Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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lewis m. wrist, proprietor.) ^it |nbepenbenf Jfamilu ftefospaper: Jar tjjc ^rontafira of tjje political, Social, Agricultural anb Commercial Interests of t|e Soutjj. |tebms?$3.00 a year, in advance. VOL. 19. YORKVILLE, S. O., THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 1873. NO. 6. fretted foctru. BY TIIE MILL. A few short hours, a few short hours, The noisy wheel goes round ; A few short hours, a little while, And hushed is every sound. Yon stream that flows so swiftly by, So swift by lawn and lea, Shall still flow on when you and T Have long since ceased to be. A few short hours, a few short hours, We wander by the mill; A few short hours, a little while, And all is hushed and still. The ivy wreaths that upward creep Shall clasp yon stalwart tree, While scarce in memory men shall keep A tnougni 01 you or mo. Then let us wander while we may, The noisy wheel goes round; And strangers where we roam to-day, To-morrow shall be found. j|tt Written for the Yorkville Enquirer. THE MYSTERY Or MOSSGROVE. A ROMANCE OF THE 19TH CENTURY. | BY MRS. HENRY DEAS. CHAPTER X. AN UNEXPECTED ARRIVAL. It was toward sundown on a February af-' ternoon, that Mrs. Ford, laying aside her work with a yawn, rose from the chair she had been sitting in, and walked to her window to take a look at the prospect. Apparently 6he was tired of sewing, for the yawn was repeated several times, and she stretched her ungainly limbs as if they were cramped by want of exercise. "? 1 ' ?? i - ?1:1 J <?T i "l aeciare, sue somoquizeu muuu, x am getting tired of the life I lead here. I am ; shut up in these rooms from one day to another, with no diversion of any kiud to enliven j me, and no conversation to keep my mind in play but the sage remarks of my interesting ; protegee. The money I get for it don't pay for ; k the privation I endure?it does not indeed. J Sometimiis I almost think I'll throw up my | office and take ray leave." A grim smile stole over her features. "What would Stanley do without me, ; though, I wonder? I think he'd have his j hands pretty full, if I was to serve him that! way ! I've a great mind to tell him sometime ! that I anc. going, just to see how he'll take it. i And he's so dreadfnlly afraid of my not keep- j ing his secret, too! Well, I must say he pays ! me well i'or keeping it, and I'll not betray him. 'Honor among thieves,' as the saying is ; ha, hi I" And she laughed a low, little chuckling 1 laugh, as she spoke. "However," she continued, "I'm not exact- I ly a thief, though I won't say that I am altogether u very worthy and virtuous individ- j ual. At any rate, I can compare favorably with my very excellent and gentlemanly em-. ployer. I don't know but that, of the two, I! would bear off the palm for moral worth and integrity of character, if we were tried by an impartial judge. His money is all right, though, and that's the main consideration. I j think I'll induce him to put on a hundred a ! month more; he cau easily afford it, and it < will fill my pocket the quicker." "How pleasant it looks out of doors! My i esteemed patron and that silly little doll he j calls his wife, are out driving, and the brat has gone with them, so I think I'll follow their example, and take a stroll; it will refresh me after ray day's work. I must see that all's safe in yonder first, however." With this concluding reflection she passed into an adjoining room?the room at the end of the "west wing." After a moment's ab-! sence sbe returned, with a satisfied expression ! of countenance; locked the door she had passed through?a singular door, looking, when closed, like a panel in the wall?and put I the key in her pocket; pushed a small sofa up against it; donned her bonnet add shawl, I and set out for a little ramble in the grounds. | It was a soft, balmy afternoon, unusually j mild for that season of the year; just the sort! of weather to make exercise agreeable, the ; housekeeper thought, as she strolled slowly j along. She did not go very far from the | house, however, but walked round and round : the piece of shrubbery outside the west wing, j apparently quite fearless of Medor, whom she ; passed unconcernedly within the length of his chain. Medor lay at the door of his kennel, winking and blinking with sleepy eyes at the setting sun, apparently too comfortable to : disturb himself about anything or anybody, j Such, however, was not' the case, for just as ! Mrs. Ford had reached the end of the walk to I which the limited herself, and was about to ; turn round, she was startled by a loud, savage i growl and bark, followed by the clatter of; the bull-dog's chain, and a loud yell for help.! Turning in dismay to discover the cause of; the uproar, she saw that Medor had seized ! and was holding fast the leg of a man, who 1 lay prostrate on the ground, sprawled offiu a j most ungraceful attitude, and struggling vig- i orously to extricate his captured member from j ? the vise-like grip in which it was secured. j The housekeeper immediately ran to the rescue, and catching up a stick, forced the dog ! with some difficulty to release his prey. Me-1 dor, highly incensed at such treatment, re- j treated to his stronghold with many ominous growls and mutterings of indignation, and his late prisoner, scrambling to his feet, limped off with great agility to a place of safety. Here he turned, and taking off his hat1 made a low bow of acknowledgment to his i rescuer. "Many thanks, Madame,for your courteous j intervention," said he, waving his hand gracefully as he spoke. Mrs. Ford gazed at him for an instant, then uttered a smothered shriek of dismay or surprise. The man bowed again, with an air more mocking than deferential, and a sardonic j smile parted his lips, displaying, through the screen of a thick black beard, the gleam of a set of very white teeth. Then approaching the house-keeper, who stood as if rooted to the spot, he extended . both his hands, saying in a conciliatory tone? "My angel, do not regard me as if I were a goblin, lately ascended from regions of darkness ! Do you not bid me welcome, after our long parting ?" Mrs. Ford, holding her hand to her side, uttered a sort of groan in response to this affectionate greeting. "3fon Dieu ! Auguste," she articulated at length, "is it really you ? I thought you were dead!" ??o, my charming wife! I am still in the flesh, though but for your timely aid a moment since; I might in a very short time have been turned into a mince-pie," suavely responded Auguste. "That is to say," he added, "such would have been the fate of my body ; of the more ethereal part of my composition i I do not speak, since I cannot know with any i certainty what would have become of that. But seriously, are you not rejoiced to see me again ?" "You gave me a dreadful shock," said Mrs. ! Ford, evading the question. "The expression is scarcely complimentary, my love; but I forgive it in consideration of the peculiar circumstances under which we meet. This rencontre is to me, at least, highly gratifying. But can you not find a more retired spot than this, where we may converse without fear of interruption ? I have so many things to say to you." "I don't know?I feel all in a maze," said the house-keeper, whose face wore a most piteous and perplexed expression, contrasting strongly with its usual imperturbability. "I have no time to spare now?I am obliged to go back into the house directly ; I expect the family back every miuute," she added, glancing in the direction of the carriage-road as j she spoke, in hopes she might espy some signs of the returning equipage from afar, j "The family! Mr. Alfred Stanley has a family, then ?" inquired the man. "Yes. How did you know this was his place ? who directed you here ? how did you know I was here at all, in fact?" "Three questions in a breath ! My love, you are too voluble.. I must answer them separately. I "In the first place, I learned that Mr. Alfred Stanley had purchased an estate in the upper part of South Carolina, and that the ; name of the said estate was Mossgrove. "In the second place, on my arrival in this , vicinity, I enquired, at a neighboring planta- j tion, the way to Mossgrove, and was directed j by a sable son of Africa, who put me in the i way of finding it without any difficulty. "Ia the third place, winch, permit nie to , remark, should be the first, according to the I right order of things, I learned your present j occupation and whereabouts with infinite dif-' ficulty, and by variousand complicated means, I which I shall relate to you at length when 11 have a more convenient opportunity than at present. On this discovery hung all my in-1 terest in the other two discoveries, for had T 1 not heard that you were an inmate of Mr.' Alfred Stanley's establishment, the said estab- j lishment, for all I cared about it, might have j been situated on the extreme confines of the ; African desert, and the knowledge would j have given me no concern." "Well, I confess it is all a mystery to me," j said Mrs. Ford, who hai listened with ill-dis-1 guised impatience to t'ais lengthy harangue. "The last I heard of you, you were killed by the bushraen in Australia, four years ago." "And was your heart torn with grief at the intelligence?" inquired Monsieur Auguste, in a sentimental tone. At this moment, to the housekeeper's im-, mense relief, she caught a glimpse of the carriage at a distance. "There they come now," she hastily exclaimed. "Auguste, you must go?I will see VAI1 nnnthpr f imp. tn-inoiTOW : if VOU will. Do you hear? Go, go!" and she pushed him as' she spoke. "I'arbleu! You don't use much ceremo-! ny," said the man, a little brusquely. "Why j should you be iu such a devil of a hurry to j send me off? I am not ashamed of being ! seen." "But you must not be seen here?at least , not now," said the house-keeper, urgently. "Go, Auguste, and I will see you to-morrow, ] and give you a private interview,on my word of honor." "Where, and at what hour ?" Mrs. Ford reflected a moment. "You know the back road that leads along j behind that fence?" she said at length, point- j ing toward the rear of the shrubbery. "Yes?or I can find it, which is the same j thing." "There is a gate there, behind those trees.* Be at that gate at eleven o'clock, and I'll j meet you there and bring you to some place where we will be in no fear of interruption." "I obey your commands. You won't fail me?" "No, I won't. Go, now; see how near the j carriage is!" "I go," said Monsieur Auguste, theatrical-, ly. "Alas ! cruel one, that you should drive J me from your presence !?adieu, or rather au j revoir?I languish until the morrow comes." i With this parting flourish, Mrs. Ford's un- j welcome visitor, to that lady's great relief,! took his leave. She lingered a moment to watch him as he glided swiftly away in the : direction of the back gate, and when he had ! disappeared, reentered the house, with the1 look of perturbation his presence had awaken-! ed still resting on her face. She was just in time to escape observation ' from the occupants of the carriage, which drove up to the door a few minutes later. Monsieur Leroy?for my readers will have had no difficulty in divining that it was he? after making his exit by the back gate, walked leisurely off with his hands in his pockets, whistling softly to himself, as with eyes bent j on the ground he pursued his meditations,' somewhat in the following manner. "By Jove! how startled the old girl was to see me. She looked as if she took me for a ghost, or something worse. I am afraid she wouldn't! have been quite so prompt in coming to my relief, if she had known it was I. (What a 10 1 T fnnl tiio in mv ]p|T V.UIOCU _ j ?Q yet; luckily it wasn't a very vulnerable part., I thought at first, though, that he had cracked a bone.) That's a fine old place of Stanley's ;, shouldn't wonder if she had a very coniforta- i ble berth there. Well, if that is the case, I ' shall profit by it, and no mistake. I expect1 her to make me comfortable, too, and if she'll agree to do it, why I shan't give her much ; trouble ; I have no objection to her remaining there, of course. How odd, though, that j Stanley should have picked her up! How in 1 the world did they ever meet each other, IJ wonder ? I'm a little surprised at his taste,' too; shouldn't have supposed he would be j particularly anxious to have her as an inmate j of his house?must revive some unpleasant recollections. However, as he's a family man 1 now, I suppose past events are conveniently ' forgotten. Well, I shall find out all about it! ; to-morrow. One thing is certain?I intend , to make a good thing out of her being here, and I shan't leave her until I bring her to ' favorable terras." i Punctually at the appointed hour on the 1 following day, Mrs. Ford?or more correctly j speaking, Madame Leroy, though for con- < venience' sake we may as well continue to call ' her by the former appellation?made her ap-j pearauce at the designated place, where she i found her husband awaiting her. I Sitting on the fence, with his legs daugling j J down, his hat slouched over his brows, and ; j the stump of a.cigar between his lips, that J j worthy individual presented a most disrepu- j j table and unattractive appearance. At the sight of his wife, he jumped down j I with alacrity, flung away the cigar and ad-1 vanced with a graceful gesture of welcome to j j meet her. "Punctual to the tryst, my angel!" he cried I in a rapturous tone. "Let me thank you? i j thus?for your compliance with ray wishes." ! He put one arm lightly around her, or j rather against her, and bending forward, in the most aDDroved stage-fashion, breathed an ! airy kiss upon her foreliead. Mrs. Ford had apparently tutored herself to wear an appearance of greater cordialty | toward her returned spouse than she had J manifested on their previous meeting; for she ' restrained the expression of disgust that this ! affectionate demonstration seemed likely to ! call forth, and replied in a suave tone? | "Yes, I am punctual, you see. If you will j come with me now, I can take you into my ! private room, where we will have time to conI verse for a half hour or so without being disturbed." ! "A half hour or so !" ejaculated Monsieur Leroy rolling up his eyes. "I have been deprived for five long years of the light of her j adorable presence, and she talks to me calmly now of half hours !" Without taking any notice of this effusion, the housekeeper proceeded to lead the way to the house, which she entered by a back door, followed by her spouse, whom she ushered into one of the apartments set aside for her own especial use. "Now, Auguste," she remarked, as she drew forward an arm chair, into which he immediately dropped, "you may as well come to the point at once, and let me bear all you have to say, because I haven't a great deal of time to spare." "Apparently you are kept very busy, my love," remarked her husband. "Yes, I am. I have agreat deal to do, and Mr. Stanley is very particular, so I never neglect ray duties." "That leads me at once to a point I should like to be enlightened on," said Leroy. "How did it come about that you and Stanley found each other out ?" "Quite by chance," replied his wife. "I left New York shortly after your departMt,A }} UIO "Decidedly your wisest course," remarked Leroy, par parenthhe. "It was the best course, aud I thought I would come down South, and try my fortune here. I went first to Florida, for I was suffering from the effects of a loug attack of pneumonia, and thought the climate there would benefit me. After staying there awhile, however, I got a fever, which reduced my strength aud my means both, as the result of it was a long doctor's bill to pay. I couldu't afford it very well, as you may suppose, as you hadn't left me with a very full purse." "That, I assure you, was one of the most poignant reflections I had to endure," said her husband. The housekeeper slightly elevated her brow, and coutinued? "I then thought I would change the air, and try South Carolina. Accordingly, I went to Charleston, and got on there for a while by sewing for a tailor's establishment, but the work was hard, and living was expensive, and at last, not liking the climate in the city, particularly during the summer months, I made up my mind to come to the up-country. I hired a small house in this district, with a few acres of ground, raised corn and vegetables of different kinds, and cultivated fruit, and got on tolerably for some time, though it was but a solitary life I led." "Ah! had I but beeu there to lighten your toil aud share your society!" sighed her husband. "One day I went to Unionville to make some purchases, and there, in a store, I met Mr. Stanley. We recognized each other at the same moment, and spoke to each other in a friendly way; he asked me where I was living, and I told hira ; and not long after that he came to see me." "Very courteous and attentive, I am sure," said Monsieur Leroy. "Did he, during his visit, touch upon any topics connected with his past life?I mean that portion of it in which you were interested ?" "Why yes, he did allude to it, somewhat. His feelings, naturally, in regard to that melancholy period, are still very sensitive." "Doubtless, they are," said Leroy, with a slight smile. "He has now, however, as I understand, formed new ties ?" "Yes ; he is married," said the house-keep-! er, shortly. "Auy children ?" "No, but a nephew lives with them." "You have not yet told me how you came j to form one of his household," said her hus-; band. 1 1 1 . 1 .1 . -4. 1 L T i "1 am not one or nis nousenoiu ; at ieasi, i don't consider it in that light. I am merely I in his employ as house-keeper." "And how did he come to employ you, ray , love ? I was not aware that you possessed i any special qualifications in that line." "He offered me the position, and I took it. , I suppose he wanted to save his wife the trou-> ble. He seems very well satisfied with ray i services, and I have a comfortable home here, so I dou't complain. But you haven't given \ me any account of yourself yet; I suppose i you have a good deal to tell me, have you not?" "It would take volumes to contain an ac- i count of my adventures," said Monsieur Le-, roy, lifting up his hands. "Perils by land and perils by sea, break-neck dangers and ! hair-breadth 'scapes, such would be the bur- j deu of my theme ! But I will condense as | much as possible, for your benefit, the history j of the past five years, and give you en bref a j summary of what I have gone through." Accordingly, the returned traveler pro- j ceeded to sketch the outline of a narrative, which, doubtless, he filled up with many fancy i touches and exaggerated details. It is not, our purpose, however, to follow him in his j narration, which would contain but little that could prove of interest to our readers. His wife listened without comment, and with acountenance which had resumed all its usual impassiveness of expression. CHAPTER XL AN UNPROFITABLE INVESTMENT. "And now," said Monsieur Leroy when he had ended; "I don't want to afflict you with business details, my dear, but there are some little arrangements I find it necessary to discuss with you, and as there is no time like the present, why, it may as well be got through with at once." "Business arrangements ?" repeated his wife. "Well, let us see what you refer to." "What I refer to, is, to use a vulgar word? money," said Monsieur Leroy. "Money, my dear. That's the shortest and most explicit answer I can make you." "Money!" echoed the housekeeper. "Why,yes;you know what money is, don't you ? I suppose you see plenty of it here," returned her husband. "I get my salary," said Mrs. Ford, shortly. "And how much, may I ask, is your salary ?" blandly inquired Leroy. "Twenty-five dollars," replied the housekeeper composedly, and without wincing. "Twenty-five per month?well, that's not so bad. Out of this, of course, you provide for your personal wants, which are few?" "How do you know that?" interrupted his wife. "Because I know you of old, my love, to be a person of frugal habits ; a most self-denying character, in fact. The remainder of course, you lay aside." "Well, and what of that?" "Merely this?that as you have been here ^ sometime, you have doubtless, by laying aside each month the chief part of your wages, accumulated quite a nice little sum." "I have not been here so very long as you seem to think," said his wife. "I only came in October." "Only in October!" said Leroy, in a disappointed tone. "Four months?phew 1 I thought it was longer. Still, in these four months, I imagine, you have managed to save something to speak of? Fifty or seventy-five dollars, for instance ?" "And if I have ?" "And if you have?why then, to come to the point at once, you surely won't refuse to lend me a helping hand, when I tell you that I have not a dollar in the world," said Monsieur Leroy, pathetically. "Not a dollar! Are you speaking the truth, Auguste ?" Monsieur Leroy laid hie hand on his heart, and raised his eyes to the ceiling? "As Heaven is my witness," he said solemnly, "I stand before you this day, my Julie, without a sou iu my pocket." Mrs. Ford cast down her eyes, and reflected. "I /tare saved a little sura," she said, slowly, at length, "which I had reserved for a .different purpose; but, if you are really in such extremity?" "If T interrupted her husband. "Well, then, as you are in such need as you say, I suppose I cannot refuse to give you snmft Assistance." "Adorable woman !" cried Leroy. "Ever generous, ever self-sacrificing ! I read iny Julie's heart aright, when I deemed it an impossibility that she could refuse to aid me in distress." "Nonsense," said Mrs. Ford, coldly. "I will help you, as you say; but on one condition." "Name it," said Leroy. "That you will go away afterwards, and not give me any further trouble." "Go away ! not see you any more, do you mean ?" "Of course, that is what I mean. I want you to promise to keep away from here, because it would be an annoyance to me to have you coming about, especially as I could not possibly prevent the family from finding it out; and I might even lose my place, you know, if they found out you were here." "I suppose they think me dead, don't they r "Of course they do-; I thought so myself." "I ain sure," said Monsieur Leroy, "I do not see why they should object to my being alive. The world is wide enough for us all." "Well, that's neither here nor there," said his wife. "I only tell you that if you don't agree to my conditions I cannot help you." "In the first place," said Leroy, "tell me how much you can give me." "I will give you enough to support you for a short time, until you can find some employment," said the housekeeper. "I suppose you expect to get work, don't you ?" Monsieur Leroy made a grimace. "Work!" he said disdainfully. "I don't relish that idea much." "If I work, you can, I imagine," said his wife. "I am no more accustomed to it than you are. How will you live else? Of course you don't mean me to support you?in fact your own sense will tell you, that out of twentyfive dollars a month, I can't pay your expenses and mine too." Leroy considered, with a scowling brow. "Ah!" he said at length, shaking his head. "A dark prospect?very dark. Well, if you j give me what you can spare, I will agree to ! let you alone until it is exhausted?and I'll j make it last as long as I can." Mrs. Ford shook her head. "That's too in- j definite," she rejoiued. "I must have a more ' positive assurance than that." Leroy gave a little snarl. "Peate! what would you have?" he exclaimed impatiently, j "You don't want me to starve, do you ? Give me as much as you can, and I tell you I will' live just as economically as possible, and, if I j ean find something to do?though I don't! suppose I can do that here, I'll try ray luck I in Columbia?and then, if I am in need, why j I'll come again ; if not, I will stay away. I j can't promise fairer than that, can I ? And in , the mean time I'll drop you a line occasional- j ly to let you know how I am getting on." | "Well, if you will really promise that, I'll see what I can do," said Mrs. Ford. "Waitj here a few minutes until I return." She went into the next room, and presently j returned with a small package in her hand, j Leroy eyed it greedily. "Is that the money, my dear ?" he inquired, j "This is the money," she rejoined. "Now 1 I tell you what I am going to do, Auguste," ' she continued, sitting down by him, and speak-; ing in a confidential toue; "I am going to do a little better by you than I have led you to believe." "Adorable generosity," murmured Leroy,' still eyeing the package with a wistful air. j "I am going to be generous," said the wife, i "and I trust you'll appreciate it. When a woman has worked hard for her money, Au- j gusfe, it's a hard thing for her to take all her I ! little savings, and that all not very ranch either, aud give them all away." "Love makes all things easy," said Leroy, | without removing his eyes from the package. "And, therefore," pursued the house-keeper, slowly commencing to untie the thread that secured it, "as I said before, I hope you'll appreciate what I do for you, and keep honor with me accordingly." "Yes, my life," said Leroy. "Shall I cut that knot for you ?" "No, I thank you," said his amiable spouse, who appeared to derive a certain satisfaction at the impatience she saw he was suffering from. With much deliberation she unfastened the thread, unrolled the paper, and final! ly drew forth a roll of crisp, rustling bank notes. "Now, Auguste," she continued, maliciously keeping them covered with her hand, so as to prevent him from even guessing at the probable amount, "here is a sum that ought to last you for a considerable time." "It shall, it shall !" eagerly cried Leroy. "I assure you I will not spend a cent more than I can help. I shall economize faithfully, depend upon it." He was quivering with impatience as he spoke. "Very well," said his wife. "Now, to tell you the truth, since I have been here, I have had no call to spend any money; at least, I have not been necessitated to do so, though, of course, if I could really have afforded it, there have been many litttle things I would have got for my own pleasure. But, as I said before, I worked hard for the money, and I thought it was better to lay-it up for a rainy j day than to spend it on trifles. Such being the case, and Mr. Stanley having, fortunately, paid me my last month's salary a day or two ago, I happen to have by me just one hundred dollars?all of which I intend passing over to you." "Excellent woman !" cried Monsieur Leroy, with glistening eyes. "How can I thank you?how can I ever repay you for such un-1 bounded generosity ?" "By keeping strictly to our compact," said t his wife. "Go from here at once to Columbia, and-try to get work, which I do not doubt you will be able to do; save all you can, and don't spend a cent more than is necessary. Remember, it will be a long time before I can nnssihlv heln vou a^ain. for in eiviner vou ? ~J ~ T / O ' o this, I leave myself penniless." "With this reminder, she handed him the money, which she had hitherto kept in her grasp. Leroy pounced on it like a cat upon a mouse, and with nimble fingers turned over the notes to see if the amount was correct. It was all right, and as he finished counting it, he hastily thrust it into his vest pocket, as if fearful that she might repent, at the last moment, of her generosity?though, in justice to his cleverness, it must be said that, eveu had such been the case, she would have found it a hard matter to get back her gift after it was once in his possession. "Most generous of women," he said, rising to his feet, (he was no longer anxious to prolong the interview,) "I shall never cease to be grateful for the kindness you have done me. You have rescued me from waut, from star-1 vation, perchance from death! One day, when fortune's wheel has turned, and relieved me from the adverse circumstances I now la! bor under, I trust I shall be enabled to make I 1 my Julie a fitting return for her generosity, aud prove that I am not wholly ungrateful! But I detain you, my love; will you kindly tell me the hour? I have, as you see, no watch." "There's a clock on the mantel-piece," said his wife. "Pardon! I did not observe it before. Bless me, it is twelve o'clock ! my dear Julie; forgive me for trespassing so long on your valuable time. Once more, a thousand thnnks! I shall write to you occasionally as I promised, and inform you of my welfare. Good-bye, my angel?receive this parting embrace, and my blessing." Mrs. Ford submitted to another melo-draraatic demonstration of affection, and her worthy partuer then took his leave. No sooner was he gone, than she sat down in the arm-chair he had just quitted, and in- J dulged in a pleasant little laugh. "How nicely I have fooled him," she said i 1 1 /* uTT 11_ T 1 ' 10 nerseir. "ne reaiiy minus 1 uuve given him all my earnings?ha, ha! Much he has done for me, truly, that I should be so generous to him as that. No, no, my good friend? j Julie Leroy has a little more common sense than to spend more than she can spare on such deserving objects as you. I can well afford one month's salary, to secure myself from annoyance for several months to come; for I shan't help him again before then, that's very certain." Monsieur Leroy, as he walked contentedly off, soliloquized thus? "This is all very well for the present, but I am not quite so easily blinded as she seems to suppose. I'm not such a fool as to believe that she has given me all the money she owns. There's more iri the background somewhere, though how she has got it is more than I know. Either Stanley pays her larger wages than she told me, or she has saved up money from some former supply. Anyhow, she took the matter too easily fi r me not to find her out. 1 know j her of old -stingy and close. Give me all j she has, indeed ! Gammon." The sum-total of Monsieur Leroy's reflec-; tions was, that instead of going to Columbia, j he decided to loaf around Unionville, aud j that part of the country generally, and take j life easily, until his present supply of money [ was exhausted, when he had little doubt he j would be able to prevail on his wife to let j him have more. That amiable woman, therefore, had not got j rid of him so effectually as she imagined. She thought herself very clever, but she I had overdone her part. Lcroy was familiar with all the intricacies j of her character, and knew that liberality was : not one of its prominent traits. This estimable couple had lived long euough 1 iu each other's society to learn one article of i belief which each firmly abided by?viz. : j totally and invariably to mistrust each other's j looks, words and actions. They had not been j so long separated but that they still remem- j bered and adhered to this principle, taught them by experience, and indellibly impressed on their minds. ? j Monsieur Leroy had one passion which his i travels in foreign countries had not cured him I of?gaming. Instead of seeking honest work,; (which he had not intended to do from the j first,) he proceeded to turn the remittance he had received to what was, in his estimation, i ' the best account, by trying to double, treble,! and perhaps quadruple it, at faro and other ! games of an equally doubtful nature, j Mrs. Ford, after her gratification at her j , lord's departure had somewhat subsided, be- j gan to repent of having given him such a j large sum, and to think that perhaps a half,; or three-fourths of the amount would have satisfied him just as well. ! She thought and thought over the matter i J until the gratification gave place entirely to j I repentance. Her parsimonious nature rebell-! ' ed strongly against the unwonted liberality I ; which she had been compelled by the force of ' circumstances to exercise. "I have been a great fool," she reflected, j "and Leroy won't make it last any longer j than if it had been only fifty. I must do j | something to replace what I have wasted with ' such shameful disregard to prudence and j common sense." That evening she held an interview with Stanley, and coolly informed him that if he desired to retain her in his service he must ; luisc iici aaittij. "Raise your salary!" said Stanley, surprised; "why, I consider it a most liberal one." "Maybe it is," rejoined the housekeeper ; "but it isn't liberal enough to pay me for all I have to go through with. The life I lead here is real slavery." "You knew what it was when you undertook it," rejoined Stanley, "and said then you .were willing to do it for that." " Well, I find out that I can't; it's the hardI est work I ever had to do. If you were in my place, Mr. Stanley, you would soon see the truth of what I say. However, of course if you can't afford to give more, the matter is easily settled, as far as I am concerned ; I can get another place, and no doubt you can find some one to take mine." "Nonsense," said Stanley, frowning. "You know what urgent reasons I have for desiring to keep you, and it is shameful in you to talk of leaving, after all the promises you made." "Promises !" echoed the woman ; "I don't recollect any promises, Mr. Stanley, except to perform what was to be paid for, straight down, in good money. I wouldn't have undertaken the task for love, I'can tell you. It isn't a very easy matter, or a very pleasant one, to have the sole charge of a ?" "Hush!" whispered Stanley, with an apprehensive glance around. "What is it you wish me to do ?. Only speak cautiously for Heaven's sake; we don't know who may be in hearing." A malicious smile crossed Mrs. Ford's face; she knew that she had him in her power, and exercised it over him with an unsparing hand. "I would have you double my wages, Mr. Stanley," she replied, quietly folding her arms with a resolute air as she spoke. "That's what I would have you do. If you agree to that T sunnose I can make ud mv mind to 1 ? jf ? 4 y stay." "Double them?nonsense !" said Stanley in an angry tone. "You are too exorbitant in your demands. I cannot afford to do it; and besides, the idea is preposterous." The woman shrugged her shoulders. "Preposterous or not," she returned, "I mean what I say, and I intend to abide by it. I can't afford to stay for less, and that's the long and the short of it." Stanley bit his lips, and considered for a moment with a frown on his face. "Say fifty a month more," he said at length, "and I'll give it to you." "Won't do," said the house-keeper, shaking her head. "A hundred more, or none." "You'll make your fortune out of me, at this rate," said Stanley with a forced laugh. "It's worth a fortune to have some things kept close," said Mrs. Ford, with a slight nod of her head. "Don't you think so, Mr. Stanley ?" Instead of answering, he commenced pacing up and down the room, his arms crossed on j his breast, a deep cloud on his brow. His tormentor watched him with an unmoved face, and without pity for his evident sufferings. She felt sure he would agree to her demand, and waited patiently for him to come to the desired terms. At last he stopped before her, and looked full in her face. "Do you mean to say," he asked, "that if I refuse to give you the sura you demand, you will be such a fool as to quit my service ?" "Fool!" she echoed, with an assumption of anger. "Don't forget that you are a gentleman, Mr. Stanley," (this with a slight sneer;) : "I won't have you call rae names." "Oh I don't let us have any humbug, Mrs. Ford," said Stanley. "We don't need to stand ou any particular ceremony with each other, you know; we know each other too well for that. If you consider the matter well, you will see that you would be a fool to leave here, where you have a comfortable home, and a salary, the fourth of which you would not get elsewhere." "No, Mr. Stanley, I wouldn't get the fourth of it elsewhere, because other folks wouldn't have cause to pay me for keeping such a valuable secret. And another thing, Mr. Stanley, that must be considered, is that this occupation of mine involves a great stretch of principle?a great stretch, sir, under the circumstances. Why, I feel sometimes as if I was compromising ray respectability; I do, indeed. You need not sneer at me, sir," said Mrs. Ford, with a lofty air, "for I mean every word I say. And I consider that this sacrifice of my peace of mind alone, without re-! gard to the trouble I have, is worth every j dollar of what I ask. At any rate, it is cer-1 tain that I can't stay unless you agree to ray i terms; my mind is quite made up on that i point, and I am not going to change it. If1 vnii /limner tn run the risk of lettinc me ero. i juu v"v>"" "" ' " <3 ? ' ! for the sake of a paltry hundred, which you ; can very well afford to spare, you are not as j wise a man as I think you are." Stanley did not choose to run the risk, and he could very well afford to spare the additional hundred ; and though he did not immediately give his outward consent to the housekeeper's demand, she knew very well that she was sure of gaining her point in the end. That evening he informed her that her ! salary should be doubled ; and so, to her greatj relief, she replaced without difficulty the sum she had, with such unwonted liberality, lavished on her needy better half. [to be continued next week.] ? AST About 7000 acres are cleared of timber each week day in this country. Of the annual crop $75,000,000 worth goes to fuel, and i twice as much to fencing. The locomotives in this country consume no less than 70,000,000 cords a year, or 500 acres a day. ^Riscclhuieous Reading. Fom the Rome (Ga.) Commercial. BILL ARP OX FREEDOM. I'm not reconciled. I thought I wag, but I ain't. I've been tryin to make peace, and make friends ever since the confounded old war was over, but it won't do. I've seen folks cussin around by the day, like they was tryin to-get even that way, but they dident. I've knowed some to moan and grieve over it till they pined away and died out of it. I dont know whether that was a success or not. I've seen some settin around and givin advice like Sokrates and Plato, but it dident do any good. Politishuns and editors have cavorted on the stump and in the newspapers, hollerin 'hello boys, come here, I've found the way to fix j 'em?jist follow me and I'll bring you out. Step this way, gentlemen, all ye that are weary, and I'll give you rest.' But that was nary rest?nary satisfaction. The poor unrekonstructed women are the worst sufferers. ; For seven years they have, been spankin . _ | around waitin for soraethin to turn up, and now they are losin patience. I hev thought I the children would fare better if we could git ; eveu. Poor things, they get many a spankin when their raararays are tbinkin about tnern Yankees, and them glorious old times before the war. A woman s a woman, you know, and she's bound to spank sumthin when she's mnd. Well,it's powerful hard on 'em 1 know. The whole thing cum upon 'emsudden?so collapsy. It was like we all had moved to another kountry. Them good old nigger days was just blotted out like fallin into a cellar. If we could have slid into it quietly and slantendikular, if slavery could have sorter tapered out and freedom sorter tapered in, everybody could have got used to it. But when freedom cum, it cum like a whirlwind or a waterspout, or an avalanch, or more like a drove of wild pigeons coming home to roost It fairly darkened the atmosphere, and it's dark yet. Talk about manners and customs and statisticks! Why we wasent the same people. A Geography made' in January, '65, wasent worth a cent in June! We dident have the same ways. We was subjugated, ' superseeded, and that new clover begun to spread all over the sunny land. Jim Mullens says it always grows in conkered countries. I was curious to see the darkies steppin off the lot without axin. The pass bisness was abolished before we ever thought about it. I've got some printed ones now as a memorial: 'Let the bearer, Jim, go to his wife's house, at Torn Clayton's, and stay till Monday morniug. Wm. Arp.; 'Here, Bob, go and catch Selira, and saddle him, and bring him here in five minutes, you black raskal?hurry up, you son of a gun, or I'll straiten you with a thrash pole till you cant see. Go, sir.' Now its: 'Oh, see here, Bob, I would like to have ray horse brought out, if you aint doing anything partikler; bring him as soon as you can, will you ?' And there's the poor women?good soulsits all we can do to taper 'em down to the situation. "What did you spill that water for, Julyann, you lazy, trifling, contemptible huzzy?positively you aint worth the salt that's put in your vittels ; didn't I tell you that the very next time vou sDilt water on this floor I'd give you a thousand?now take that?and that?and that?and that. Now go and get your wash rag and come here and wipe it up, you good for nothing imp of darkness." But that's all gone out of fashion, and now its? "Come here, Saray Ann, I want you to go and see your aunt Frances and ask her if she wont please cum and do my washin' this week. Tell her I'll be very much obliged to her if she will, now run along and be quick and I'll let you go to the circus." Well, it hurts'era, I know it does. It hurts this generation mity bad, but the children growin' up and corain' on don't mind it, for they never knowed much about slavery times. We old people wont last long no how, aud perhaps by the time we pass away and a new crop grows up on both sides, the North and South, we'll be better friends. I hope so, for if we havent been an unhappy family for 50 years I dou't know where you'll 6nd one. I can't help recalliu' them old times when my old carriage driver sot up on a high dickey, with a stove pipe hat on, and cracked a proud whip over a pair of crack-blood bays, and a little yaller nig a standin' up behind the carriage, a holdin' to the straps and feelin' bigger and grander than Julius Caesar Demosthenees Alexander Bonaparte. Old Times, farewell! Vain world, farewell! Now I've got no fore nigger, nor hind nigger, nor blood bays, nor nothing, and if I wan'tto go anywhere, thank the good Lord for his mercies, I am allowed to walk. Well, everything is different, even this here newspaper we're a runnin'. Them old fashund runaway nigger picters that used to be scattered along dowD a whole column is all vanished. Them picters of abskonded darkeys just a trottin' off with the hind foot sticken up and lookin' like the top side of an Alabama tarapin; a stick on the shoulder and a little bundle on the end of it; gone, all gone 1 "Run away from the subscriber, a coal black nigger, named Dave, about 17 years old, 5 feet 6 inches high. Anybody catching him and lodging him in jail can git 820 reward." Darn 'em?there's more of 'era catch the jail now than they did then. Them old picter dies are for sale cheap at this offis. They aint no use now but the jail is, its kept full from court to court. Some of 'em watotfttoastors. shure. and thev eot 'em. too. I reckon Alexander and Grant's Railroad chain gang now thinks slavery days a perfect garden of Eden. But somehow I like the plagy things, and while I last on the top side of the sile I want 'em hanging around. I like my dog, Bowse, and I like them; but blame ray cats if I like the way the thing happened. I wish there was some way to get satisfaction. Old Greeley's hand busted, and little Alek's advisin' peace on earth and good will to man ; but I don't like the way it was dun. I want a new deal of the kards. Mrs. Arp don't like it, and as loug as she don't, I don't, and I don't expect to. BILL ARP. ? Bad Temper.?There are few things more productive of evil in domestic life than a thoroughly bad temper. It does not matter what form that temper may assume, whether it is of a sulky kind, that maintains perfect sileuce for many days, or the madly passionate, which vents itself in absolute violence. Ill-temper at any age is a bad thing; it never does anybody any good, and those who indulge in it feel no better for it. After the passion -has passed away, one sees that he has been very foolish, and knows that others see it, too. Bad temper in the aged is perhaps the most trying of all; it is indeed a pitiable sight to see the wrinkled cheek of an old person aflame with the fires of anger and passion. Since anger is useless, and an unspeakable misery to its victims, why is it indulged in at all? ? 6?* A gentleman was surprised, during the late frosty weather, to see his little daughter bring home from the Sunday-school a grave treatise on "Backsliding." "My child," said he, "this is too old for you ; you can't make anything of it." "1 know it, papa; I thought it would teach me how to slide backward." "