Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-07-01
From the n. Y. Times.

the Olculng. ana tnen accepted, tnus giving 70
courtesy the zest of the compliment. And Mr.
Black went down to his home Friday night
prepared to stay there and get things in readi.
ness for the distinguished arrival on the follow.
ing afternoon.
1t is said that married people grow alike with
years. But this condition occurs, it seems, when
| there has been constant attrition, as two stones
will polish each other or as pebbles become
| rounded in the brook. Now. in their poorest
| days little Mrs. Black had never dared resist
her burly husband and prosperity had deadened
| her with the bludgeon Of surprise.
There are couples that become separated in
the race for success, and while one reaches the
goal and finds it very every-day affair. afte,
all, the other remains hopelessly entangled amid
| doubts and fears. Such pair ruled over the
| Black household like an active and passive verb
| in single sentence. The master had achieved
and was we'll satisfied that he had merely at
tanned his due; the mistress was spent and was
making her bed among the brambles.
So when Enoch Black announced that his par.
| tlcular friend, Mr.. Chauncev Auckland of Eng
| land, an ''oht-and-out swell and a hummer,
| too, would be down on the morrow, and that
| they must all 'dust pretty lively, for he knew
what was what, and no mistake" Mrs. Black
ialntly smlled-an expression, by the way, al
devoid of comfort a martyrs resignation.
| Her husband understood this peculiarly
| through that intuition which is such an aid oil
marital infelicity. He straightway grew angry
| and sought an explosion in argument. Craving
| subject Of common Interest for disagreement
he found one in the absence of his daughter.
where's Emma?" he asked iercely.
Il don't know" answered her mother. family
| still, but no longer smiling.
"And haven't told you that you must watch
over the child? Don't you know that she ID
young and foolish and that designing people
know it, and know, too, that in the course of
| nature she must inherit all the Black wealth?
Yah! and yet you let her wander through the
| fields like farmers daughter. / shouldn't be
surprised if she was walking with Frank Maxon
| this very moment"
81 shouldn't either" and the faint smile re-
appeared:
SWELL won't have it, that's fat. said so
once. and that settles it for all time. Oh!
know what you would say in your molish way.
| He's an old friend and industrious and talented
| and all the rest Of the twaddle. Perhaps he is;
| but he can't keep up with this procession Mrs.
b. He may in time become a country justice
| and take in six shillings' worth Of fees per day
| and preside at town meetings.
But my daughter! My dollars! Oh, no!
It's not a marriage we want, it's an alliance,
| that's the word and when You see my friend
Auckland you will see where can get one.
At least, you would, if you could see anything
| beyond your nose. But no. I've talked and I've
preached" and 50 on, brr-brr-brr-while
poor Mrs. Black closed her eyes as one will be-
fore the incessant din Of mill.
There was light step, graceful young arm
was thrown protectingly around the matron,
and a clear, sweet voice cried: 'Why, what's
the matter, papa, are you talking about me?"
There was hidden flaw in Mr. Blacks piano.
ply of conceit which the candid glance Of his
danphter' z could nj xvo ahou
when she looked at him he felt unworthy Of his
parentage she was SO dainty. SO charming so
beautiful. like the first blooms OF the arbutus,
while he was SO rough. so coarse. SO uncouth,
like the sodden rock which is disdained. His
hands and feet had always seemed eminently
yet at such times he became uncomfortably
conscious of them. He now twitched the former
and shuffied the latter as he faltered: 1--WE were
only wondering where you were
"Oh, have walking with Frank Maxcn. He
is good comrade, don't you think?'
Hum Perhaps SO. as a comrade."
II wouldn't want him As groom-I mean as
servant. He is amusing and clever, and SO
fond of mamma"
swell. well. my child. it's natural suppose,
hatyou should remember your old playmate. But
keep him in his place. These young sprigs are
apt to be presumptuous. You have a position
to maintain. you know. What was that French
motto you explained to me2 Nob-nob-''
"Noblesse oblige?"
"Ah. that's it. That means, take it, that
the possession of stocks and debentures and
obligations of all sorts confers a nobility. Now
we are rich, remember, very rich
Rather. papa, that position imposes lofty
principles and noble actions
well, that's what said isn't it? Now, in
my friend Auckland, who comes tomorrow, you
will find one who is your equal in birth, cult
ure and wealth. l know. therefore, that he
will appeal to your-ur-higher nature in a
way that no paltry good comrade could. ~
And Mr.. Black, having grown purple in the
face in the effort Of preserving the continuity
of unusual speech, coughed solemnly and
| waddled away.
I'VE know that shall hate him, don't we.
mamma. dear?" said Emma.
The Black family, with their distinguished
suest, fingered over the fruit nd coffee Of an
| elaborate dinner the next evening. The west
| ern sunlight streamed through the broad, low
windows that opened on the garden and gave a
| ruddy glow to the weighty plate and ruby
sparkle to the cut-glass decanters. Enoch
| Black had preached his favorite topic of pos
sessions and his friend was meeting him more
than half way.
"Oh, yes" said Auckland. 1--WE have in our
own family parure OF Golconda stones handed
| down from that historic ancestor Of mine who
| in Elizabeth's time circumnavigated the globe
and burned the feet Of Spanish galleons of
Trafalgar. You may have come across the Incl
| dent in our reading"
YES" said Mr.. Black who must have hap
pened upon it in a newspaper then.
1T has been sacredly preserved as an heir
( loom ever since. Even In the days Of Charles
| l, when our gold and silver ware proclaimed
| our Loyalty from the melting pot it was I'M
| touched Even after the fine and sequestra-
| ton resulting from Prince Charles rising
| it was spared by distress. And SO, too, would
the pearls have been, but unfortunately"
Pearls" interrupted Mr. Black. II think !
| can match you there, or any one else. for that
| matter. You must have heard of the erea,
| Black Pearl. so called not only on account of
| its hue, but because it has been in our family
for many hundreds of years, since the day Of
| of Richard the Conqueror. in fact"
"Oh. long before that. papa. Queen Guine-
| we're wore it, you know" said Emma, laugh
| ingly.
Very likely, my dear, very likely. have a
printed catalogue describing it of about that
| date My ancestor, who came over in the May
| flower, brought this pearl with him, and with
out any primogeniture law it has been handed
| down from father to son ever since. Emma,
| just step to the library and fetch it, there's O
| good girl Here's the key
| Now, Mr.. Chauncey Auckland. for an En-
| glishman, was very knowing. In exact infor-
| nation regarding 1.-The great Black PEARL he
| could give points to its owner. He remembered
| its sale at Paris, not ten years before. and how
F.! all Europe had gossiped about the enormous
! price which the American parvenu had paid.
| He knew, too where a ready market awaited il
without the attendance Of any embarrassing
| questions. But he was prepared to swallow all
! q nf0h of fha Tail