downes TO study law. and es.
pecally "conveyancing." He was an
Only son. but he had three sisters. AMI
over tlleln and his mother lie exercised
supreme Influence Whatever Steve
did was right; whatever lie said was
beyond dispute. Even old Josiah. with
all his sound sense. was. in spite OF
himself, swayed by this undisputed ac-
acknowledgement of Steve's superiority.
He would not have advised his son to
be II lawyer, bnt seeing that Steve was
not afraid of being one lie was rather
proud of tie lads pluck and ambition.
1t cost him Il good deal. Stoves
tastes were expensive. and lie fell natu-
rally among a class Of men who led
him into many eXtravagances There
we're occasional awkward scenes. but
Steve, supported by his mother and
sisters always cleared every scrape,
and finally satisfied the family pride in
being regularly admitted upon the roll
of her naiesty's attorneys.
In the meantime his father had been
daily f;liling in health. and soon after
this event lie died. Most of his savings
had been secured for the benefit of the
helpless women Of the tiaskill family,
and Steve now found himself with a
profession. and thousand pounds t.
give him a fair start in it, People said
old Gaskill had acted very wisely. and
Steve lad sense enough to acquiesce in
public opinion. He knew. too. that
just rs long rs his mother or sisters had
!, shilling they would share it with linn.
SO lie hopefully opened his Office in
his native town Of Leeds. and waited
for clients. But Yorkshire men are
proverbially cautious: a young. fash
ionably dressed lawyer was not their
ideal. Steve could not look crafty aud
wise uDtler any circumstances. and the
first year lie did not make enough to
pay his rent.
Nevertheless he did not in any way
curtalfexpenses; and when the SUM
mer days arrived lie went us usual to Il
fashionable wateringplice lthappened
that year saw tile debut of Miss Eliza
beth israitlwaite IL great heiress. and
a very handsome girl. Steve was at
tracted by her beauty. and her great
wealth was certainly no drawback in
his eyes, Ina short time he perceived
Miss I1raitllwaite favored him above all
other pretenders to her hand. and he
began seriously to consider the advan-
tages OLA rich wife.
His profession hitherto had been a
failure. his one thousand pounds were
nearly spent: his three sisters we're all
on the point OF marriage, a condition
which might seriously modify their
sisterly instincts land his mothers whole
annual income would not support him
a month. Would it not be the best
plan to accept The good fortune so evil
IDENTITY within his reacb2
Elizabeth was handsome and inclined
to favor him. and though she had the
reputation of being both authoritative
in temper and economical in money
matters. he did not doubt but that she
would finally acknowledge his power
as completely us l.;a own mother and