The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1893-09-09

short. just such n man as you would
address, in~tinctively, as Major
We pulled tentatively at the cigars
until satisfied of their excellence.
Then I asked the major what had be-
come of his two nephevs, of whom he
used to tell me much. He INDUCED
in some remini scent chucklcs, and said:
"Well, we'll! So 1 never told you
how they settled down? Quite a fam
lily affair it was. Let me see-um-
when you last heard of the boys, Lee,
the elder, was drinking very hard.
''Where the fellow 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 1 ever knew, one of these
plausible, ingratiating scamps that
you can't help but like, and wish you
could. George was just the opposite, a
quiet, studious sort of a 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
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 pretty, blue
eyed mcekneSS as you ever saw. 1t was
the daughter of a sort of second cousin
of brother Eds and mine. Her parents
were dead, and Ed was her guardian,
she came here to live. Sho was one
of this little. canary-bird sort Of girls.
cat the time she arrived, Lee was
just q little this side of delirum trc-
MEMS, and I 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. It was the
most astonishing thing in the world,
the vvav 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. I
can tell you, old boy, to see them to-
gether, with SO much confidence and
good Will between 'eu, and SO much of
something else that seemed too big to
express-well, sometimes 1t made me
feel that possibly I'd missed something
in life by knocking around single.
''But, however-well, Lee didn't get
along SO well 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 would have thought that
.Edsand his wife would have put their
Influence .on Georges side, wouldn't
you9 Not a bit. of it. They wanted
her to marry Lee, and why? Because
s they told her she was the one person
who could reform him-save him from
=. s6runl1ard'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, aud she
well, she looked as if she hadn't q
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 didnt have nerve enough
to come out f1at-footed and say no.
zone evening George came to me,
MISUNDERSTANDING as could be, and
wanted I should take dinner with him
down town. r knew how he was feel
ing and thought might chir< him up
a bit, possibly, we had dinner to-
gether. Long before we'd finished
could see he'd some new purpose in his
head, and finally out he came with it.
He says