Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1894-08-31

DAUGHTER.


that his counting house was his temple,
his des, was his altar his ledger was
his Bible, and his money was his god.
Next to his money he loved his only
child his daughter Julia. One could
r." IDLY realize that Julia was his daugh-
or even that sh' bore the unroman-
t1n name of Sladger. She was beauti-
full, well bred ard accomplished NnG
was sweetly winning in manner.
Old Sam had determined that Julia
should wed his friend Al lderman Choz-
zle, who was worth a mint of money
spd would be mayor at no distant day.
was an excellent match from every
point Of view except one.-Julia's.
Julia would have nothing to do with
ChoZzle, much less would she marry
him. The matter was often debated
between father and daughter II that
can be called n debate which was all
command and lOw.voiccd argument on
the ono side, and all tears ana silent
obstinacy on the other
Had ChoZzle had no favored rival
in the field IL is possible the poor girl
might have been bullied into accepting
him. But there was a rival. lie was
an artist. He was very poor. lie was
n complete failure in his profession.
He was exceedingly romantic, and his
name was Vandeleur de We're. Any
one must see at once that these were
quite good and sufficient reasons for
any young woman falling In love with
him. At any rate they were quite suf-
ficient for Julia.
At last ChOzzle became too much 4,
Julia, even though she wasn't marT1e
to him. Her life seemed all ChoZzlo
Her father served him up at breakfast,
at dinner and between meals. AT last
this incessant Chozzle diet. so it may
be called, became intolerable. So Julia
went out one fine morning and married
Vandeleur de We're, according to PR
arranged plan.
Soon old Sladger received n lcttt
from his darling daughter asking IOI
giveness.
In their rooms in a back street, Mr..
and Mrs. Vandeleur de We're awaited
the outraged parents reply with good
deal Of anxiety. They did not expect
that he would come round all at once
that would be too much; but they did
hope that he would, after his first fit
of passion, accept the inevitable, and
his son-in-law.
But Ihey were soon undeceived not
quite as soon, however, as might have
been supposed, for two days elapsed
before n letter made its appearance,
bearing on the cover the stiff, awk-
ward writing of Samuel Sladger. When
it did come, the young couple found 1T
very brief and to the point. 1t was adj
dressed to Mrs. V. dc We're, and ran
as follows:
Madam: Your favor of the 4th in
slant to hand, and contents noted.
AS you have made your bed, so must
you and your vagabold lie. You have
not broken my heart by your wicked
and disgraceful conduct, but you have
closed it against you forever l am
a man of my word; that you know well.
1 cast you off; l disown you as daugh-
ter, / forbid you or your Nj. de We're
to set foot in my house under any pre-
tense whatever, and l tell you now,
once for all, that you shall never have
even one penny piece, or the value OF
it, from me. 1t will be quite useless
to write to me, as all your letters will
be returned unopened.
Samuel SIadger."
Writing to the obdurate old man I'M
der these circumstances was certainly
n forlorn hope, but the young people
did write-more than once, and each
time the letter was duly returned I'M
opened.
To do Julia, and her husband justice,
they bore up under their misfortune
pluckily. Van painted by the perch,
nj hut fhn rAia
not sell. BY the time all Julia's trinl-
cts had been turned into money, and
actual starvation was staring the young
people in the face-for dealers and art
Shopkeepers wouldn't even look at
poor Vans productions now-the land
lady who was anxious about the rent,
which was rapidly falling in arrears,
volunteered this-to Julia-vcry mys-
terious piece of advice.
IF you can't sell en- and she indi-
Gated the blushing canvas, why not
spout 'em"
IL beg pardon, I don't under
stand" replied Julia looking a good
deal bewihered.
The landlady in tone Of ill-conceal-
ed pity for her lodged's ignorance, ex-
planned that "spouting" the pictures
meant pledging them at n pawnbrok-
er's for whatever he could be induced
to lend upon them.
Julia shrank from the idea at first,
and Van was indignant when it was
suggested that he should pawn his
works Of genius Just as if they were
fiat-irons or Sunday suits. But Julia
had grown more practical of late-was
beginning to come out of her she'll as
the landlady said-and soon reconciled
herself to the notion Of obtaining small
advances upon her husbands pictures.
The work of pledging them was by
no means a pleasant one. Only few
pawn brokers here and there could be
induced to lend anything upon Vans
priceless art treasWers. And those
who lent anything at all lent very, very
little, grumbling that pictures was a
drug in the market" and suggesting
that they were prepared to make real
ly liberal advances upon any article of
solid commercial value.
In their keen struggle for life both
Van and Julia became smart and art
frI 10 n daprap which SurnriSpd even