Year: 1872

UNCLE GEOFFREY'S TALL COPY OF


TERENCE.


My UNCLE GEOFFREY was as eccentric
an old gentleman as you could desire te
see. But, as he used to say, he was
wealthy, and he could afford to be eccen
trio. And he was right; for people put
up with his eccentricities who would
have denounced him as bear if it had
not been for his money. At any rate
with all his eccentricities, he was gener
Gus and liberal though at times he did
kindnesses in very odd way. Once
on time, for instance, he was applied to
for contribution to a certain charity. He
always preferred being his own almoner;
for, he said, if you wanted to give five
pounds for any specific purpose, the only
way to insure its reachiug its object
through any charitable organization, was
to add two more:fves to it, ito oil the ma
chinery," as he called it, meaning to pay
the costs of distribution. l don't
think, by the way, that he
was very far wrong. Well, in this
case, local magnate was pestering him
to subscribe, as they were walking up the
High Street. My uncle knew that his
IIleHu WdS mOTc famous IOf gelLlnS OInorS
to subscribe than for his own donations;
and accordingly, just as the philanthro-
pist was urging that, cit is every mans
duty to assist the struggling my uncle's
eye CHANGED to light upon small boy,
striving to push a heavy truck up the
hill. "Eook here" said he; eff you'll
practice-what you preach, and help that
boy yonder along with his load, I'll give
you twenty pounds fer your charity" The
philanthropist went off in huff, and my
uncle quietly stepped into the road, and
helped the boy to push his truck to the
top of the ascent.


This is but one instance of his eccentric
ity; but it will serve to throw light on
his character, especially when I add that
the subscription list of the charity when
published contained the following
Item


'From one who earnedit by pushing truck


My Uncle Godfrey was bachelor.
People did say something about a love-
disappointment early life, but with
what truth, 1 know not. He had two sis
ters, both of whom married professional
men; in other words, did not make very
good matches. My father was an officer
in the navy, who died of fever while off
the African coast, cruising after slavers.
My mother did not long survive him, and
left me, her only child, to the care of her
brother. Her sister had married clergy
man, a curate in a manufacturing town.
One night terrible fire broke out in
factory close to their lodgings, and spread
so rapidly that, when assistance arrived,
all in the house had perished, except my
cousin, lad of about ten, who at the first
alarm had rushed out into the street, Teav-
ing his little brothers and sisters, who
slept in the next room to him, to their
fate.


My Uncle Geofrey adopted both his
his own eye by tutor, who had been
schoolfellow of his, an exceedingly clever
scholar, who would have taken very high
honors at the university, but for serious
illness which had prostrated him at the
time when he should have gone in for his
examination.


My cousin George was my senior by
some three years, and was, therefore, al
ways held by my uncle to be his heir;
though he always added, when he men-
toned the fact, that Dick-meaning me
should not want.


After a time we were sent to college;
our ex-tutor, who had taken orders and
acted as curate in the village few years
before we matriculated, being appointed
to living in my uncle's gift. As wewere
now young men, and our tutor was gone,
our uncle became our mentor; and, as
might be expected, laid down very extra
ordinary rules for our conduct. One of
the chief of these was, that we were not
to fall in love or go accounting; but that,
supposing such misfortune as falling in
love did overtake US, he was to be imme-
diately informed.


He made each of as handsome allow
ance, and did not insist greatly in our dis
tinguishing ourselves at college. AS might
be expected, we both took things easily,
and lived well, though we were careful to
pass our examinations; for Uncle Geoffrey
had always set his face against fellows
being plucked," !" as it used to be called in
his time.


In the long vacation he allowed us, af-
ter months stay at the Manor House,
to wander wherever we chose; and he
placed his yacht at our disposal entirely
He used it himself in the spring and sum-
mer, and declared that we youngsters
didn't want to be bothered by an old man
like him, and so should have the craft to
ourselves.


In our yachting excursions George used
always to take the command. He was a
headstrong, selfish fellow by nature, and
the indulgence shown to both of us by
our uncle was in his case at least unfor-
tunate, for it encouraged the growth of
his faIlings In my case | fear my uncle's
kindness humored a tendency to careless
ness in money matters, for I knew that
his purse was always open.


After time | found George always
took the yacht to a small but pretty sea-
port on the south coast, called Gulstone.
Nor was I long in discovering the reason
of this choice of an anchorage, though at
first it seemed hardly probable one. The
fact was, George was paying attentions to
Miss Powsby. whose father, retired
soap-boiler, had purchased a villa near
Gulstone. Now, Miss Powsby was not
very pretty; on the contrary, she was ab-
normally plain. She was not ugly, for
ugliness has sort of piquancy which ab-
solute plainness entirely lacks.


But she had her attractions She was
an only child, and Powsby pere had not
boiled soap for half his life to no purpose
Mrs. Powsby had been distant connec-
ton of real live lord, and she had in
stilled into her husband the necessity for
giving Penelope's hand to genteel and
wellbred sultor. Consequently old P.
turned up his nose at all the young mer
in his own sphere of life, and looked
about for husband for his child in a
class in which he had no friends and few
acquaintance. When George, the heir
presumptive of Uncle Geofrey, and, there
fore, probable future lord of the Manor of
GiHandale, having been introduced to
Penelope at the Bachelors Ball at Gul
stone, began to show her marked atten
ton, you may be sure neither she nor hel
father attempted to repulse his advances


But George was artful enough to con