The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1895-06-30

BY Dorothea Gerard
I difference showed itself. it was all I'm my
| favor for Toms tastes We're entirely Of
/ the boisterous Out-of-dOor order. the style
/ of pursuits from which Uncle sam as
| semi-invalid, was perforce cut Off. while I
/ being both less boisterous and less oh
/ streperously robust. found il quite possible
/ TO spend part Of each day within doors
: and even TO listen-thOugh at first will
blank incompreh Uncle Sans
dissertations upon the merits of his col
/ lection. trial which Tom never had the
! patience 20 endure for more than three
minutes at time.
Il sat still and listened because I cared
/ for my uncle, not because / cared for
! china, but by degrees the seed was sown
/ within me, and / am happy 10 think
that Uncle Sans last days frightened by
the discovery that he had found in me a
kindred spirit
Il was IS when he died. and / made the
| discovery that he had iest all his money
TO Tom. and all his china 10 me On the
/ forenoon OF the same day on which Uncle
Sam had drawn his last breath. had been
summoned TO his bedside. and the whole
/ collection had been solemnly commended
4 TO my care.
! in this way. at least, he would close
/ his eyes with the comforting assurance
/ that these painfully collected treasures
/ WOULD never DE put 10 paSt uses. I MS
| was dread which had haunted him ever
l since the day long past when he had found
/ Tom eating strawberries from off an alb
/ solutety priceless Dresden plate The
/ age % the culprit 90 had proved no ex-
\ cuse in my. uncle's eyes.
Il count on you adding TO the collec-
/ ton were almost his last ineligible
words. There should be another bowl
/ at least, and a tea-pot-no collection is
4 complete without a teapot Promise
me, George. that YOU will let no teapot
Of the right pattern slip through your
fingers
Il promised fervently. amid choking
sobs, and before night lny uncle's spirit
had taken flight to a land where blue
china is presumably unknown. And then
followed the discovery that dear, good,
crazy Uncle Sam. while drawing his last
breath peacefully, in reliance upon my
promise, had quite overlooked the neces-
sity of leaving me the means of fulfill
ing it.
THE value of money had always been
a very hazy thing to his mind. and moth
ing certainly was further from his inten-
tions than TO leave me on the verge of
starvation. But that's about what 1t came
to- However, there was not a word to
be said.
THE mistake was that Uncle Sam had
always been so kind to me that | had quite
forgotten that / was only a nephew, and
Tom the SON. Now there was the choice
of becoming Toms pensioner or earning
my bread. l chose the latter. I think
may say that / set to work with a good
Will, and with the fullest intention of full
flling the promise made beside Uncle
Sans death-bed.
by degrees only I began to discover
that this was by no means as easy as it
looked. In five years the collection had
hn9n inPrpg sod Op1xr nv ora bft Of
what doubtful origin. two passable plates,
and few barely passabIe cups and sau-
GERS. To frequent likely sounding sales,
to rant about among dealers in antiqui-
ties, and to eat out my heart at sight of
the unattainable was the only relaxation
in which l ever INDUCED. For all that
there came moments when sitting down
wearied at night between my four walls,
which were bare of everything except my
clOse-packed china shelf, ! was so for
chilly struck by the incongruity of its
presence there that il was all l could do
to suppress the inclination that l felt,
with one savage stroke, 10 sweep it clear
OF its contents, and thus put an end to
the farce; and once, when work had not
been forthcoming for months, and a stray
connotsseur offered me f20 for the big
bowl which now stands on the drawing
room mantel-piece, ] confess that / had
to think very hard of Uncle Sam in order
to resist the temptation.
My uncle had been dead for more than
1--WE years when well-wisher pointed out
to me that there would probably be more
chances for a young engineer in one of
our large manufacturing towns where he
would be less liable to be drowned in the
crowd than in London. 1t was then that
l came down to Currypool.
My well-wisher seemed to have been
right. or else my luck was on the turn
I haal -
when l received notice of a competition
which had been started. They wanted a
new bridge over the Dunster, in place of
the old one, which had been sat upon by
commission and found to be rotten
The discovery had been made rather sud-
denly. and time pressed. The term given
for handing in the designs was two
months, and the competition to be an
entirely open one. The news seemed to
be a godsend.
Perhaps / am going to make a start
in life after ALL was what l ought by
rights to have said to myself, and wha {
l did say to myself, though not before
another thought had had time to shoot
across. the mind of the improvident young
idiot that l was in those days: Perhaps
l am going to have that teapot, after all.
The fact is, that for quite a week past
l had been coqueting with a certain blue
and white teapot which l had discovered
in the very grimy show window of a lit
tie suburban shop. Yes, Frank, my boy,
you're right to look at the bracket-we re
coming to the point now. Ii was not a
piece which made any figure-as indeed
you can see for yourself-but my eagle
eye had Immediately detected that right
pattern which had been wont so severely
70 exercise Uncle Sans mind. Whatever
clouds might hover about the origin OF
that bowl, which l had picked up in Eel.
ton street two years ago, there was nc
room here for any uncomfortable doubts
My teapots pedigree was as sound a:
that of any member of the House OF
Lords. knew it as soon as had helt
my new discovery in my hand and seer
the unmistakable mark upon the milk
white surface. The little crooked old mar
who crept about among his crowded ware.
as though in continual mortal dread O
knocking down something, wanted gum
/ ca for his show piece, which had prob
| ably got stranded in this obscure region
| in days when the rage for blue china hat
| been a universal but passing fashion.
! There was nothing for it but to pu
| down the object of my desires on tn