The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1906-12-15
THE wEAKHEss OF HENRY.

henry blQ0Ock llVeQ VIII us SIS
ter Jane in the little cottage that had
been their home always. While he
would hardly be considered as rich
man, Henry was undoubtedly well
to do, and his wealth was all the
greater since, agreeable with the an
Gent maxim, his wants were so few.
Beginning life in a small way, with
general dealers store, retailing
everything, from Sunday clothes to
ginger beer, Henry had saved money
and bought land and houses, till the
extent of his possessions made him
quite a considerable person in the
village. He owned the half dozen
workmeu's cottages facing the green,
and the farm at the bottom of the
road was his as well. Still, the re-
gular habits of his life never varied,
His tastes were as simple as ever,
and his industry quite as sustained as
oiligent.
Sister Jane was year or so older
than Henry. She was a plain. hon
est creature, quite above the ordinary
feminine weakness of Disgusting her
age. Ifin the course of conversation
the question of age arose, Jane would
volunteer quite frankly-almost in
deed, exultingly-the fact that she
was forty-seven years and FIVE months
old, or Whatever the figure might be
at the moment, the fractional portion
of the year being invariable added
with the most conscientious exact
ness. James age was her one source
of pride. AS girl, she had been
taught by her parents that the defer
ence of her brother was due to her
on account of her seniority, and
though Henry might ultimately at
tain to the wealth Of a Crnsus or the
power of Caesar, she was convinced
that by the law of nature she must
always be as emphatically his supe-
rior as forty-seven is 70 forty.four.
When their parents had died, Jane
had taken charge of the home as a
matter of course, and if Henry sat
with his feet on the polished fender,
or strayed so far from the path of rec
titude as to smoke in the drawing
room, he was usually reminded of his
offence with fitting emphasis. In
spite of her undeniable conversational
ability, however, Jane had always
been a careful, and competent house.
keeper, and, whether Henry was.dis-
posed to admit it or not, much of his
prosperity was due to the sterling
character of his watchful sister.
At forty-seven (and FIVE months)
Jane was neither young nor beautiful.
She wore spectacles, her hair was
wispy and thin, and there was flush
upon her face which she herself at
tributed to chronic indigestion, and
which was put down by the unchar-
liable to bottled ale. And yet her life
had not been entirely free from ro-
nance. Once, indeed, she had been
engaged to be married +; but her
blissful experience, after jolting for
the best part of month along the
course of true love. terminated alb
ruptly and without appeal on a fine
summers evening. James strong
point was her extremely orthodox
piety, and on that fatal evening she
had been shocked to hear from her
lovers lips the confession that ON the
previous day he had regarded the
weather too fine for church, and gone
fishing instead. Jane almost gasped
for breath as this fearful blow came
upon her. She talked to the young
man as he sat penitently in the draw
ing-room-talked to him till he could
feel his ears singing and his brain
reeling, aud confidently predicted for
him unhappiness and failure in this
world and acute discomfort in the
next. When. in sheer desperation,
the young man made blind dash for
the door, Jane followed up her advau-
tage remorselessly. She talked him
across the hall, up the front garden,
and as far down the road as she could
reasonable expect her voice to be au-
dible to the sinner in his fight. And
with that moment James romance
ended.
Henry had come to the age of for
tv-four without romance of any kind.
The trouble that is long time COM
ing, however, is generally severe
when it is finally at hand. The new
tenants who had just taken his farm
at the bottom of the road, Mr.. and
Mrs. Bates and family, were really
very superior people, and Miss Flor
RE Bates was really charming girl.
Henry had noticed it on their arrival,
and he had noticed the particulars
with regard to Florrie especially on
several occasions since. Atforty-four
he found himself contemplating
new horizon. True, people would
say there was some disparity in their
ages, for Florrie was but twenty-one.
But people must mind their own bus
mess. Henry was the sole and re-
spousible Judge of his own actions
and he was in love.
Indeed, the only other considera-
ton that weighed with Henry at all
was-Jane. Jane was, to all intents
and purposes, the fly in the ointment.
Florrie could not suppress the joyful
tidings that she was going to be mar
ried to the rich Mr.. Biddock. And
she would write SO many letters to
him, and the letters were on such
pink paper, with such robust per-
fume, that if Jane did not see them
when she entered the room, they be-
trayed themselves to her the first
time she was surprised into a ques-
tioning sniff. 1t soon became clear
to Henry that concealment was no
longer possible, and that the dreadful
ordeal of an explanation with Jane
must be faced as boldly as possible.
One morning, therefore, he paused
| in the middle of breakfast, and look.
ing across the table, stammered out