Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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lewis jm. grist, proprietor. | |nhe|pbenf Jfamilj ftefospaper: Ifor tjje promotion of i\t political, Social, Agricultural anir Commercial Interests of % Sratjj. | TERMS?$3.00 A YEAR, IN ADVANCE. VOL. 18. YOEKYILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, JULY 18, 1872. NO. 29. ' ""J _ ^ jU #rigroal frixc jltorg. j Written for the Yorkville Enquirer. AN HEIRESSIN HEROWN RIGHT. % BY EMILY J. ROMEO. CHAPTER XVIII. MR. ELLIOTT IS NOT "RESIGNED TO THE SITU- J ATIONBUT JACK "PUTS HIS BEST FOOT" FORWARD." The sick mind cannot bear anything harsh.?Ovid. "It is easier to overcome our faults than give up our prejudices." "From labor health; from health contentment springs." Mr. Elliott could not make himself believe the war had wrecked property and brought the changes which cool, sagacious, long-sighted men affirmed. He knew he had lost some hundreds of negroes; that great tracts of land were in the hands of men who had no lawful claim to it; that he had not realized ! a dollar on the various kinds of stock in j which large sums had been invested; and that his planting had resulted in loss. Yet he was not really convinced but that something must occur to place many things on their old level. He was borrowing money again, and going into planting on a larger scale than theyear before. He was going to retrieve his late failures, and be prosperous in spite of Fate. He grew impatient of any views differing from his own; and as to arguing and reasoning with him, it was out of the question. He could almost have been told as a nobleman replied to one of the czars of Russia: "Sire, it is impossible to reason with a man who uses such strong arguments and wears such thick boots for he grew angry enough to have used his boots, had he been in the habit of letting his temper vent itself in that way. It was galling?very galling?to have Jack give up the position he had secured him, at his urgent persuasion, and turn into a small farmer?one who proposed to take hold with his ? ?- ?<a wpII n_q direct: and ~ UWU liauuo auu nuia ' # for Russell to take, with pleasure, what Jack would not keep, wa3 doubly trying. He said he "did not object to a young man's going into business?he believed in it. Hadn't he been a business man all his life ? Hadn't he been looked to as one of the most successful planters in the State ? He did not object to their doing something?not at all. But was not there enough honorable professions to choose from, without lowering themselves to menial occupations ? Was Arthur the only one who was willing to wait quietly till the ferment in society had settled, and come out the unsullied gentleman ? "Why could they not be at home, studying under Ellison, preparing for the day when families of position 'came to their own,' and then take the rank they ought to claim ?" It is impossible to give a tithe of what Mr. Elliott felt, thought and said. He was like thousands who ventured so bravely and so confidently in the "Lost Cause," that when disappointment, loss and defeat overwhelmed them, they were not the same men in any re* spect. They were wounded, soured, embittered ; and the political events which followed, were only calculated to increase and intensify these feelings. It was adding fuel to the flames for the - - >r.. but they prized his visits and received much I good from them. He had the happy art of j talking with all classes without offending; | and his zeal for Christianity was greater than : his desire to add members to his own particular church. r__ Arthur and cousin Tim rode, slept, ate smoked and took their daily drinks with as much nonchalance as if the world were rolling on greased axles for their express accommodation. Eugene had the faculty of being friends with all, without decided partisanship, when they were having their heated discussions. He informed Mr. Ellison that if Russell did well during the year, and showed a talent for business, he would endeavor to make a good opening for him iu his or his brother Louis' firm ; but they had tried two or three of the sons of men once rich, and they had been so InnARnionf nrv irwl llfifimpnt wnnlH nprsllflflp 1UCUIV1CUV) UV ?UVkUVWM?V44V ,, v ?V. them to take another into a responsible position, unless his fitness for it was first proved. Georgia was a very sunbeam in the house, and all were sorry the time was drawing near for her return to her own home. It was hard to tell which would be most missed, Georgia or her children. Conway, with no suspicion of Georgia's little match-making plan, had accepted her warm invitation to spend some months with her, and was busy preparing for a long visit. She was fond of gay society, and her life had been very dull for a long time. Her mother did not wish to go to the city again; her health was better in the country, and they had just as good church privileges as she desired. Mr.JElliott would have to stay on his plantation all the summer, and it was disagreeable to him and to his family to be separated; so Conway was not to be blamed for rejoicing in having su'h a delightful opportunity of again returning to the gayeties and pleasures of society. Grace was assisting Conway in a dozen ways. If she sometimes sighed to enjoy the luxuries of Georgia's city residence, or the elegancies of her villa on the lake, she thought of her mother with her nervous attacks, and said nothing. Mrs. Elliott and Madame De Victor devoted most of their time to the children, and it was hard to say which loved them the best. "I must have one of you marry and live near me," said Georgia, one day, when they were all busy on some of Conway's new finery. "I cannot live so far away, with none of ray own family near me. If Conway will only fall in love with some good man and settle out there, then, with long visits from mother and the rest, I shall be perfectly happy." "You forget cousin Jack," ventured Grace. "Not at all. He don't want Conway. He has given her up willingly." The work fell from the hands of Grace, and she turned deathly pale. Conway put her arms around her with? "Cousin Jack doesn't want me. I have thought so a long time, and now I know it. "VVe are both free, and have been quite a little while. Now don't look so distressed; for I assure you Jack is more glad than sorry. Then to turn her thoughts, she added jestingly : "There! I've paid you back for your silence in keeping your wonderful exploit with Captain Clinton a secret so long." "Sister Conway, will you never forget that ? I'm sure I've asked you often enough, and I couldn't tell it till some one else broke the . 9) ice. "I wonder if that captain stole your heart, that you were so cold to Arthur, and would not notice young Stoudemeyer? I never could imagine before what the impediment could be." And she ran on with her nonsense and laughter till Georgia threatened to turn her out of the room, if she did not let Grace HV/\n dfo rmlv ipnlmifi hpfiftUSfi VOU aiUUU? JL UU Ml* V VM*J J >? ? ? J did not receive the kiss," said she." "Bless me, what an idea! Well, I'll be mute after such an intimation." Jack came up every Saturday evening, attended church Sunday, enjoyed the company of his relatives, and then was off before daylight Monday morning. He was always in fine spirits, and did not appear to have a care to trouble him. To the enquiries as to how he was getting along, he replied, laughingly, J that "it took a large tract of land to make | one rail to the acre answer in fencing it; that he could eat corn bread week days, if the ladies would give him something good on Sundays; that he could soon live under and | from his own vine and fig tree, if their growth j aud fruitfulness were in proportion to their J numbers; that he could work very well in the same shirt two days, but he couldn't sleep in it the second night; that the negroes were not afraid of work, as they could go to sleep by it; but they must be afraid of laziness, for they submitted to it without resistance. The real state of things they must go and see for themselves, and he would give them cold water for refreshment, and a bench in the piazza for a seat." As Jack gave them many earnest invitations to spend a day with him, the ladies agreed to go, provided he would consent to their carrying a basket dinner, and not put himself to any trouble on their account. Mr. Ellison had been to see Jack two or three times, but he never cave any inforraa parties interested to urge upon iur. jmuuh their utter incapacity and disinclination to learned professions, and to try and show there was nothing menial in the office Russell desired, and that Jack need only do what he liked on his own place. He was not to be molified by words. Even Georgia's influence was unheeded for a time, when they really put their plans in practice. Russell, whose common sense seemed to develop itself with the occasion, declared again and again that "Conway and Grace, who had read, studied and talked with their mother, while he and Jack were in the army forgetting schools and books, were better qualified to become eminent in literature and science than they, who might be plain, practical men, but could never make literary savans, and there ic never was an Elliott who did. To bo sure, Jack was not an Elliott, exactly; but if he had been, brilliancy would have come, as all he had did, from his mother's side." Mr. Elliott's moodiness lasted till Russell and Jack were fairly settled in their employments. The long confabulations ended, and his feelings no longer excited by hearing and combating arguments which bruised and irritated, his convictions and prejudices had time to become calm and less unreasonable. Stuart and Alice resumed their studies; Mr. Ellison his round of visits, which had become more and more extended as families had come back to their old homes. Many could not be induced to attend his preaching. They "were afraid to go among the quality," tion beyond the mere remark that "Jack was j getting along well?very well, indeed; he | had taken Mr. Wright's advice on some! things, had good ideas of his own, and stood j a fair chance of prospering." Mr. Elliott would not go near the place. ; "It was Jack's own venture, and he might I sink or swim?he shouldn't interfere." CHAPTER XIX. THE VISIT TO JACK'S PLACE?JACK DREAMS j A WAKING DREAM. Blessed we .sometimes are! and I am now Happy in quiet feelings ; for the tones Of a most pleasant company of friends Were in my ear but now. I retain them as the air Retains the softness of departed day. Willis. One mild morning Mrs. Elliott, her daugh-' ters and Eugene, set out for a visit to Jack. Though but little past the middle of Feb- j ruary, the heralds of spring had arrived, and were proclaiming, on every vine and tree, the near approach of their blushing queen. The peach trees were donning their robes of pink ; the jessamine burnishing its cups of gold; the bees dallying with the sweets of every blossom ; and the red birds singing "sweet!" "sweet!" "sweet!" to every bud and leaf. Roses were blushing and preparing their velvet petals to enamel the path of the capricious queen, who might come with dainty step, gentle breath and cheerful face, blessing them with sunshine and smiles ; or who, like a rude hoyden, might rush in, holding winter by the skirts till his chill breath and cold ^nw' 4-lmrtt vonrrnf tlio wflvm lnvnltv bcaio 1UUUV DUVIU i V/^i vb twv iim4*m ?vj which had tendered allegiance without waiting for a guaranty of their just rights. The spirits of the party were in unison with the day; and when they arrived at the Archie estate, they were prepared to be pleased with every thing they saw. Jack welcomed them with all the warmth of his ardent nature, and was not sorry his uncle Elliott had refused to come. He wished the pleasures of the day unalloyed by cold looks and silent shrugs at what he had accomplished, or rather what he had not accomplished, in the few weeks he had been at work. He ushered the ladies into his "Castle of New Hope," as he dubbed it on the spur of the moment, and begged them do the honors for each other, while he had the horses put up. The house was a long wooden building, with large piazzas front and back. It was divided into three large, high rooms, furnished with plenty of broad windows. The east room was Jack's, the middle one the parlor and dining room, the west one the bed room of the little Scotchman, whom Jack had fallen in with some months before and hired for the year. The furniture was simple, and barely enough for a bachelor's den. In the middle room was an ancient sideboard, which had survived many mutations of fortune, and for nearly thirty years had not been moved from its place opposite the fire-place. It contained Jack's little stock of table furniture. A round breakfast table stood in the centre of the room, and half a dozen chairs were here and there. A couple of lamps and a tumbler of spring blossoms were on the mantel-piece. Jack's room was not quite so bare, and had a cozy, inhabited look. The bedstead, with j its head to the north, stood between two windows ; back of it, on the east side, was the wash-stand with its accessories; a box for boots and shoes, and in one corner, Jack's trunk. A little stand, for Jack's dressingcase, stood in front of the bed. Before the fire-place, which was between the middle room and Jack's, was a split-bottomed chair and a small table with books, papers and writing materials. A row of books was on 1 tKo mnnfpl.niepp and a pun and fishing-rod, *uv I ? ? o # , iu racks, on the front or south side of the room. ; The little Scotchman's room had less furnii ture, but more things?such as tools, saddles j and the like?than Jack's. The whole house j was clean and orderly. A little paint and whitewash would have made it fresher and brighter; but as it was, it surprised and delighted every one. | "Who made your house so clean and nice ?" asked Georgia. j "Old maum Elsie, who used to live with I my mother. She is my cook and house-keepi er; but I keep my own things put away." "Do you keep things so nice every day, or I is this company neatness ?" J "Why, Georgia!" said Grace, reprovingly, j "It's just so everyday. I leave my room iu order when I come out to breakfast, and after Elsie makes the bed and sweeps, there's no one to disturb a single thing, so it's ob| liged to stay nice." j "Now, cousin Jack, are you in earnest? ( Don't you kick one boot here, the other there; throw your hat in one corner, your coat in another, and your vest somewhere else; scatter your papers over the whole house, and then, when Elsie picks them up and puts them away, think you have left every thing in its place ?" ?.xr i _ j r* v?,. I "ixo, inueeu, uuusm vjeutgia. xuu uwug I me; and I appeal to your mother to confirm j ray carefulnes8. My own mother began, when i I could scarcely walk, to make me wait on ! myself and put things in their right place j when I was through with them. I can re| member ray father's laughing and 'pshawing,' | and saying he had negroes enough to wait on : one boy; but he could do little against her | unremitting watchfulness and steady deteri raination. When she died, I had hardly time j to be spoilt before aunt Georgia took me and j uncle Ellison began his training. They both tried to carry out my mother's wishes, and if I am now careful and particular from choice, it is what I was compelled to be for years. You never give me credit for steady, solid characteristics, because I am so free, lively and happy. But if I have my mother's disposition, as uncle Ellison some times tells me, I can laugh at your opinion and live it down long before you will be willing to acknowl edge it." "You wrong us, now, ray dear Jack. "We give you credit for very many good qualities. You were a noisy, singing, whistling boy, but not a careless one; and I always knew you were persevering. Your mother was one among a thousand, and you may be thankful you do have her happy, independent disposition," said Mrs. Elliott. The ladies had as much curiosity as chil- i dren ; aud after looking in every room, exam- J iued the books and pamphlets on the mantelpiece and table. There were a pile of old agricultural magazines, eight or ten agricultural reports, some volumes of poetry, and last but not least, the Bible and prayer-book which had once been his mother's. Grace discovered, pasted within the covers of one of the "reports," a sheet of paper which contained a collection of maxims that seemed to be a cross between rules and proverbs. They were all short and to the point; as?"Keep out of debt." "Pay as you go." "What is worth doing at all, is worth doing well." "Look before you leap." "Have good fences, and keep the corners clean." "Don't plant more than you can tend." "Ten acres of good land well worked, are worth fifty poor ones half tended." "Make your own provisions." I "Never undertake what you don't intend to finish," &c. "These directions must be for a poor man, and are simple enough for a child," said Grace, j "Yes; and that's just what they are for?a poor man and a boyish one." "0, Jack! don't say that. Uncle Ellison and brother Eugene think you are a pattern to the young men of the country." "Don't you know uncle Ellison is partial to me, and gives me credit for many wonderful qualities; but allowing his words to be true, I have seen a very common pattern used on costly fabrics. In that way I may be a useful one." "Why do yourself injustice? Cannot the costly article be used as a pattern for less valuable materials ?" "If you think it is that way I shall feel flattered," said Jack softly. Grace blushed, felt embarrassed, and for the first time noticed that all the others had left the room. "Sit down a moment. I wish to show you ; something that will please you," and he picked up his portfolio and began unlocking it. Grace hesitated a moment and then took a | chair by the table. Jack drew out a colored photograph and handed her. "0, how beautiful! Where did you get it? Its lovely." "I took that old daguerreotype of my moth; er, which aunt Georgia had, and carried it to the best artist in the city and he took this from "But how could he know your mother's complexion, hair and eyes, to paint them so naturally ? Its as much like the portrait that was burned with our house as if the artist had worked from it. How did he do it? Its as i real as life." "It is very life-like. It was quite a work of art to make it so perfect. I had to describe, as minutely as possible, all I could remember of ray mother's looks. I was compared with | the picture and made to tell how much darker ray hair and eyes were, and a dozen other little things. Then the man would look at me with his steady artist's gaze for minutes at a time. Sometimes making me keep perfect-1 ly quiet for a long time, and then making me J * ? 1 i . - 1 i *11 I* Jaugli Dy MS tjuamt reraaras uii my race was all in a glow. At last he gained the impres-1 sion he wished and soon had a finished picture." "It is very beautiful! Have you shown it to mother?" "Not yet. I have told her nothing about it, because I wanted to give it to her in this house where she used to see her. You know the house you live in was built long since her death." i The picture was laid back in its place, and after a little more conversation they sought the others and found them in the kitchen?a ' much cleaner one than negroes generally keep?listening to maum Elsie's declarations of joy that she was back once more "wid her ! little mass'r Jack." She had been cook for | his mother, and well remembered "roasting i ?. . .1 ?i.:? u nn^ I UUe."S HUU IllUlUUg liuc-uaivto ikji vaw ku ctvi. at sundown because his mother would not let i him eat the hearty suppers his father would have. "People did say eating such rich suppers j was wot killed olc mass'r; but she knowed ; none o'her wittl's ever grazed him. She j didn't know what dat oder wife did; but he didn' die o' none o' her cookin'." Maum Elsie had fared rather badly after the death of her young mistress, and still worse after being free; so to be sought out by her young master and installed as his cook, housekeeper and poultry-minder was very gratfying. She was honest, good natured and industrious ; and as she is still cook and her husband one of Jack's best field hands, it may be concluded all parties have dealt well by each other. Maum Elsie had to show her garden, whflrfi a crood stand of Deas and cabbages was to be seen, and then Jack carried them to look at his orchard. "Four gnarled, knotty apple trees, six poor old broken-down peach trees with a few faded blossoms! Is that what you call your great orchard ?" laughed Conway; "and not even a muscadine for a vineyard !" And she leaned on the fence and looked at a few poor trees which had survived years of abuse and neglect. "No, cousin Conway, it is my orchard in futuro I wish to show. You see that spot of ploughed ground! Well, by every one of those stakes is a young fruit tree. In that place over yonder are over twenty grape vines of several varieties. In that row nearest my vines are two kinds of fig bushes?about fifteen of each kind. Then by the side of the fence I have planted seeds from choice apples and other fruit Miss Ellen Wright has promise anma of fa urtoppv nlants and I am to StOD j lOLU OVUiV OII1MII VW4*j ? ?-? ^ i for them the next time I come down." "Forgive my laughing, cousin Jack; you have indeed started an orchard to be proud of," and Conway looked with admiration at his work and what it promised. All had something flattering to say; and Eugene, putting his arm through Jack's, asked eagerly? "How is it you have everything so nice about you and made so many improvements in such a short time, when so many who have been planting for years and had plenty of slaves, could never find time for anything of the kind? How did you do it?" "Why I determined to have some poetry as well as prose on my place. I could not split - ..? j 1 _ J rails?which was the hrst tmng to De aooe? so while the others did that I began some of these things. Then, Saturday evenings, when the hands have their own time, I give my attention to homo matters, and it is surprising how much I can accomplish." "I should not think you could hold out to work so hard and steady. Are you not afraid you will injure your health?" asked Mrs. Elliott. "I never think of it. I am not so effeminate as you seem to suppose. Why last fall, when young Smith, whose duties were on the wharf, began to give out, I took his place for some hours each day and rolled barrels, lifted boxes, and tumbled bales of cotton about like a regular drayman or stevedore." "But that was unnecessary drudgery. You were not required to do anything like that, and I can't see why you should have undertaken it," said Conway in great surprise. "I wanted to test my strength for one thing ; to be in the open air and sun for another; help Smith, who was a fine fellow and had a family which would have suffered if his health had given out so as to make him lose his situation, for a third; and a spirit was in me to make me show off a little. You know there are a plenty of men who will oversee hard I work, but will let their employers' interests I suffer greatly, before they will take hold with * ? - J 1 1- - - tneir own nanas ana neip in a uguipiaue, and it did me a great amount of good to show ! some of them there was one person not afraid of losing his position in society or hurting his dignity, by taking hold of a dirty barrel without gloves. I really believe some of them were more afraid of soiling their soft white hands, than of committing a mean action." "Perhaps they are more to be pitied than blamed," said Mrs. Elliott. "It has so long been considered degrading to do many things which slaves used to have for their work, that many cannot dissociate the work from the idea of its lowering them to perform it. And the mind shrinking from the labor, takes a defilement of the hands as an injury to the mental as well as physical feelings." "You may be partly right, but not wholly so; for a person of good sense and good principles ought to see it is dishonest to undertake a business and neglect it; and an act which stains the moral nature is far more degrading than one which simply tires the arms and soils the hands. Our people must have a morbid sensitiveness on the subject of plain homely work, so many shrink from it and so much is said of those who take hold of it an earnest, unflinching manner. Even the sailors would ! ask from what State I was from, and looked | incredulous when I told them. One right fine cautain declared I was never raised in this | State, or my parents were not; and took such a liking to me that he invited me to dine and ; take supper with him every time he came into | port. I enjoyed his suppers and company ! 'hugely,' to use one of his expressions." "I don't see why they doubted your being from this State," said Grace. "It must be as rare to see gentlemen doing doing dirty work in other places as here, is it not?" "It depends something on where the place is, don't it, Eugene? You have traveled more than I ?" ! "Yes, it depends very much on that. Gentlemen employ others to do dirty and disagreeable work everywhere. They always have and always will; but iu some places they will take hold in an emergency or great hurry and assist, without a thought of what others may say or care; while in many other places it has been too common to leave undone what could not be accomplished by directions and orders." "Perhaps never having done these disagreeable things, they don't know how," suggested Conway. I know there are many things I can tell how I wish to be done, which I could not do myself." "That is true in some cases, but in the work of which Jack was speaking, there was generally more knowledge than inclination. Now, in New Orleans, I have often noticed the different spirit and energy thrown into business by persons from different sections of the Union. I can tell the nationality of people by the occupations they choose and the life or listlessness thrown into them. There is a languid, slow-and-easy way of doings things among our native population which contrasts strongly with the wide-wake go-a-headiliveness of persons from colder and more braciug sections." "You ought to remember," said Mrs. Elliott, who was quite interested iu the discussion, ' ;-i- 1 "tnat our people priue iucuiscivco uu ww ou?, quiet manners and slow movements, in contradistinction to the restless, bustling eagerness which characterizes a nation of workers. Repose of manner is cultivated till it becomes our nature, yet when we are roused there is energy and earnestness, as Jack and others are showing since the necessity for using it has arisen. Climate cannot always account for sluggishness and slowness; for at Niagara Falls, one sees fully as great a difference between the people of her Majesty's dominions and the States, as between Northeners and Southerners. On the other side they are grave, quiet, slow, methodical, with a strong barrier of rank and position between the higher and lower classes. On the American side there is a rushing, hurrying, bustling activity which almost stuns one; and classes so merge into each other it is hard tell where one ends or the other begins." "But you like the calm, quiet people best, don't you, mother; you are always so much so yourself," said Grace. "I like neither extreme. An inert, enervated effeminacy disgusts me; and an intense, unceasing activity annoys me. There is a proper medium which suits best for common, every day life." "We have an affection for Niagara Falls, as it was there we first met," said Eugene, taking Georgia's hand in a very lover-like way. The conversation was changed by their api - ?11 i. proacii to tne grave-yaru, a sunm euuiuouic where lay the Archies, a family extinct in name and with Jack alone for a descendant. The soldiers, when camping near, had respected the sacred place; and as no battle had been fought in the vicinity, no bursting shells or crashing cannon balls had broken the modest marbles or desecrated the spot. The fence had been newly repaired, the walks weeded and swept, the rose-bushes trimmed, and the trailing vines provided with a suitable support. After a short silence and a few quiet remarks, Mrs. Elliott put her hand on Jack's arm aud said, "You remind me more and more of your mother. She was never in a hurry; always had time to listen to every one and help or sympathize with them as they needed; read all the new works published; visited her friends and received much company ; yet found time to undertake and accomplish a hundred things no one else thought of. She was always cheerful, ready to do any one a favor, and was as unselfish a Christian as I have ever known. If you were like her in the last respect, you need ask no other blessing." Jack looked at his aunt Georgia an instant, with a happy light beaming from his face, and said softly, "I am trying." Mrs. Elliott clasped his hand, aud they walked slowly to the house, where Jack produced his mother's picture and presented it amid many exclamations of astonishment and admiration. The likeness was declared perfect. Jack related how it had been taken and painted, and Mrs. Elliott told several anecdotes of the original, confirming the high estimation she had expressed of her character and disposition. About one o'clock the lunch basket was brought out, the table spread, and all enjoyed the cold feast?seasoned with some of maum Elsie's hot coffee?as much as if it had been one of the finest dinners ever cooked. Alice said the chicken was one she raised, and she had fattened it expressly for that day; but the ham might be from one of Stuart's * ? ?? oauIfflll Knf uuga ur tier luwici o, quo vuuiuu ? ivu , uuv UUv knew all about the chicken, for her Poland top-knot hatched it, and it was a fall chicken. She had ten more just like it, with top-knots that had to be trimmed to keep them from hanging in their eyes." " You will become skilled in raising chickens if you listen to Alice," said Georgia with a laugh. "She is guite enthusiastic on the subject." "You must let me have one or two of your choice kinds," said Jack. "Which can you part with best ?" "I don't care which you take if you don't want bantams. I can't give them to any one except sister Georgia's children." "Well, I'll take a Poland then, and a half Shanghai; but I can't promise to trim the Poland's top knot very often." "Some of them don't need it. I've two hen's setting now. I'll send you a pair just as soon as they hatch and their mother weans them." "Thank you. Don't forget it now," and Jack began wondering what he could give the generous child who wished to divide her poul try with any one she loved. A squirrel, which he afterwards caught and tamed, compensated her so amply, she would have given a dozen chickens, if he would have accepted them. Jack confessed that he lived very frugally, and declared his purpose of sticking to his rule of keeping out of debt all he could. The Scotchman who lived with him, but was absent that day, was satisfied with his plain fare, and the negroes had their allowance. Mr. Elliott had not been able to raise raucb money towards paying Jack for the property which had been lost by unfortunate calculations. A couple of mules, two cows, a wagon, a few farming implements, and a little credit which enabled him to purchase provisions, was all; but many a man has started at twenty-five with nothing but his head and hands, and then mac e a fortune. Jack had a 11 1 * --- ? ?i- ? ? ?ttS wT?of sraan Deginmng wiieu uuiupuicu mm nu?? he owned only two years before, and he really deserved much credit for his ready willingness to begin at what seemed a very low round in the ascent to fortune. His two fine cavalry horses that he prized so highly, had now to come to the plough, and he felt more for them than for himself. Perhaps his care for them was the cause of his having better hands than some of his neighbors; for he would not take a man till he found he was patient and kind to his horses. He prov<d the words of Solomon? "The righteous mau regardeth the life of his ! beast." After lunch, Jack and Eugene walked out I to some of the distant fields, but the ladies , chose to stay in the house. Their ride and long walk in the forenoon had tired them ; somewhat, but they would not let the two men remain on their account. They, the men, could not have found it so pleasant; alone, for they soon returned. Eugene gave one sensible piece of advice as they were going along. "If you make a living this year, and find you have chosen ; your right vocatiou, marry. Don't wait for a fortune?don't even wait for a competence ;, but choose a good girl and marry at once." i i i j j..j I " I ou know one iaciy nas uesarieu iue. | How shall I hope to find favor with another?" | Yet Jack blushed as he said it. "Humbug! nonsense!" laughed Eugene. "You were as willing to dissolve partnership j as she; and if you are not already in love with one of the sweetest girls in the world, I'm much mistaken." "Do you think so ?" said Jack, musingly. "Think so ! I know it! And she's a perfect treasure?one that any man might be proud of. And if you let any oue else get ahead of you, I shall be tempted to come back and give you a good thrashing." Jack looked at Eugene's light, slim figure beside his broad shoulders and six feet, and smiled. "0, I've got the spirit aud the skill, and they'll match your muscle aud skill; so look out!" And Eugene laughed back. The two men had such a hearty liking for each other, and appreciated each other's character so highly, they were almost like David and Jonathan. Distance would be the only Saul to separate them, and that they could conquer by letters. Few men keep up a reg-! ular correspondence for friendship's sake, but j that of these two has continued unbroken till now. Though no name had been called, Jack understood what lady Eugene meant, and his heart grew warm, that some one was ready to cheer him and bid him "God speed." Jack was not one to be a bold, forward wooer. His was a noble nature, and he thought so highly of the delicacy and sensitiveness of a woman's feelings, he feared to approach them rudely. He had seen such true womanliness in his aunt Georgia and her daughters, and had been taught to revere his mother's memory so highly, he had a much better opinion of women than most young men of his station. Guarded from vice by Mr. Ellison's watchfulness in youth, and the good principles he had carefully instilled, Jack was almost a model young man. His "wild oats" had been scattered rather sparingly. His pleasures were more athletic sports and games than vicious indulgences. While engaged to Conway, he often said he "expected to have a good, pure wife, and she had a right to expect him to be true and pure for her sake and now when he was more in love than ever before, he would certainly keep his escutcheon clear. The evening passed delightfully, and too quickly; and Jack heaved a few sighs as the time of departure drew nigh. After the last "Good-byes" had been spoken, and the car- J riage was out of sight, he went into the house, so deserted and lonely, and a sad feeling came stealing over him, till, going in his own room and leaning against the mantel, he recalled how beautiful Grace had looked, sitting in his easy chair, his mother's portrait in her hand, and her face all aglow with pleasure and admiration. If he ever regretted his broken engagement with Conway, it was certainly not at that moment. "Twenty grape vines and thirty fig trees! Humph!" muttered Mr. Elliott. "He must intend living on grapes and figs"?little thinking that in one sense his words would be literally true. "'Thirty fig trees!'" cried Stuart; "where did he get so many ?" "There was a large fig tree on the place, which he trimmed, and then set out the limbs, and some one gave him a number of cuttings of a different kind. There's little trouble in getting them to grow." "Jack is bound to succeed," said Eugene, when Mrs. Elliott had answered Stuart. "I hope he may," said Mr. Elliott in a tone which was almost?"I hope he won't." Mr. Elliott wa*not a bad-hearted man, nor did he lack good sense, as some of his acts and remarks would indicate; but he was so "rasped and edged" by the times and his bad luck, he vented his ill feelings in words he would not have acknowledged, had they been repeated to him afterward. Georgia, usually the life of every party, had been silent and absent nearly all day; but now with her children around her, she was herself once more. After many caresses, and using every term of endearment in both languages of which she was mistress, she declared she would never leave her children a whole day again, for either business or pleasure. [to be continued next week.] ? ' TTfc A A 1 1 i.l_ AN JiiRECT roSTUKii.?A writer uu iieuiiu very justly condemus the habit of lounging, in which large numbers of persons indulge, as injurious to health. He says: "An erect bodily attitude is of vastly more importance to health than is generally imagined. Crooked bodily positions maintained for any length of time, are always injurious, whether in the sitting, standing or lying posture; whether sleeping or waking. To sit with the body leaning forward on the stomach, or to one side, with the heels elevated to a level with the head, is not only in bad taste, but exceedingly detrimental to health. It cramps the stomach, presses the vital organs, interrupts -1 ?. J ? U1 I the iree emotions 01 tne cuest, auu emeuuies the functions of the abdominal and thoracic organs, and, in fact, unbalances the whole muscular system. Many children become slightly humpbacked, or severely round-shouldered, by sleeping with the head raised on a high pillow; when any person finds it easier to sit, or stand, or sleep in a crooked position than in a straight one, such persons may be sure his muscular system is badly deranged, and the more careful he is to preserve a straight or an upright position, and get back to nature agoin, tne better." How to Enjoy Life.?It is wonderful to what an extent people believe happiness deEends on not being obliged to labor. Honest, earty, contended labor is the only source of happiness, as well as the only guarantee of life. Idleness and luxury induce premature j decay much faster than many trades regarded as the most exhaustive and fatal to longevity. Labor in general actually increases the term of life. It is the lack of occupation that annually destroys so many of the wealthy, who, having nothing to do, play the part of drones, and, like them, make a speedy exit, while the busy bee fills out its day in usefulness and honor. IpSffUattefltts ?Uafli?g. From Hie Kaunas Cliy Time*. FIVE YEARS EXPERIENCE AS A SQUAW. The steamer Fontenelle arrived at this city yesterday moruing, after a three months' trip to Fort Benton and the mountains. Among her miscellaneous cargo of robes, furs, peltries and Nebraska corn was a female named Miss Amanda Barber, nee Squatting Bear, who, in a fit of fanatical romance, offered herself in 1867 as a voluntary missionary to the Brule Sioux, then occupying the territory between the Cheyenne River and the Big Horn Mountains, Dakota Territory. Miss Barber created quite a sensation in the Eastern States by her marriage with a young Indian named Squatting Bear, who accompanied a party of Sioux to Washington in 1867. Miss Barber was at that time a clerk in one of the Departments at Washington, in a position secured for her by General Butler, before the impeachment fiasco. According to her own statement, made yesterday to our reporter, she was firmly impressed with the ideality and perfection of the red men of the plains. I She had read evervthiner relatine to the Indian I tribes, from the reports of the commissioner of Indian affairs down to the latest dime novel. In a fit of enthusiasm or temporary insanity, she offered herself to, and became the wife of Squatting Bear, a junior chief in the Lone Horn band of Brule Sioux, and with him and his party returned to the Yankton agency, where she was duly initiated into her new life as a white squaw. Her romantic ideas of Indian life seemed to have received a terrible shock since her introduction to her new home and relations, and though she endeavored to fulfil her mission as a teacher and missionary to the best of her ability, her progress appears to have been as slow as the progress of civilization on the plains. She states that her first great surprise was being required to mount upcu a wild, vicious pony, and travel without saddle or attention, over the country from the Missouri to the White Earth River, a distance of several hundred miles. Her inability to make the journey provoked mirth among her husband's companions, and finally exasperated Squatting Bear until he bound her with a rope to the pony's back and led the animal himself on the westward trail. She was still more surprised to find her husband possessed of two other wives, one a vicious, dirty squaw, of forty years of age, the other a girl of scarcely fourteen years. Her life in his wigwam, or teepe, was not as bright and happy as she expected it would be. Her husbands's absence was taken advantage of by her rivals to compel her to perform the vilest drudgery, such as gathering wood, cooking meat, and scraping robes for the tanning process; but during Sauattin? Bear's nresence aihome Miss Barber appears To have been better treated. Her husband, in a violent fit of passion, killed his oldest squaw during the first year she was with the tribe, when without warning or notice she was hurried on to the main camp of the Brules, three days'journey towards the mountain, and from thence she accompanied the tribe on its annual buffalo hunt, where she became sick from exposure and fatigue. She was left at a temporary drying camp at Rawhide River, where she attempted to escape by walking to Fort Fetterman, a distance of sixty miles. For this attempt she was beaten until nearly dead and then sold by her husband for three ponies to a Cheyenne chief, who sported the expressive soubriquet ofCoo-Coose, or Baconsides. She was taken North in 1870, and has remained with the Cheyennes ever since, until her escape this spring, when she made her appearance at and claimed the protection of the authorities at Fort Benton. Miss Barber's experience would no doubt make a story more thrilling than that of the "Escaped Nun." She is a woman rather plain in appearance, skin tawny and black, eyes small, dark and expressive, voice rather masculine? and, in fact, just such a woman as Mrs. Colonel Anthony or Tennie Claflin would choose for a second in command. Miss Barber conversed with our reporter without the least diffidence, and answered any question asked of her. She says that, so far as the romance of Indian life is concerned, she found none of it. Her efforts to teach and reform the young Indian children were treated with indifference and contempt. She learned the Sioux language easily, but the Cheyenne dialect was mnnVi kiolinr ua;uci L'J auijUIl^i MllV uua ? Uiuvu uigiiv* opiuioa of the Cheyenues than of the Sioux. The latter tribe, she says, are to blame for nearly all thieving and murdering done in the white settlements. She found it necessary to paint and color like the rest of the tribe while she was with them, and twice witnessed the murder or executions of white men, one a soldier belonging to the Thirty-second United States Infantry, who had been taken while out hunting, who was burnt and scalped; the others were two teamsters, brought from Fort McPherson. All three were burnt at a place called "Saddler's Hill," in the Nebraska "Bad Lands." Miss Barber has a poor opinion of Grant's Quaker policy, which she says is a perfect farce, and is so regarded by the Indians. She asserts that there will be no peace while men intrude into the buffalo range or tempt the cupidity of the Indians by bringing stock and valuables out into exposed frontier settlements. The Indians have the greatest contempt for the white man's judgment and the efficacy of the soldiers. Miss Barber left the steamer Fontenelle at this port, and after a few hours' rest started on her way to the home of her friends at Millford, Massachusetts. ? ? A Notable Career.?Helmbold's failure was due to great vanity. It is about four years since he was making his greatest dash, and then his career certainly was a remarka ble one. He had only been three years in New York, and during that time he had made his remedies famous and had become rich. His income was fifty thousand dollars per year, and all that was required was a continued attention to the business he had established. Instead of this, however, he became ambitious of political distinction. When Grant was nominated for the presidency, A. T. Stewart advanced fifty thousand dollars towards an electioneering fund. Hclmbold, who had the folly to believe in Seymour's chances, determined to outdo Stewart, and consequently advanced one hundred thousand dollars to his party. One hundred thousand dollars is a big sum of money; it has generally been considered a capital sufficient for many kinds of business. That any man should deliberately throw such a sum away can only be explained by the proud desire to outrival i.? u t auiiie giuH-ici iuui. Axciuiuuiu, it ia uuc, c.v pected to make money rapidly; but pride was continually in the way of enduring success. Having outbid Sterart m the political fund, he determined to distance the Belmonts and Commodore Vanderbilt in equestrian style, and hence his equipage at Long Branch was the grandest ever seen there, with the single exception of that displayed there by Jim Fisk. There was an incessant rivalry between this brace of fools; but in the long fiin Fisk came out ahead, which might have been expected from his unbridled ambition and vast resources. Helmbold changed his team every day in the week, but still Insk excelled him. They have both reaped the reward of their folly; the one lying in a dishonored grave, while the other is a wanderer in a foreign land. Sore Mouth and Tongue.?Three drachms of borax, two of sugar of lead, half an ounce of alum, and a pint of sage tea, will core a sore mouth and tongue. It must be used as a wash.