Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1893-08-17

snort, just such man as you would
address, inStinctively, as 'Major.n
We pulled tentatively at the cigars
until satisfied of their excellence.
Then asked the major what had be-
come of his two nephews, of whom he
used to tell me so much. He indulged
In some reminiscent chucllles, and said:
well, well! So / never told YOU
how they settled down? Quite fam
ily affair it was. Let me see--um-
when you last heard of the boys Lee,
the elder, was drinking very hard.
Where the follow ever got his ap-
petite for liquor no one knows, but he
had it, and it was appalling, and there
did not seem to be any way of spelling
it for him. He was one of the bright
est boys / ever knew, one of these
plausible, ingratiating scamps that
you can't help but like, and wish you
could, George was just the opposite,
quiet, studious sort of chap, who kept
to himself, mostly. Somehow, he never
seemed to get along with people the
way Lee did he didn't have that
bright sort of tact that makes young
men agreeable and taking. He didn't
care any more for society than society
cared for him; the two weren't suited to
each other; all he wanted was to be let
alone. The boy was all right at bot
tom, as he's shown since; but the per-
son to draw him out hadn't come along
yet
"Well, four years ago this fall, there
came to the house one day hundred
and twenty pounds of as pretty, blue
eyed meekness as you ever saw. 1t was
the daughter of sort of second cousin
of brother Eds and mine Her parents
were dead, and Ed was her guardian,
so she came here to live. She was one
of this little, canary-bird sort of girls.
'At the time she arrived, Lee was
just a little this side of delirum tre-
mems, and | really believe she STAYED
'em off. Julie was her name. She
hadn't been in the house two weeks
before everybody was in love with her,
including both of the boys. 1t was the
most astonishing thing in the world,
the wav she drew that fellow George
out. From being moody and self-con-
tanned, he just expanded into as jovial
and agreeable young man as you'd
wish to meet. Julie and he seemed to
take to each other from the start
can tell you, old boy, to see them to-
gether, with so much confidence and
good win between 'em, and so much of
something else that seemed too big to
cxpress--well, sometimes it made me
, feel that possibly I'd missed something
in life by knocking around single.
"But however-well, Lee didn't get
along so we'll with Julie When he
was sober, and devoted himself to her,
he seemed to sort of awe her, don't you
know-she wasn't free and happy as
she was with George, but always re-
strained, and half afraid of him. But
they were both dead in love with her,
and each was determined to have her.
Nov, you wbuld have thought that
Ed and his wife would have put their
influence on Georges side, wouldn't
you? Not bit of it, They wanted
her to marry Lee, and why? Because
they told her she was the one person
who could reform him-save him from
drunkard's grave, you know, and
all that rot. Well, I'm blamed if they
didn't hornswoggle the girl into say
ing she would marry him. He had
grace enough to take it with good
deal of shame-facedness, and She
well, she looked as If she hadn't a
friend left on earth. But they had
dinned her so much about her duty
and what a man she could make of
Lee that she didn't have nerve enough
10 come out fiat-footed and say no.
zone evening George came to me,
down n-hearted-looking as could be, and
wanted should take dinner with him
down town. knew how he was feel
ing and thought might chirlS him up
bit, possibly, SO we had dinner to-
rether. Long before we'd finished |
could see he'd some new purpose m his
head, and finally out he came with it.
he says: