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eewis iwr. grist, proprietor, j ^it Jfnkjpbtnf Jfamilj ^tcfasjajicr: Jfor t[jc promotion of tjjc apolitical, Social, Agricultural airlr Commercial interests of Ijjt JJoatjt. terms?$3.00 a tear, in advance. "VOL. 18. YOBKVILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, AUGUST 1, 1873. JSTO. 81. " M ( T * 1 ' ? ntA?A nnr?or?n/l f |U Original fmc ftora. Written for the Yorkville Enquirer. AN HEIRESSIN HEROWN RIGHT. BY EMILY J. ROMEO. CHAPTER XXI. FAMILY CONFABULATIONS PRO AND CON. Men may, I find, be honest, though they differ. Thomson. I hold my peace, sir ? No; No, I will speak as liberal as the air. Shakspeare. Mr. Ellison called in the morning, as he Vo/i nrnmiawt after some conversation 1JMU |/4VUA?WVV?) MMW with Ellen, had a Jong talk with Mr. and Mrs. Wright. As is often the case when a daughter is wooed, the father hesitated longer than the mother. It was rather unexpected to both. Arthur had been very assiduous in trying to press attentions on Ellen for ! some weeks, but she had avoided him so pointedly and persistently, they had felt no fears but her good sense would carry her through his infatuation without harm. Mr. Ellison had been so quiet and delicate in his addresses, no one but Ellen had really known they were so sincere and constant. Mr. Wright did not object to him as a man. He could desire no better one for a son-in-law; but Ellen was his favorite child, and he felt pain in giving her to any one. There were so few men in the neighborhood, and they generally so mediocre, he had not contemplated the idea of Ellen's marriage as a near or certain event, and it took time to gain a full and hearty assent. Mr. Ellison explained that he had arranged his property so he would have an income sufficient for all moderate wants, though it was far less than he had used before the war. "I am very glad to hear it," said Mr. i . ?T mof/ionoptr and dn Tint. ?Y ngni; x am uuo uiu^uuxj u?u ?? uv? care if you have only a small income, but I could not consent to give up Ellen if you had none; for you, who were raised rich, do not know how to make a living like men in a middling station, and I should be distressed to have my daughter come to want, or have to support an inefficient husband." "You are right; I understand your feelings, and I made all my business arrangements as sure and secure as possible before I ventured to urge my suit. I shall have some two thousand dollars a year now, and if times ever grow better, may be able to increase it. My wife"?the word seemed to sit easily on his tongue?"will have more control over our expenses than I, and I do not fear our inability to live comfortably." The two men smiled, shook hands, and one went off for a long walk to think over and become reconciled to the change which would soon take place in his family ; the other to sit down by Ellen's side in blissful content, murmuring sweet words, inaudible to any ears save hers. The most of Mr. Elliott's family received Mr. Ellison's engagement very pleasantly, auu gave wurui tuugtaiuwMuua. Conway had nothing to object to Ellen; she was good enough for any one and would appear well in any station; but there were five younger than herself at home, and it was probable some of them might marry into low families, or among the common sort of people who lived around the country. Tom being now a man, with good sense and cultivated tastes, would no doubt look pretty high ; but there was no telling what the younger set might do." "You borrow trouble unnecessarily," said Mrs. Elliott; "your father says there is not a man in the district who is prospering like Mr. Wright. He will one day be rich and influential ; and you know he is very careful, indeed, in trying to have his children cultivated and refined. They will not be apt to choose unlettered, coarse companions, without manners or ruiud, after the training their parents give and the examples set. Julia is now almost a lady, and a very sweet, pretty girl she is. Her mother can no longer say her 'fingers are all thumbs,' she has improved so much in ev_ erv respect; and that wide-awake Albert is going to be a smarter man than Tom." "I think so, too, mother," said Grace; "Tom is a matter-of-fact, sensible, business man ; but Albert is. quicker, has finer sensibilities, and a keener relish for the beautiful and poetical. He always makes me think of his father." "Well, I hope you may be right I don't think I am so much like cousin Letitia as to be angry when people rise in the world, and by merit attain honorable positions; but I do have a horror of sinking and being lowered? of high families allying themselves to the 'mushroom aristocracy,' and being willing to bolster up people whose only claim is based on their ability to make money and cut a great dash in the world." Conway was correct in her opinion of herself. The only trouble was, she was more ready to think people who were trying to rise were "mushroom aristocracy" than "nature's noblemen." She wished their title proved, not granted through favor. And who can blame her ? Mr. Elliott expressed himself very strougly. "Ellison ought to set an example to others. Now was the time to keep up distinctions of rank and blood. Society was unsettled, de moralized, and if the old families of pure and I ancient descent did not make a stand and keep the proper boundaries defined and intact, when could they expect encroachments and usurpations to end? Ellison was a clergyman and had influence; had been married and was experienced ; was growing old?" "Only forty-six?just my age," suggested Mrs. Elliott. "Well, he's old enough to do better, and I am surprised at his conduct." And he stopped with what he thought dignified silence, but it looked more like petty vexation. "Cousin Tim declared "Ellison had done what he wouldn't; but it was natural for a man who had been puffed and praised all his life to make some slip and show he was human after all." Miss Letitia took occasion to give her opin?? *r_ tmii ?_ ol. iou iii lur. JM113011 s presence, ouc uuu uv idea of hiding her thorns under a bushel. If she could not make others feel them, they tore her own bosom. She was so sharp that Mr. Ellison was roused to say? "It is fortunate that I am not an Elliott? only a connection by marriage?for now you cannot consider what I do as affecting you in the least. If you ignore the connection altogether, it will give me no pain, and may be a relief to your highly shocked and excited feelings." L Miss Letitia brought out her keenest thrust: j "You all thought I was blind a few weeks I ago, when I told you of the artfulness of that j low girl; but you see now I was wiser than ' you all. When she couldn't ensnare one, she did another; and an old fool is the worst oY fools, I've always heard." "Miss Elliott," said Mr. Ellison sternly,, "you do not know what or of whom you are . speaking. If your name and blood cannot re- i strain you from abusing a real lady, perhaps a few plain facts may be an assistance. Miss Wright has never used an art to entrap me. . T hftvp tried to win her love a lonir time, and it is owing more to her unassuming good : sense, than to any particular caution on my part, that no one suspected it till Christinas. You can say what you please about me, but I advise you to be cautious how you use her: name again." It was the first time in years that Mr. Elli- J son had been really angry, and it awed even Miss Letitia. She never dared to speak slightingly on the subject, except once to mutter that "Lent was a pretty time for a minister to be oourting." Jack was the most astonished of any one, and could hardly believe it till Mr. Ellison himself spoke of it, and had a long, confidential conversation with him. If he objected, it was not in words, and the harmonious relations betweeu the two were unbroken. Arthur whistled along "whew!"?took a stiff drink, and remarked to Tim? "No wonder she was so deuced cold and treated me so shabbily. I've always heard no fellow ever stood a chance when a minister "">? oi.niin/1 . ond Vinnor if nil? if lior aist.Pr WOO aiVUUU y MiUU kv ?w- ...... isn't the best looking. I believe I'll try my luck there. I like those innocent country girls a great deal better than those stunning city belles who are too awfully grand to enjoy life." The wedding day was to be shortly after Easter. Mr. Ellison would listen to no delay, and there was really no need for any. Ellen was to have a good but not expensive trousseau. Her father would give her what he considered a fair share of his means, but was too just to defraud his other children even for his best beloved. Mr. Ellison wished him to give nothing; but few fathers wish to have their daughters marry penniless, and fewer girls like to call at once on a husband for money for themselves. Georgia wished to be present at the wedding, but dared not stay so late in the season. She was undecided about taking a northern tour; but even if she did, she felt compelled to go back to her own home for a few weeks. It would never do to keep the children away from their grand-parents many weeks; they were already impatient for their return, and wrote constantly about their long absence. Eugene was anxious to return to his business. An idle life did not suit him, and there was so much irregularity in sending letters, and getting them from Charleston when replies came, that he hurried Conway's preparations, and finally urged her to finish them in New Orleans. Celeste, the demure little bonne, was almost wild with delight. No one suspected she was ? i :_i_ j.:ii j? e ? 3U UUIUesiUK. till LUC UttJ 1U1 setting uu nao fully decided upon; and then Georgia reproached herself for having been so very happy when Celeste -was sighing for home. But; she need not have blamed herself; Celeste did not, and was distressed when she found she had caused her dear lady a single sigh. Jack came up to spend the last Saturday and Sunday before they left. He was in fine spirits. Work was going on well, and he was delighted with his little Scotchman, Burns? no relative of the poet?who could do so many things in an easy labor-saving way. He had lived in England and at the North, and had a good head for the minutife of all sorts of farm work, but did not like to have the direction of others. Among the other wonders he was doing, Jack described his manner of taking care of the cows and milking, which was very different from the way it was done by the negroes. He had only two? all that his uncle had thought he could spare? both young, blooded heifers. When one had a calf, Burns took it in hand at once. The calf was taken away and shut up by itself. rr11 1 1 _ 1 J ?x1 1 1_ ine cow was ropeu, so sne couia neuner noos nor kick, and milked thoroughly and quickly, night and morning?the man sitting on a little bench, the pail on the ground before him, and using both hands. After a while the cow would be gentle without being tied. This milk was given to the calf; and though it took some patience to teach it to drink, Burns persevered till it could feed itself as well from the trough as it could from the cow. As soon as the calf was a month old, Burns was going to give it only part of the milk and save some for their own use. He would have saved it out after nine days, as they do at the North, but Jack would not consent; that was too soon in this climate, he was sure. After a little, cow and calf could both be turned together to feed without any danger of losing the milk, and there would never be any need of penning or minding calves. Jack was quite elated at the prospect, but Mr. Elliott did not agree with him. iiTi J- t Ti 1 ?11 | 11 wuil b uu : lb wuu b iiu nuic ab an; Negroes will never take so much trouble with cows, and a cow will not come home without a calf there to call her. Your experiment will be a failure." "Well, uncle, I shall give it a fair trial. I've heard and read it is the way they do in other countries; so I don't see why it won't answer here, and then Burns seems to understand what he is about." "Do as you please! Do as you please! And when you fail, remember experience teaches a dear school. I shall give no more advice." Georgia hastened to say something pleasant and turn the conversation; but she need not have feared Jack. He was not quick to fly in a passion, and he would have taken a great deal from Mr. Elliott without even being vexed. When Jack bid them "Good-bye" on Monday morning, Grace watched him to see if he was not depressed at parting from Conway. But he laughed and joked with her as freely as usual, and gave her a partiug kiss with less warmth than the ones he bestowed on Georgia and the children. Eugene so far displayed his French ardor as to throw his arms around Jack and give him a long, hearty embrace. Mr. and Mrs. Elliott were going to Charleston with Georgia and her party, and when carriages and wagons drove off loaded with people and baggage, the very yard seemed as deserted and silent as the house. Mrs. Elliott wished Grace to go with them, and she was very anxious to do so and spend ' the last days of Georgia's stay with her in the 1 city; but Miss Letitia would not cousent to take charge of the house while they were gone ; there was no servant they could put! the responsibility on for the time they wished 1 to stay, and Grace sadly offered to remain and go when Mr. Ellison made his wedding J lri,\ Miss Letitia's unwillingness to be obliging on this occasion was almost more than Mrs. | Elliott could bear. She was tempted to tell j her she must seek a home among some of her j other relatives; but she knew none would take her willingly, and the old lady was real- j ly growing feeble and childish. "Some one must bear with her, and I get along with her temper better than any one else; so it may be my duty to give her a home," she would say sometimes to Mr. Elliott, when he was so irritated by Miss Letitia that he declared she must leave. She did, however, tell her, after some remark like this?"I don't see why, when every one else can go when and where they please, you should wish me to stay alono in thi? dreary, out-of-the-way plaoo, with no society or anything else"?"You may go to Charleston with us, and we'll leave you with great pleasure wherever you think the place and society will suit you. We hear Willis Elliott is making money, and getting along very well, which is more than the rest of us are doing. We'll take you there if you like." "Willis Elliott, indeed! I'd as soon stay in Tophet as with his wife." And her nose was elevated at a wonderful angle. But she said no more. The state of Miss Letitia's temper could always be told by the way her nose was raised. A book on "Noses" would have devoted a long chapter to one like Miss Letitia's. Grace kept her cheerfulness as well as she could till the last vehicle was out of the , J TM l">? ntnn l-Aftm otio IMVd I I yaru. uicuggumg tuuci unu iw>u,??v6?.v ( way to her grief and disappointment. She did not envy Conway her visit to New Orleans ; but sacrificing that month in Charleston with relatives and old friends for such a provokiugly selfish person as Miss Letitia, was what almost broke her heart. Then, too, ' her mother was going to stay till after Easter, and she should miss that. An Easter at Saint Luke's, with her former ' beloved minister to officiate, was a treat as hard to lose as all the others put together. 1 No wonder Grace passed a sad, unhappy day. 1 CHAPTER XXII. THE 80UND OF THE SCRUBBING BRUSH IN ONE ^ PART OF THE CHAPTER AND WEDDING f BELLS IN ANOTHER, WITH OTHER THINGS BETWEEN. l "Each morning sees some work begun." How still and lonely the house seemed for ] days! How much the children, with their , lively prattle and artless glee, were missed, , * 1 ' * i A ii ?:?j ? 4.^ C0U1C1 not De lOlU. all were ujisscu, evcu iaj the derajure little Celeste. Grace felt as if | there was nothing to do?nothing to give out; ( so great was the difference between six and ( seventeen. She almost wished she had beg- t ged Alice to remain at home, she was so lost j without some of them. j Mr. Ellison could not bear to see Grace so j sad, and in pity he brought Ellen over for a few days; and it did cheer her greatly, though ( when her uncle was in the house, she declared ( she never had a chance to look at or speak to , Ellen. He hovered around her so constantly, that | Grace could slip off to her room for an hour without being missed; but she began to do so ( without the tears which had marked the first few days of her mother's absence. There were no rhapsodies between Mr. Elli eon and Ellen; but a strong, deep love ana confidence in which vows and protestations ( were not needed. Grace was not in the way when present, yet was not missed when absent; and she declared if Ellen was not so quiet, she should think she had been married ten years, there was so little "lovers' nonsense" between the two. A busy time had Grace for some ten days, when she undertook to have carpets taken up and the house cleaned from attic to the lowest step of the piazza. She had never superintended such a job before; but she persevered in it, in spite of lazy servants with cross looks, till no housekeeper in the State could boast of a neater, cleaner domicile. Then she brought out the spring and summer clothing and went over it carefully, and mended everything that needed it. She recalled Madame DeVictor's pleasant smile and remark, when she one day found her patching and darning? "I nevair wastes nothing. An' ole clothes are more easy an' soft than new ones. We had to meud wen we was so vair poor, and it brings back the ott time, an' makes me proud no more." Dear old lady! as if any one could have thought her proud, with her sweet gentleness. Besides a lesson in mending, the useful lady had showed Grace how to starch and iron shirts and ruffles with less hard work than she had used formerly ; and had taught her to make excellent rolls and sweeter light bread. If Grace did not believe she was "an heiress in her own right," Jack certainly did; and listened with admiration to her account of all she had accomplished. "Of course I didn't do all the hard work? the drudgery; but I attended to it and helped a great deal. But the sewing I did, every stitch. I know it will be a saving to father's purse, for I've made coats, vests, pants and socks as good as new, which once we threw aside or gave to the negroes. Miss Ellen said j playfully, one day, 'we did not know how to be poor, for we wasted on trifles enough to keep us in comforts. Madame DeVictor had j the same idea in different words, and I believe they were right." "I believe so, too," replied Jack. "I used to spend hundreds and never see where it went, while I was in the army; but when I took that situation in Charleston, I promised uncle Ellison to keep an exact account of my expenses and not run in debt. It seemed very easy to do so. He gave me some money to begin with, till my first quarter's salary was due; but I found a habit of spending is not so easy to cure. I began by buying just what I happened to fancy, and in a month ray money was pretty near gone. In six weeks I had to leave my fine boarding house, quit smoking? which was a good thing?and finally pawn a gold ring to pay my washing and keep my word not to run in debt." "O, Jack, why didn't you send to father or Uncle Ellison ? They would have helped you at once." "That would have spoilt me completely. This having some one at a young man's back to pay all he spends foolishly, is one thing that ruins so many. I promised not to run in debt and I have kept my word. My experience was short, but effectual. When I was tempted to spend, after that, I took out my account book; and if what I fancied came under the head of needed articles I bought it; if; not, I let it alone and never let the list of j needless things increase again. By the end of j the year I had saved a sura of money which I i find a great help now." Jack and Grace always were having the longest talks and the most charming little incidents to tell each other, but never seemed to more than verge on the sentimental. If Jack l / - J 1! i. ventured a solt wora or iona compliment, Grace was so blushingly silent that he trembled, and did not dare to utter the decisive words which would confirm or blast his hopes. Lovers often lose a great deal of happiness by their timidity and hesitation ; and to rfdd to Jack's uneasiness, he must needs let a little trifle, which no one else would hav? noticed, make him jealous of Tom Wright?good hearted, sensible Tom Wright?who had been engaged from boyhood to one of his old schoolmates in North Carolina, and was now working with all his energies to get a little home for his dark-eyed Ida Deems. Foolish Jack! to pain yourself so needlessly, when a few plain words to Grace or Tom would have set that the matter at rest. He began attending choir meetings, though it took him away from his work, in a busy season, a good deal earlier in the day than he could well leave. He watched the contortions of Tom's face as he rolled out his heavy bass like thunder, or softened it to suit the requirements of tune and words, and could scarcely join in the singing, much as he loved^t; and he noticed every look and word, but all he saw amounted to nothing, except proving Shakspeare's words? "Trifles light as air Are, to the jealous, confirmations strong As proofs of holy writ." Georgia and her family remained but a week in Charleston, but Mrs. Elliott and Alice spent over a month in visiting friends and re? ' - .1 J latives, and learned netter tnan inej' ever imu before, what hardships and trials had befallen 30 many of them. While Mr. Elliott was there, and when he returned for her, Mrs. Elliott had him to go with her to see those who had fared the worst, and after hearing their pitiful accounts of troubles past and poor prospects ahead, Mr. Elliott acknowledged in deeds, if not in words, how foolishly he had acted and talked to Russell aud Jack. Russell was doing well, gave satisfaction to his employers and was pleased with his post. He enjoyed his mother's visit greatly, though he saw little of her except Sundays; and she was glad to hear that he liked his employment and frequented no places of evil resort. Ellen's wedding paraphernalia had all been bought andsent back by the first wagons, except the bridal dress; that was made in the city, Conway permitting herself to be fitted for it during hor etay, a3 eho and Ellen were early one size. Mrs. Elliott carried it on her return, and added as a present a beautiful veil. Ellen had consented to Mr. Ellison's request to be married in the chapel and by a clergyman ; but she had not expected such *? *? ? ?1 1 an elegant areas ana ven, unu was mine pleased than she liked to express. The officiating minister and three or four of Mr. Ellison's relatives came with Mrs. Elliott, and Grace was her old self again. Mrs. Elliott was surprised to find the servants reduced to their two "stand-by's," maum Hess and Lance, and a little girl, a new comer, who carried wood and water to the bedrooms, took up ashes and cleaned fireplaces, for the lessons which Grace taught her each day, Lance was studying too, and was as proud when she could read "A fat hen, the old cow," and a few such sentences, as those scholars are who think they are proficients in the French language when they can glibly repeat? " Comment vous periez vons, madame t Je me sui3 bien, tres-bien, merci, mademoiselle." "I could not endure their laziness and sour looks any longer," said Grace, "and I sent them off. Lance is very handy. I can do three times as much now as a year ago and do it well, too. Stuart is getting to be very helpful, and we do better than with the servants : so don't look frightened, mother, and think I am going to hurt myself at hard work." "I shan't mind it, Grace, when there's no one here but our own family; but here's a house-full of company now." "I know that; but we shall get along finely. Rose, who was always free and is such a good woman, offers to do the washing and come over at any time; so that's settled. Since Eugene was here, Stewart and Albert have really done wonderfully well. They see it didn't hurt his dignity to bring a pail of drinking water, black his own boots, and wait on himself when it was necessary; and they find it won't hurt them. I am so glad Stuart is inclined to take Eugene as a model, instead of Albert and cousin Tim, that I have encouraged him all the time you were gone." "Eugene came in a good time for the child ; he is of an age now to take a decided turn for good or ill, and we must guard him against anything wrong. I hope he will make a noble man." The wedding day was beautifully clear as any bride could wish. Mrs. Elliott rode over to Mrs. Wright's with what none of the family had expected?some wedding presents. As Mr. Ellison had plenty of silver plate, very little of that was among the gifts. Madame DeVictor sent a set of laces; Eugene and Georgia a fine sewing machine; Conway, who saw how hard it was for her father to raise money for her summer expenses, gave a beautiful set of jewelry she had owned for years; and Grace gave another one. Mrs. Elliott presented suitable table linen; and it was hard to decide which was most beautiful, the set with the red borders, or the one of snowy white. Mr. Ellison's gift?a deed of the place he owned?was placed where it was not seen until the wedding party was gone, and they were putting away the presents. It was almost feared there would be one drawback. What should they do for an organist, with Conway gone and Grace a bridesmaid? Mrs. Elliott feared her fingers, so skillful on the piano, would not be trained sufficiently to play on the organ in the short time be tween her return and the important day; when it was found one of Mr. Ellison'9 cousins was a good performer and was willing to be accommodating. Grace and Julia were bridesmaids; Jack and Tom groomsmen. Jack thought Grace, in her white with blue trimmings, the loveliest lady present; while Tom?the very Tom of whom he was jealous? declared that "vllen's quiet happiness made her as handsome as any of Mr. Elliott's daughters, bei utiful as they were; and as for Julia, with h( pink sash and bows, she was sweet as a rose-bud." The impressive ceremony was very solemn as it always is when properly conducted. Mr. Wright gave the bride away as if accustomed to the service, and when it was over and they ko/i roo/>Viort v?ia hnnsp. the consratulations i l,WU * VUViiVV. -w?- o were hearty and sincere. To the lovers of good dinners it would have been a treat to have enjoyed the one prepared that day. Mrs. Wright was one of those natural house-keepers who know how to have cooking and other work done well, with no apparent trouble. Some of the city guests who ate so heartily, would have been surprised to learn that almost every substantial and delicacy was raised on the place and prepared at home. Jack's position as groomsman gave him so much chance to stay near Grace, that he had no time nor occasion for feeling the ravages of the "green-eyed monster," and so, was his usual joyous, happy self; but after the festivities were over, the bridal party gone to the city and he to his plantation, he tormented himself by thinking how many chances Tom might have to meet Grace at Mr. Ellison's, and he away off where he could neither see nor speak to her; forgetting that Tom was too busy to visit during the week and Grace would not go to her uncle's on Sundays. A little incident occurred the day of the wedding more annoying to Mrs. Elliott than any one else. Just before the company had departed, and while they were putting on hats and veils, cousin Tim stepped up, and without his usual pomposity, handed Ellen a piece of paper and asked if she would "please fill that little bill for Miss Elliott, while she was in town." "Certainly," said she, "with great pleasure." "We will speak to Mr. Ellison about the money," said Tim, turning off quickly. Ellen glanced at the row of items. "One piece of good longcloth, New York Mills. Two linen muslin dresses, 12 yds each. One doz. linen handkerchiefs. Six pr. fine stockings," and a dozen minor articles." "Do you wish your dresses light colored or do you leave the selection entirely to ray judgment?" whispered she, rs Mrs. Elliott came to take leave. She had misunderstood Tim Elliott's hurried 'Miss' Elliott. "What dresses ? I don't understand." Ellen held out the bill. "Who gave it to you r "Mr. Tim Elliott. I understood it was for you." "Did he give you any money ?" "No; he said he would speak to Mr. Ellison about it." "I will take it if you please. You will have enough to attend to in the city without being inconvenienced by selecting articles for others." "It will be very little trouble. I do not object to it in the least. Remember how much you did for me." "This is an entirely different matter, and you must really allow me to have my own way," and she drew the paper from Ellen's reluctant fingers. The next day, when all were gone and she had an opportunity to speak to Miss Letitia alone, she handed her the bill with? "If the things I bought you are not sufficient, you will please let me know; and not try to sponge on people on whom you have no claims and have tried to injure. I cannot afford cloth from New York Mills for my own use, and the four summer dresses I gave you ought to last this season, if they are not linen muslins. As to the other things, I thought I supplied you abundantly. Had you sent the money for what you wanted, I should not have said a word." Miss Letitia's face reddened with anger, she threw the bill into the fire-place, raised her nose aud went hastily out of the room. It was one time when she could make no reply. Mr. and Mrs. Ellison went to housekeeping as soon after their visit to Charleston as they could get their furniture home. Ellen had been pleased with her new relatives, and they in return were surprised that such an intelligent, interesting girl, could have passed the most of her life in the country. Mrs. Wright's only piece of advice to Ellen, the day she entered her new home, was short but excellent? ""KTowor nap n ffthlp-r>lr?th till VOU would be ashamed of it if company should come unexpectedly ; and always keep your knives and lamp-chimneys clean and bright." Mr. Wright said: "Daughter, you will frequently have company who are accustomed to later hours than you ; and while it will be your duty to care for your health and go to bed early enough to have a good night's rest | before your usual hour of rising, never let | your temper be fretted because others may not do exactly like yourself, but prefer to sleep late and long. I have seen people who could overlook faults and vices, but could make no allowance for late sleeping. Remember that it is no crime to like that last, sweetest morning nap; and while some only need it from habit, many actually require it from a nervous organization which keeps them restless and wakeful the first part of the night." One servant, for the cooking, washing and ironing, was all Ellen was willing to have. She preferred being her own house-keeper and house-maid while her family was so small; and she had time for all her domestic duties without finding it at all irksome. Grace had found a great change in affairs at home when she returned from Charleston. Lance had taken the opportunity of her ab sence to marry Caesar, and was mistress of his little cabin down on Jack's place. Caesar had been here and there, working for one man awhile and then another, ever since he was free; and whether from fondness for Jack, affection for Lance, or both together, he had come back as soon as his "little mass'r"? Jack was some eight inches taller than Csesar, and larger every way, but the title of his boyhood still clung to Csesar's lips, and caused 1 many a merry laugh from Hums?was wen ; settled, and gone to work with an energy quite unusual to his race. He had been try! ing to persuade Lance to marry him from the j first week of his return, and no Saturday I night passed without finding him in the kitchen as regularly as it found Jack in the parlor; but Lance could not make up her mind to leave Miss Grace. "She had been Miss Grace's maid sence dey was both chillens, and she wanted to be married the day her misses was," but Caesar's persuasions proved too strong for her resolution when Grace was out of sight, and Mr. Ellison was not able to perform his promise of marrying her "wid dat book wot had gold on it," for a negro minister performed the ceremony, and Lance became Mrs. Caesar Singleton, like any common darkey, after all her great plans. Old daddy Dick had become so helpless, it took maum Hess nearly all the time to wait on him; and new cooks were so lazy, inefficient, and often impudent, that Grace turned the whole posse off and went to work herself till they could do better than they had with their late set. Eight in the family makes plenty of work, and Grace had no idle time; but retrenchment in all departments was so absolutely necessary, there was less time given to mere cooking, than when they had thought it impossible to sit down to dinner without several courses. Whenever maum He3s could find time to be in the kitchen, Grace took the opportunity to make Ellen a visit and "brush the cobwebs out of her brain" by a lively conversation with uncle Ellison's 'darling of a wife.' "You've come for nothing but a new lesson in housekeeping?you don't have enough of it at home," said Ellen gaily, on one such occasion. "You wish to be prepared for the new duties you will one day assume, so don't say you are sorry I am so busy." j "No, I won't say it again, for I see you will soon be through with your task; but I will say you are jesting about new duties and all that. Father has come to the conclusion it is best to let Arthur off, and you know he was my dernier resortyet Grace blushed as she ? :a U coin ib. "I dorit know it; though I do know your father is at last willing you shall give up Arthur, as you have long ago done in reality. A great change for the better is coming over your father. He either realizes the situation of our country and is determined to make the best of it, or he has passed the crisis of his disappointments and vexations, and the wine of his nature is working itself clear instead of turning to vinegar." "What an idea! I never thought of it that way; but it may be true. Father was not like himself for a long time; his disposition seemed completely changed, and he could not see anything except through a distorted medium. It distressed mother beyond account, but she never relaxed her gentle and powerful influence over him, and now he begins to be his old, sensible, good-hearted self once more." "Your mother is one among a thousand, and if her influence had failed, it would have been vain for any one else to have tried to soften him." "Do you know he has been do wn to see Jack, and gives him the highest praise for what he has done and is doing?" "Yes, I heard of it; and now we have come round to his name, let me show you how to make a nice dessert for two, or for three if you will stay to help eat it." But Grace caught up her hat, and either required considerable persuasion or feared to show her blushing face, it was so long before she laid it aside and went to see Ellen make her cream custards. Jack had two homes now. Mr. Ellison wanted him to spend his Sundays there, and bis aunt Elliott said he must not desert her; so he stayed part of the time with one and part with the other, always contriving, however, to be most where Grace was. "While Grace was making her visit in Charleston, Mrs. Elliott discovered something was the matter with Jack, and it did not take her long to find what distressed him. She would have laughed heartily, but his imaginary trouble was so great she would not add to it Without giving him any certain intimation of Grace's feelings, she consoled him and succeeded in convincing him that there was no reason for looking on Tom Wright as a rival; and so far as she was concerned, she was willing to become more than his god-mother. Yet Jack could not screw his courage up to the sticking point when with Grace; and she, as bashful as he, and with no spice of coquetry in her nature, could not help him. She let events take their course without asking herself? "When a bashful lover eomes to woo, What shall a poor maiden do?" Not long after the choir meetings were resumed?for they were neglected a few weeks? Jack had a fresh twinge from the demon his aunt Georgia had exorcised so effectually for a while. The group at the chapel door were laughing merrily, as he rode up, at something which had just passed. Grace was shaking her finger at Tom Wright, and he, with a face like scarlet, was looking bashfully happy. All turned to greet Jack, and then went in without explaining the cause of their late mirth. Jack was mute that evening, but Tom's voice rose to his jealous ears louder than ever. Grace grew more and more constrained, as from time to time she caugh sight of Jack's lowering face, and when she struck a wrong note or so, could not correct it till Tom leanen over and put her music in a better position for the light to fall on it. This was fuel to Jack's fire, and when the singing was over he would have refused his uncle's nrgent invitation to go home with him, if he had not found Grace and Tom were going, and he could not resist the inclination to see them together and gather fresh proofs for his fears. Grace kept close by Ellen, and Tom walked along by Jack, who, silent and cross, gave such short answers to Tom when he spoke, that the conversation, or rather Tom's endeavors to start one, was entirely dropped. All .1 T l_l LI-L au at once tiac&e spirits ruse as xngii as they had been low. "Is that you they are talking about," asked he of Tom with eagerness. "I suppose it is. There's no other Tom in the neighborhood that I know of, and theyv'e been having me up for discussion once before this evening." | Tom was blushing again, but not from embarrassment. "And you are to be married in the fall ?" 1 naa DOC even ureuiueu JUU ntio I must congratulate you. I really wish you much happiness?I do, indeed." "Thank you. It has been no secret for a long time that I was engaged to the sweetest girl in the world." (Jack did not agree with him there, but he did not utter his thought.) "But I just received a letter with a favorable reply to ray request for our marriage in the fall, and Ellen could not keep the news; so they were having a gay time trying to tease me when you rode up." Ellen never knew how fervently Jack blessed her in his heart for the words he had heard ; but this was the sentence which had been an elixir to his oppressed spirit. "I am very glad Ida is willing to marry Tom without waiting for him to make a fortune. I don't believe in long engagements where people are well acquainted; nor in putting off a marriage to be rich first. Ida will be a valuable acquisition to our society, if she is as fine a woman as her girlhood promised." There were no more cross looks and short answers from Jack; and when Tom picked up a sheet of new church music and began running over the tune, he leaned over his shoulder and joined him without a shadow of his late wish that "Tom Wright had been choked before he joined the choir to become so friendly with Grace." He even compli * fri ? ?J:? memea lora on reauiug uiumu ou jcouhj and learning a tune so easily, and no one laughed more gaily at an incident Tom related. "You recollect seeing Ned Wilkins at church two or three Sundays ago? Well, I met him this week, and he said the music was good enough, but he didn't see how we could make it go with plain reading; he always thought tunes were made to fit poetry. I told him the Te Deum was one of the grandest poems ever written. 'Then I should think you wouldn'nt give it such a twiddling name as tee-dee-um,' said he with a sneer. I explained that it was Latin, and told the meaning, but it might be Choctaw for all he'll profit by it." How Jack kept his resolution from failing as he walked slowly home with Grace that evening, deponent saith not; but certain it is, Mrs. Elliott was called upon to confirm her words of being willing to have him for a son. And then when he found Grace did love him, he could scarcely believe he had been so afraid of the rosy lips which murmured "yes" so softly and sweetly. [to be continued next week.] rCoplct) of the Enquirer containing the previous chapters of this Story can be furnished to new subscribers.] Now and Then.?Extract from the speech of Hon. James L. Orr, of South Carolina, on the Presidency, delivered in the House of Representatives of the United States, June 9, 1852: "The opposition will in all probability nominate General Scott; and his services in the field would certainly eclipse all his co-temporaries. His life has been devoted to the military ; it has been his profession?his occupation in peace as well as in war. He ought to have acquired the highest scientific military attainment, as he no doubt has; but he can never claim greater devotion to the country than the private citizen, who, when danger threatens, or when the honor of his country's flag requires that its enemies shall be met on the field of battle, volunteers his services to fight its battles, and when victory perches upon its standard, retires from tbe service to the quiet walks of life, relieving his Government from supporting and maintaing him. That, I take it, is a clear proposition. But if Gen. Pierce had high military reputation, that should notstrengthen bis pretensions or claims to the Presidency. Thank Heaven I we have not yet reached that point in the decline of our Government, when it is necessary to elect a military man to administer tbe Executive department of ?I-.a Government Most Republics have had that experience when they had travelled far down the road to destruction ; and when the time arrives for as to elect military chieftains to discharge the functions of civil officers, "then farewell, a long farewell, to all our greatness." The second election will be made by the Army, and the appointee will be a dictator. In this country, civil qualifications are alone required, and however bright a halo of glory may encircle the wreathed brow of the military officer, if he is deficient in a knowledge of civil policy, and is destitute of statesmanship, he is not worthy to rule the people of the United States, and ought not be trusted with the delicate duties devolved on our Chief Magistrate growing out of our foreign and domestic relations." 4 4 Down the Hill.?The evening of every man's life is coming on apace. The day of Ufa mill onnn ho orion f Tho aiin fhrmrrh if may be up in mia-heaven, wiH pass swiftly down the western sky, and disappear. What shall-light up man's path when the sun of life is gone down ? He must travel on to the next world; but that shall illuraninatehis footstep after the nightfall of death, amid the darkness of journey ? What question more important, more practical, more solemn, for each reader of our journal to ask himself? That is a long journey to travel without a friend. Yet every man must perform it The time is not far distant when all men will begin the journey. There is an evening star in the natural world. Its radiance is bright and beautiful, and cheering to the benighted traveler. But life's evening star is a good hope of Heaven. Its beauty and brilliancy are reflected from the Son of Righteousness, whose bright rays light up the evening of life, and throw theirradiance quite across the darkness of the grave into Iramanuel' land. It has illuminated the footstep of many a traveler into eternitv. It is of priceless value. A thousand worlds cannot purchase it; yet it is offered without money and without price, to him who will penitently and thankfullv receive it. ? ? Lost Women.?Has it never occurred to you what a commentary upon our civilization are lost women, and the attitude of society towards them ? A little ehild strays from the home enclosure, and the whole community is on the alert to find the wanderer and restore it to its mother's arms. What rejoicing when it is found?what a tearful sympathy, what heartiness of congratulation ! There are no comments upon the poor tired feet, be they ever so miry; no reprimand for the soiled and torn garments, or lack of kisses for the tear-stained face. But let the child be grown to womanhood, let her be led from it by the scourge of want?what happens then? Do Christian men and women go in quest of her? Do they provide all possible help for her return, or ir she returns of her own notion, do they receive her with such kindness and delicacy as to secure her against wandering away again ? Far from it At the first step she is denounced as lost?lost, echo friends and relatives?we disown you; don't come to us to disgrace us! Lost! says society, indifferently. How bad these girls are! And loet!? irretrievably lost?is the prompt verdict of conventional morality, while one and all unite in bolting every door between her and respectability. Ah! will not these lost ones be required at our bands hereafter ?