The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-03-07
The LATE Mr.. LYMPET.

OUT i COOta Only see one way OUT OF llg
difficulties Ny debts were large that
/ could never hope TO pay them unaided.
and where was that aid TO come from?
Not from my father who had no money
TO spare. The Irish property of Kilproc-
tor, from which the chief title of our
house is derived, is situated in a par
ticularly lawless corner of the country.
the inhabitants OF which always had a
rooted objection to paying anybody. and
latterly under the land league they have
evaded their legal obligations in the
most shameless manner. so that most OF
them owe arrears OF rent. which they
can never hope-and never intend-to
pay. In fact. the Kilproctor estates
might as well be i'm Spain as in Ireland.
for all the money my father gets out of
them. No, it was useless to appeal TO
him, and equally so TO apply to Cum
Foreground. who was in debt himself. OBJ
viously there was only one course to
pursue; I should have to marry money
But II was necessary first to catch my
heiress- Luckily knew where to lay my
hand on two who. I flattered myself.
were disposed to look kindly on me. /
had been acquainted with them for about
a year. and / had already paid them a
certain amount of attention, for the idea
OF wealthy marriage had always been
more or less in my mind though I had
| wished to defer the evil day as long
as possible. One was Miss Merricl:,
the other was a Miss Slugg. Both were
young and both were wealthy, without
encumbrances in the shape Of fathers.
1t is true that their fortunes had been
aIilaSSed in trade. but, after all. that was
a trliiing drawback The Lympet pride
permitted me to spend the money which
had been grubbed up by another: il
merely forbade me to spoil my fingers
IN grubbiDg it up for myself The de-
ceased Merrick and the deceased Slugg
mad grubbed to some purpose in their
time. and their daughters were I'M
doubtedly catches" Which should I
strive TO land? Miss Merrick was the
prettter Of the two, but she was also
the elder and had more knowledge Of
the world. more suitors. and a better
idea of her own value. I could see that
she would require skllful handling and
perhaps more time than | had at my
disposal Miss SlUgg. on the other
hand, was very romantic, rather shy
and not particularly clever. She was not
yet of age, and she had seen little of
society OF any sort. Her father dying
soon after she left school, she had not
entered the world till she was twenty:
and her aunt with whom she lived. had
no very grand acquaintances My rank
was likely TO stand me in better stead
with her than with Miss Merrick who
had more than one eldest son lowering
in her train. Above all. Miss Slugg pos
sessed 100000. and Miss Merrick only
tSO'OO- That settled il. AS ] had made
up my mind to dispose OF a share in the
Lympet name. ii was my obvious duty
TO get the highest available price for it,
My honorable pride would not allow me
TO depreCiate its value by taking $50 900
when 1 could get 100000. And so ] de-
cided on Miss Slugg.
l need not dwell upon my courtship
the course of which was as smooth and
untroubled as a canals. 1t was also
about as dull. For three months 1t
flowed placidly on. and then ] proposed
a mr. t11 DIT L.,
gagement secret. and I even persuaded
Miss Slugg to consent to a private mar
rage. She had wondered at my request
and had made a few slight objections at
hrst, but the idea soon recommended it
self TO her. 1t would be so romantic
she declared. My reasons were not rO-
mantle. however To be frank I had
seen too many marriages spoiled by tho
meddling interference Of lawyers and
guardians to risk inviting il in nv own
case When Law comes in at the door
Love flies out at the window; sometimes
it is even kicked out. | did not want
any settlements made which might in
terfere with my settlement with my
creditors and my own settlement in life.
Nor did / care TO expose my most
private affairs TO the prying gaze of an
impertinent vulgarian. I refer to Miss
Slugg'S uncle, her fathers younger
brother The two Sluggs had made their
money together in some way connected
with tallow-I have never cared to en-
ter into the revolving details-and I
knew that he would be unwilling to let
the fortune. which he had helped to make
pass entirely out of the family; for he
had a cub of a son whom he hoped TO
see married TO the heiress. might
count upon his opposition as certain. and
my debts were heavy enough TO make
an excellent weapon i'm his hands. Per-
haps he might at least persuade his
niece TO wait a little. and ! could not
"A to wal few he AZ
fortunes We're desperate: the vultures
were already circling round my head.
And so | determined on private mar
riage. and had induced Miss Slugg TO
consent TO it.
Our arrangements were simple enough
On the morning after her twenty-first
birthday Miss Slugg would leave her
uncles house quietly and reDair to a
church few streets off. where Belinda.
only daughter Of the late Oliver Slugg
ESQ. would be united TO the Hon. George
Lympet, second son Of the earl OF Kill
proctor. No cards. After the ceremony
the happy pair would proceed to the res
idence of the brides uncle and receive
his congratulations on the suspicious
event prior TO starting on their honey
moon. Thus all the loathsomc prelimi-
naries would be avoided, the sordid- in
QUESTION into ways and means. the dis
tressing family dissensions. the degrad-
ing precautionary measure of settle
menus On the Whole IL was a clever
little plan. and one which. l venture to
think. reflects no small credit on me-
But / was too true "A Lympet to take
such a serious step without first seeking
the sanction Of the head of our house.
Three days before the date fixed for our
wedding / left London and Travelled down
to Rockborough Towers to beg my faith
er's blessing and borrow a little money.
which was even of more Importance to
me. The blessing was a luxury. but
the money was a necessity. l had the
marriage expenses and the cost of the
honeymoon to provide for. | felt--per-
haps / was over-scrupulOus-that il would
not be right to begin drawing on my
wife's resources during period sup
posed TO be dedicated to romance; that
il was too early TO commence the serious
business of life Therefore / had de-
cided 10 ask my father for loan, hop
ing that when he perceived / was about
to attain an honorable independence and
was never likely to trouble him again.
he would make me present OF the sum
required And as the event showed /
was not mistaken.
r. was after dinner. when my sisters
had left us together. over our wine. that
made my confession. and informed my
father that 7 was about to marry Miss
Slugg the charming young heiress. lie
did not receive the news with any enthu-
sfasrn.
"Slugg,' he said. raising his eye
hrows What a horrible name' How
on earth did YOU manage to become ac-
quainted with this young person who has