The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1908-05-19

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Eve must keep it from her."
"Yes"
eff we don't she will certainly talk
right up to the deacon and make things
worse than ever. Your Aunt Salina is
not afraid of any living man. You
just act as natural as you can, and
don't let her catch on to a thing"
And yet five or six days later, when
the guest In question arrived, she had
not been in the house half an hour be-
fore she set her jaw and said to Mrs.
Thompson, her widowed sister:
Nov, Ruth. while Mary is upstairs
1 want to hear all about it. There's
some skulduddery been going on here,
and / want to get at the root of it.
It's no use to put on that innocent
look, for I'm a woman that can't be
deceived"
Then the widow had to fix it up.
Her daughter Mary, now twenty years
old, had been keeping company" with
Deacon Bromley's son James. and the
marriage day had once been set. Dea-
con Bromley had then favored the
match The widow had a fine farm
adjoining his, and If she took forty
acres off Of hers and he forty off of
his the young folks would have good
start In life She as well as he could
also contribute considerable cash to-
ward building the new house and barn.
Yes. it would be a good match all
around. and everything was going
swimmingly when the deacon took in
a summer boarder.
He was what might be called half
cash boarder-that Is, for two weeks
he paid half the price of board and
lodging in cash and the other in infor-
nation which changed the deacon's
nature all over The boarder had made
a study of family trees, so he asserted,
and after scratching his head and con-
sulting the signs in the family almanac
for a fortnight he announced that the
Bromleys were direct descendants OF
Lord Bromley of England, while Lord
Bromley himself was granddaughter
of William the Conqueror.
The deacon had always been rather
ellu uCChCu L1dn wv dAO liz NONAA
munity. and this information added to
his pride. He did not question the
strangers information, and after a
time it began to get in its work. He
wasn't rich. but be had the blue blood
In him, and that was even better. In
four weeks he was walking as if he
had poker down his back, and at the
end of four more he said to his son:
James. there is nothing that hurts
a family more than misalliance.
What is the world going to say when
it hears that Bromley has married
Thompson
"Are you talking about Mary Thomp-
son, father?' asked James.
lam. | am seeing things great deal
different from what did few weeks
ago. Where did the Thompsons spring
from? Who are they? Was the first
Thompson a lord or duke or only a
"COPPER"
But you know. I'm engaged to
Mary Thompson. and you know that
the family is respectable. No one can
say that there has been anything
against them. from grandfather down
''Um, UNI! None of them has been in
iail that | know of. but l ask again,
Who are the ThompsonsY We know
who the Bromleys sprang from, and
cannot consent to any plebeian alliance.
Until know who the first Thompson
was | shall feel justified in opposing
this match. 1t will be no use whatever
TO argue the matter with me. | am de-
termined to preserve the purity of our
blood as it has come down to u.s."
James did not cease to call at the
widows, but it was not long before she
realized that he had something on his
mind. and he was finally prevailed up
on to state it. He held In direct oppo-
sition to his father. but that did not
satisfy the insulted mother or the high
spirited daughter Strained relations
followed. Such was the situation when
Aunt Salina arrived. She listened to
the story with a grim look on her face.
and when it was finished she said:
Ruth, you were never any good at
handling cases like this. and you must
leave things to me- : know all about
the Thompsons and the Bromleys. too,
and I've heard a thing or two about
William the Conqueror since | went to
Michigan to live. You just keep out
of the fuss and let me settle it my own
way"
"But you won't go to the deacon and
call him an old idiotT protested the
widow.
< 81 can't tell what I'll do. Providence
generally takes hand in cases like
this. and / shall depend good deal
on Providence. We won't say word
to Mary about it,
Providence didn't wait long before
taking a hand December had come.
Instead of being married on Christmas
day, as the young couple had hoped
for, they were as good as estranged.
Between the house and the barn was
a goose pond of considerable depth.
and, though this had been frozen over
solid for two or three weeks, a recent
south wind had gone far to weaken
the ice. and the hired man had skirted
the pond in going to and fro.
On the forenoon of the very next day
after the story had been told Deacon
Bromley came walking toward the
widows house. He was taking short
cut across the fields, and when he
reached the pond he stepped boldly on
the ice 1t began to crack. and. though
a direct descendant of LORD bromley
h 80 ho Con.
queror, the deacon didn't consider it
derogatory TO his dignity to make a
rush for the head of barrel appearing
above the ice. He dared not go back
and he dared not go forward, and he
shouted for some one to come and
shove plank out on the ice to save
his blue blood from being chilled.
my soul, but there's Deacon Brom-
lev standing on that barrel in the mid
die of the goose pond!" exclaimed the
widow as she heard the shouts and
looked out of the window"
Its Providence" answered Aunt Sa-
lima, land now you keep hands off.
Providence and are going to run
this show. Get my hood and shawl and
mittens. for the conversation may last
some time
Five minutes later she stood on the
bank of the pond, sizing the deacon up
and after bit she said:
Il am Mary's Aunt Salina from Mich
igan and here on visit. Did you want
to see any one In particular"
''Why-why. as was just going by
you know, thought / would stop and
ask for any letters James might have
written"
''And did James know you were go
ing to ask?'