Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1899-03-02

Miss Cornelia Lunt was the only
child of two good people who had not
married until they reached the years
which find most welded pairs with
their children we'll grown up about
them. They had been very happy,
however, and when they died left
their daughter little income, which,
by close pinching, she could manage
to live upon.
Cornelia was not pretty girl-old
peoples children never are; but thou
sands of palmer girls had married and
settled while she remained a spinster.
Perhaps the fact that she was by no
means a good-natured person had
something to do with it. Certainly
she quarreled with her friends and
felt out with her beaux, had feuds
with her relatives and was fond of
saying unpleasant things to people
generally, and the other half of her
sonl was lucky creature in having
missed her in this world.
In her youth she had also COM
ported herself scornfully to well-dis-
posed young men who belonged to
the mechanic classes and had declared
that she would only give her hand and
heart to merchant, q physician or q
clergyman. Merchants were rare in
Bottlehole, the only specimens of
that order being two very old bach
elors, still connected with O New York
firm, who were always to be seen
asleep on either side of their wide
hall door in pleasant summer weather
and who only awoke at the instance
of their housekeeper long enough to
take their meals. The two doctors
were both married, and the clergymen
always had large families. Miss Cor
nelia's ambitious hopes were never
realized, and her fathers apprentice,
Tim Cornell, who had admired ne, aud
'very elegant and genteel person,
finally pronounced her mighty proud
and naughty" and abandoned his suit.
The other young mechanics married
or left the village, and Miss Cornelia
at last awoke to the knowledge that
she was getting on in life and that if
she was not careful people would find
1t out.
.Cornelia looked in the glass care
fully every morning and very often
through the day. She did not age
rapidly, having always looked as old
as it was possible to look. But for
that dreaded family Bible, in which the
record of her birth was written down,
she would have felt safe in slicing off
ten years of her life--a proceeding
which she fancied would increase her
value in the eyes of certain Mr..
Dumsday, who had recently paid her
few solemn calls. He was really an
old man himself, but the older the
man the younger, generally, one finds
his choice of wife to be. And,
really, when all ones lady friends en-
Joy nothing so much as adding to ones
age, why should not their efforts be
thwarted by reduction on ones own
part of the one thing nobody ever
wants more of?
Poor Miss Cornelial She did not
know that one who never thinks about
age at all is the sowest to get old.
She eyed that we'll thumbed Bible,
which her companion aud assistant,
Cousin Betsy Baker, always would
have upon a stand in the parlor, with
absolute horror. She did not dare OBJ
iect to its presence. She was church
member aud thought herself pious, but
she did wish Cousin Betsy in Green
land when she called visitors atten-
ton to the illustrations it contained.
Suppose anyone should turn up the fly
leaf and read there: Born December,
1S-, Cornelia, first daughter of Mat
thew and Abigail Lunt. The thought
was horror.
She sat over her CRATE fire late one
night thinking over the matter.
Who knew her exact age? Cousin
Betsy. But Cousin Betsy would not
wish to quarrel with her and was too
old woman to think her anything
but young. The clergyman who bap-
tised her. But he was superannuated
and lived with his SON in-law in another
state. The family doctor was dead,
aud the dear old gentleman who had
boarded with them from her baby
hood, who had always given her gift
upon her birthday and on whom she
had waited as a grandchild might,
went to Europe years before and was
probably dead Good old mani She
had liked him very much. How well
she remembered him as he sat in his
big armchairl He had white hair and
fat hands with dimples in them aud
carried thick, gold-headed cane.
Good Mr.. Noire But she should never
hear anything of him again. Yes, il
was safe. She would do it. She die
not dare to name the deed-it seemed
as bad to her as robbing church
But ten years off one age is a terrible