Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1902-04-08

such an 1dl0t,-hOW Cdn you naN
patience with me?r It is needless t
say that the young tutor found tn
practice of that difficult virtue surpris
ingly easy in dealing with any menta
obtuseness in his fair pupil.
But although, as Emerson says, al
the world loves lover, we cannot nov
enter into the details of the wooing ant
winning that followed in due time ant
eliminated at the end of the year in
grand wedding at the hospitable hom
of the Harwoods. The Judge made N
objection to his daughters choice OF
husband; he had never opposed he
wishes-in the quaint phraseolOgy o
his neighbors, he had never 'contraried'
her in all her life. and it was obviousl!
too late to make the attempt then. But il
giving his consent to the marriage, he hat
insisted that his pet should not be takel
away to a home among strangers ant
Cotton was quite willing to promise tha
bis Southern rose should not be trans
planted to an uncongenial cline.
1t is necessary to explain here tina
before Cotton left New England he hat
joined himself, heart and hand, to thu
newly organized party of freedom which
chose for its standard bearer the illus
trious "Pathfinder'' of the West. Con
seauently he was not without strong
convictions in regard to the burning
questions of that day. In fact, he felt
himself in somewhat embarrassing
position when he found the patrons o.
his school were all like Judge Harwood
men of pronounced Southern views ano
sympathies. Courtesy even more thar
prudence, he thought, required that he
should not antagonize these. Naturally
reticent man, not over fond in any
case of airing his opinions, he took care
to avoid entering into discussions OF the
slavery question and it was soon under
stood that Professor Cotton never
talked politics,"-a decided eccentric
ity in the estimation of Waterloo.
1t is quite possible the young mar
would have allowed himself freer speech
if he had not soon discovered that Miss
Ginnie inherited and held with feminine
positiveness all her fathers opinions and
prejudices. But Cotton was no coward
and did not enter the family of Judge
Harwood under false colors. When he
asked Virginias hand in marriage,
he made clean breast of his northern
heresies and his affiliation with a party
to which such opprobrium was attached
iu the South. But the pretty "tire-
eater" had declared herself quite willing
to marry him, Notwithstanding his polit.
ical complexion; love had proved
stronger than prejudice. "We'll make
a bargain, pet, not to talk politics." she
had said very sweetly. "We could
never in the world agree on that subject,
YOU know, and it would be 50 horrid for
us to quarrel. 1t would so''
And Cotton, as he kissed her and
looked into her bright loving eyes, felt
that any discord between them there,
after would indeed be "horrid."
Two happy years followed their mar,
riage. Cotton was certainly in some
danger of forgetting the apostles in
junction to keep ourselves from idols,
for his was one of those natures, both
strong and tender, in which love takes
a mighty hold, once and forever. After
lonely and neglected youth, after the
struggles and hardships of his young
manhood in working his way through
college, it was not strange perhaps that
his home-the first real home he had
known since his childhood-should seem
to him almost an earthly paradise.
Ginnie with all her faults-in many
respects still child-had warm heart
and made really devoted wife. 1t was
to be expected that young lady, who
had queened it over her fathers household
since her babyhood, would have a will
of her own and display at times some,
what imperious temper. But Cotton fell
easily into the indulgent ways of the
family and submitted smilingly to small
tyrannies. Indeed, his yoke was well
padded, for to a man who had been
starved for love and home ties, GIMME S
outspoken affectionateness had charm
that made his subjugation so easy he
scarcely suspected it. She had a vocab-
ulary of pet names for him which would
doubtless have sounded foolish to many
people, but to his ears were only music.
1t was quite true also that she seldom
put on any imperious airs with him;
there was no need, for why should the
pretty kitten get her back up when her
fur was always stroked the right way?
It was not till the war cloud began to
lift above the horizon that any shadow
crept across his threshold. The seces-
sion movement woke up sleepy Waterloo
and it speedily become hot-bed of dis,
union sentiment. Although slavery had
scarcely foothold in that part of the
state, and although Waterloo was not
twenty miles from the borders of two
free states, the feeling aroused there
against the North was scarcely less
hostile than in regions much farther
South.
Even the affable, easy going Judge
was transformed into bitter partisan
The vision of a great, grand Southern
confederacy, embracing all the slave
states, fired his imagination and aroused
his enthusiasm to the highest pitch. nc
had no idea that the border states coulo
possibly refuse to join in an enterprise
so glorious. Hence when the conven
ton, called in the winter by the disloya
Governor Jackson for the express pur
pose of passing an ordinance of seces
sion, voted down the measure by al
overwhelming majority, his disappoint
ment and disgust were 80 great, he be-
came a fiercer disuniOnist than ever.
Cotton, in order to maintain pleasan
relations with the patrons of his schoo
and especially with his father-in-law
had hitherto avoided controversy will
them in regard to the issues then before
the nation. But now he felt that h'
could no longer be silent. Too true
patriot not to view with the deepes
sorrow and alarm, the prospect of a dis
memberment of the union, he spoke GU
fearlessly in condemnation of the move
ment. The result was that he soon per
ceived GOODNESS on the part of man.
who had hitherto shown him the ut
most friendliness.
Ginnie shared to the fullest e1ten
her fathers enthusiasm for the COnfed
eracy, and Cotton found all argument
| wasted on her-wOrse than wasted, 10
they only angered her and she RENAME!
obstinately of "the same opinion still.
TO have the peace of his home disturbe'
by useless controversies was more thai
he could bear; consequently he soon re
Trained from any attempt to change he
opinions or soften her prejudices.
At last the war began. The excite
ment aroused in the community wa
intense. The general feeling among tn
disunionists seemed to be one OF ex
| ultatinp. they ploried in the pluck an