Newspaper Page Text
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VOL. 1.
[Written for the Southern Field and Fireside.]
' JUNE.
Sweet June! tliou’st come with all thy wealth of flowers,
Thy morning dews, and pearly evening showers;
Bright song-birds warble in thy waving trees,
j And roses blush beneath the wooing breeze.
Yes, thou art come—but ah, my pleasant dreams,
And happy days come not—thy gladness seems,
I To bring memorials only of my pain,
( And moeksme that my dreams have been in vain !
Returning seasons make thee ever fair,
f Delicious beauty, bathed in fragrant air:—
No second Spring-time human hearts restore,
Once gone, their vernal freshnoss comes no in >ro.
Alas! I little thought that life could be,
i So full of darkness as it is to me;
And this June morning, with its glorious bloom,
j Brings no heart-sunshine, nil to me is gloom.
Augnsta. A. Z. |
X I
( . + »+> «
[Written for the Southern Field .and Fireside.]
I Entered according to the Act of Con grew, dtc ., t£t\,
by the Author.
MASTER WILLIAM MITTEN;
l OR,
A YOUTH OF BRILLIANT TALENTS,
< WHO WAS RUINED BA' BAD LUCK.
BY THE AUTHOR OF TIIE GEORGIA SCENES, ETC.
CHAPTER IV.
i Dr. Twattle proves to be a most Captivating Man
to the Wiaows ; but in the eml prodvr-more
j Had Luck.
I)r. Twattle deported himself to the entire sat
[ isfaction of-Mrs. Mitten for six months. He had j
not been in her house one month, before he com- !
pletely captivated the whole family. So digni- j
i tied and easy was he in his manners, so neat in |
his person, so courteous and respectful to the
i ladies, so rich in knowledge, so pleasant in anec
dote. so attentive to his business, and so careless
( of sordid lucre—in short, so perfectly did he
come up the Mitten-standard, of the gentleman ,
. and the scholar, that lie was soon admitted to
all the rights, privileges and immunities of a near
connection, in the family. The girls called him
i Uncle Twatt. William called Father Twcuddy. I
And Mrs. Mitten called him Good Man , and j
, Good Doctor, and burdened him with delicacies
for the palate. The Captain watched him close
| ly; but was constrained to say, greatly to the
delight of his sister, that he didn’t know but
that he -had misjudged the man. “Certainlj',”
added he. “if he is an imposter, he is the most
accomplished one that I ever met with; and I
i have seen not a few.”
“And now, brother,” said Mrs. M., “ I hope
you’ll acknowledge that for once in your life, I was
right and you were wrong.”
I “ Not yet, Anna. Am’ rogue may be clever
for a few months. I will admit, however, that
he does better than I expected, even thus far.”
The Doctor’s first quarter's salary was paid;
and he laid it nearly all out in presents for Mrs.
, Mitten, her daughters and son.
“ Good Doctor,” said she, “if you could turn j
, these things to any use, I would insist upon j
your keeping them: for it looks like down
> right robbery to take them, from your scanty
* means.”
“ I only regret that my scanty means in hand |
? will not allow me to double them Mrs. Mitten.”
“ How would you do in case of sickness or !
! misfortune ?”
“ I have had for many years a little fund laid j
, up to meet these contingencies—some ten or
twelve thousaud dollars, or such a matter. This,
. small as it is, will bear me through a long spell
' of sickness gently to the grave; or keep me
above want, should I linger on tho shores of
t time after I become too old to be useful, or to
labor in my vocation. When thrown upon that
fund, I shall change my character —my liberality
will end; but until forced upou it, why desire
, to iuerease it ? So little do I think of it, while
I am able to make a living without it, that I
, liardlv count it as a part of my estate. It might
' as well not be, for I shall probably dio before I
need it, and I certainly never shall touch it un
-1 til Ido need it. For several years I have not |
even drawn the iuterest upon it.”
“Suppose you were to die suddenly, to whom [
would you leave it
( “To some of the many beloved pupils whom
I have taught; or to some one that I might be
l teaching when death arrests me.”
' “ Have you no near connections, Doctor ?”
“None nearer than fourth cousins, madam;
i and these are so profligate and abandoned, par
ticularly the one who bears my name, that I
never wish to see them again.”
“Were you never married, Doctor?”
“ Yes, madam, fora short timo, bnt ”
Pardon mo. Doctor, for touching that tender
i cliorik I see that I have inadvertently revived
< long buried griefs.”
“ You are very excusable, madam—your ques
f tion was a very’ natural one in its place. At
another time I will give you the history of my
married life, as long as my dear Anna lived.
For the present, suffice it say that the little pit-
t JAMES GARDNER, 1
j Proprietor. {
tance of which I was just speaking came by her; |
and upon her death, I set it apart as a consecra- j
i ted fund never to be touched, while I could live j
without it. You have here another and the
; principal reason why I never speak of that fund ]
as my own. Bnt 1 have yet another: If the
world knew of it, I should be harrassed and I
have my feelings lacerated incessantly and in
sufferably, with idle questions about my manner 1
of my life, while I have the means to live with- !
j out labor, as though it were not every man’s
duty to lal>or in some useful calling, while he is .
' able to do it."
“ I fully approve your conduct, Doctor; and ;
I shall keep sacred the secret which my repre- !
hensible curiosity has dragged from you.”
“ Thank you, madam; but pray take no blame j
to yourself for your curiosity; it rose as natural
ly from the current of your conversation as the )
bubble rises from the agitated fountain.”
j Mrs. Mitten possessed too kind a heart to re- :
| ceive presents from the Doctor, without return- j
I ing them with interest.
At the end of the first month, Mrs. Mitten j
j proposed to give a large tea-party, for the ex- j
press purpose of introducing the Doctor to the I
villagers, male and female; but he begged her
; not to do it. “J cannot,” said he, “reciprocate
hospitalities, and I should be pained to receive
attentions which I cannot return. I ani fond of
company, but for the reason just given, with
others, I rather avoid company than seek it.”
“I have noticed that, Doctor. You hardly
ever leave the house in the day time, while you
often take recreation-rambles at night.”
“Just so, madam; but there is a better reason j
, than that; the day is yours, (or your son’s); the j
iiigt.t is mine.”
Considering that William never rose till break- j
fast time in the morning, and was out almost j
I every night to a late hour, he made very rapid 1
progress in his studies under Doctor Twattle. 1
! ilis mother had committed him to tlie entire di- j
I reetion of his teacher, amt as night was tiie |
recreation-hour, he could not obieet to his pupil’s |
following his example.
A little incident occurred in the first month of j
the Doetor’s4utorship which must not be passed
i over in silence, as it produced important results
i in the end.
One morning Mrs. Glib called on Mrs. Mitten,
j and, after the usual salutations and interroga
! tories, said:
“ I am told Mrs. Mitten, that you are delight
ed with your new teacher. ’’
“ I am indeed, ’’ said Mrs. M.
“ Well I’ve come over to see if he can’t take |
my boys too. They and William have become !
so much attached to one another, that it seems j
a pity to separate’them. I have discovered” !
(lowering her voice to a confidential pitch) “ that j
Mr. Toper drinks. That good brother of yours j
spoke but too truly when he charged Mr. Toper
with drinking. Now I will pay three-fourths j
of Doctor Twattle’s salary, if he will take my
boys in with William; and that will bring Wil- j
liam’s tuition down to almost nothing. ”
“ But will you board the Doctor three-fourths
of the time ?.”
“ Certainlj’ I will. ”
“Bnt he will not be willing to teach four boys,
J for the price he gets for one. ”
“ Well I’ll let his wages stand at what they
are; and I will double them for my three boj’s;
and board him half the time.”
“ But how will we do ? I can’t consent for
i William to go to your house to be taught. ”
“ Well the teaching may all be done at j'our
! house. ”
“ But I know that Doctor Twattle would not
l»o willing to come from your house to mine to
teach. ”
“ Well then, he may stay altogether at yours,
and I will pay part of his board. ” "
“ Oh Mrs. Glib I couldn't think of taking pay
for board from you. ”
“ Well what plan would you suggest. It’s
cruel to part the boys, for thej’ can hardly live
out of each other's sight. ”
“ I really do not see how it will be possible
to arrange it—l don’t think it can be possibly
lie done.”
“ Suppose you invite him down Mrs. Mitten;
and let us folk over the whole matter, and see if
; we can’t fix it so that the boys may be together.”
To this proposition Mrs. Mitten readily assen-
I ted. for she was very confident that Doctor
Twattle, would not upon any terms consent to
take the j-oung Glibs. Accordingly he was in
vited down, and introduced to Mrs. Glib.
“ I have called Doctor, ” said Mrs. Glib, to
see if you would not be willing to take my three
boys under j-our instruction with Master Wil
liam. Mrs. Mitten and I are like sisters, and
our children like brothers, and if you would con
sent to take my children, you would greatly ac
comodate us all round. ”
“ Certainly jnadam, ” said the Doctor. ‘'lf
Mrs. Mitten desires it, I will take them with
pleasure; but being under contract with her,
I can of course do nothing without her consent.”
“ But how could it be arranged Doctor. ’’
“Just as you and Mrs. Glib may choose. ”
“ Would you be willing to board part of the
time with Mrs. Glib ?”
“I would rather not change my boarding
AUGUSTA, GA., SATURDAY, JUNE 18, 1859.
house; but if Mrs. Mitten, desires it I will even
j do that?”
‘ Oh no Doctor, I do not desire to put you to
i that inconvenience : besides I should feel that
I was violating my contract if I did not board
■ you all the time! "
“ "Well then Doctor how would this suit ?
You board here all the time, aud I pay Mrs.
Mitten half your board.”
“Very well indeed madam. I should prefer
that, to moving: from house to house. ”
“ But Ecouldn't take money from Mrs. Glib,
! Doctor, foj" board. And suppose we were to
make that arrangement; how would it be as to
tuition ? I suppose you would ask four times
as much for teaching four, as you do for teach
j ing one. ”
“ That would be equitable; but 1 will not
stickle about prices, if I can accomodate the :
! friend of o?le who has been such a kind friend j
to me, as Mrs. Mitten lias been. ’’
j “ But where would you toach Doctor ? At j
! my house or Mrs. Glib’s. ”
j “ Just as 3'ou may say Mrs. Mitten. ”
“Soyou see Cousin Mit. ” (so Mrs. G. in her
playful moods called Mrs. Mitten) “that the
whole matter is an your hands, and you are to
say whether my poor hoys are to get an educa- j
tion or not. ” ■*
! “Just here when Mrs. Mitten was getting into |
an inextricable entanglement, a bright thought
struck her, which relieved her from all difficulty, |
and in the transports of which she compromised j
her piety a little.
“Well” said she “we can a-range this mat- i
ter satisfactorily, provided brother David will
give his consent that Doctor Twattle shall take j
: other children under his charge, besides Wil- 1
Ham. But you know Doctor, that he has had
1 the whole management of this business in his
I own hands; and I would not dare to move an !
; inch in it, without his consent. I will sub
| mit the matter to him, and if he consents, I will
| most cheerfully consent that you take Mrs. 1
j Glib’s sons under your instruction.
“Oh well” said Mrs. Glib “I have no fear ,
j but that he will give his consent. You know
Mrs. Mitten he stept forward unasked, to assist
! my children, upon no other condition, than that (
i they gave him a promise: and that promise
: they have all kept most honorabl)- and reyious
ly. ”
“Very well; whatever brother David says I
will do Mrs. GHbb ; that I promise you. "
“And whatever Mrs. Mitten says’’ said the
Doctor “ I will do. ”
“I shall see brother David to-day. Mrs. Glib, j
j and let you known to-morrow what lie says. ”
“ Here the company separated, all perfectly
j satisfied.’’
“Well certainly” soliloquised Mrs. Mitten, !
1 when Mrs. Glib left the house, “ that is the most !
! trying woman that ever was bom. She keeps
:me everlastingly in hot water. Cousin Mit 1” |
It was not until the next morning that brother
j David appeared at his sister’s. He had no soon- j
er arrived, than Mrs. Mitten made known the .
desires of Mrs. Glib. ”
“Oh yes, ’’ said he, “ take the angels by all j
means 1 ”
“ But I wish you to be serious, brother. Mrs.
Glib has my pledge that the matter shall be s..b
mitted to you, and I have promised her to abide I
by your decision! ”
“ You have! Well tell Mrs. Glib that I am
perfectly delighted at the idea of having my nep
hew in constant association with her lovely
boys, and nobody else! That rather than lose j
so fine an opportunity of advancing the interest i
of my nephew, I will send the young gentlemen :
to school every day in my carriage—Good
morning sister!”
“ Stop brother —If you have any regard for I
me, don’t leave me with such a message to Mrs. j
Glib ” —Lord bless my soul and body, yonder !
she is coming now! Brother David! Brother, if
you have one particle of love or respect for your
poor widowed sister come back!” .
“Well what do you want.”
“Do you seriously desire me to bear that mes
sage to Mrs. Glib ? I know you do not. Then !
speak with your usual frankness.”
“Well, you are certainly the strangest woman
that ever was bom. You are forever asking my
advice, and never taking it. I had almost resolv
ed to give you no more advice; but as you seem
afflicted by this ; I’ll reverse it; which Ido se
riously. Tell Mrs. Glib, that I object to Twat
tle’s taking any more children, while he is under
contract to teach William alone—l will not have
his attentidks divided. And tell her, moreover,
that I had just as lief see a polecat, a rattle-snake
and a hyena come into the house as her three
children.”
“Now you’ve gono too far again ! Do, my
dear brother, revoke the last part —see she’s
most here.”—
“Very well. I revoke it. Good morning !”
He had not left the house two minutes before
Mrs. Glib entered it.
“Well” said she “I saw your brother retire, as
I came up: and I suppose you know his will con
cerning the boys.”
“Oh yes Mrs. Glib, and he won’t hear to the
Doctor’s taking any more children while he is
under contract to William. He wishes William 1
to have all his attentions.’’
“He does /’’ said Mrs. G. biting her lip. and
patting her foot.
“Yes ma’am. Ho seemed very positive.”
“I suppose that gives you very great pain—
Good morning Mrs. Mitten !”
“\ ’h}' you're not going so soon !”
"Yes madam. I just run over to know Captain
Thompson’s edicts.”
“Now' we've to have new trouble !” mused
Mrs. M. as Mrs. G. left the house. And she hit
it exactly. In less than three mouths after this .
dute, a very strange report was whispered about
in secret places of the village. Aud what gen
tle reader do j'ou think it was ? “Why that
Twattle was courting the widow Mitten.” No.
that was not it; but that the widow Mitten was
: courting Twattle ! ! It was a slander of course.
; The widow Mitten was not the woman to court
any body.
About a mouth before the first term of Dr.
I Twattle’s service expired he spent several even- j
ings with Mrs. Glibb, who, the reader has long
since discovered, (though I believe I forgot to .
tell him so.) was a widow too. Her given name
was Bridget; but not liking it as she grew up, i
j she added an “a” to it, so as to make it more ro
mantic. She was rich, and for her years, remar- (
j kubly handsome.
In these visits Mrs. Glibb offered the Doctor !
many inducements to close his contract with
j Mrs. Mitten at the end of his engagement, aud
| make a more advantageous one with her. How
the Doctor received her overtures is not known;
but it is certain that Mrs. Glib cherished the idea
: that after another short engagement with Mrs. j
| Mitten, he would be at her service ; an idea that j
j was strengthened by the fact that when he came I
j to renew liis engagement he limited it to only ;
four months.
It was not without alarms that Mrs. Mitten
observed the growing intimacy of Mrs. Glib an<J
i Doctor Twattle ; and when he limited the time
: of his second engagement to four mouths, in
stead of a year or more, as she had expected,
i her alarms were increased. No change howev
er was observed in the Doctor’s conduct; and
nothing of higher interest occurred for the first
i two months, than, that Mrs. Mitten in taking
i one of Master William's coats to mend, found a
pack of cards in one of the pockets ; which dis
covery she reported to his teacher, who promised
to cure him of all.love of cards by parental re
proof and kind counsels.
The third month of the second term had just i
I passed, when a report spread all over the village
that Dr. Twattle and. Mrs. Mitten were certainly
engaged to be married. It no sooner reached
her brother's ears than ho hastened to her, to
; put her upon her guard lest in her well known
admiration of the Doctor, she might say or do
■ something tending to encourage the report.—
To his surprise he found her unmoved by her
brother's disclosure. “If people choose to talk
i about me," said she “let them talk. It .would
j be no discredit to me to marry such a man as
Doctor Twattle I'm sure ; for he has every qual-
I ity that any woman could desire in a husband,
and not a fault that I have been enabled to dis
cover.”
“Where is he ?” said the Captain, “I’ll pack
him oft', if it costs me my life.”
“And if we were going to l>e married, do you
: think that would stop it ? I assure you it would
not.”
“Very well, take your course! I see plainly
the report is true. I have one piece of advice to
' give you, and it is the last that I ever expect to
j give you. Have your property secured to your
■ self aud your children. If you don’t, every shill
j ing of it will go to him as soon as you are mar
| ried ; and do not beggar yourself and them, to
enrich a stranger.”
“Rest assured, if we get married that will be
done ; and if it were not, the good Doctor would i
not touch one dollar of it, without my cousent.—
Os this I have the most satisfactory proof. But 1
I have heard him say, that if he should ever j
marry again, while ho would have no woman
who would not trust her property, with her per
son to his care ; yet that when both were com
mitted to his charge, he would always consider j
the wife as liis, but the property as hors ; and !
for fear of accidents, he would immediately as- 1
terwards, settle her property on her. Not be
fore, because there would be no merit in doing
it then, and great demerit in his betrothed to
request it.”
“Why Anna he’s a scoundrel as sure as !
you’re bom, and 1 feel strongly tempted to cut
liis throat. If your're bent upon marrying him,
as I see you are; let me bring a lawyer here and
have your property secured to you immediately.” !
“ What is the use of doing that, when it is
certain that he’ll make no such contract.” ,
“And therefore you're going to marry Mm
without one ?"
“Yes, but I'm not going to lose my property
for all that Brother. I know Doctor Twattle
much better, than you know him • dl, d tfl were
at liberty to give you his liistor y° u wol, ld not
even ask me to require a m* rria g e * Col ftract of
him—l know you would no^"
Just here the young ladies, who had over
j Two Dollan* Per Annum, I
I Alnayi In Advance. )'
/
heard the conversation, made their appearance
in tears.
“I would." said Miss Jane ‘‘rather Ma should
marry Uncle Twattle than any body else, if she
will marry, but I never can see mv poor dear
j father's place "
“ Hold your tongue P said Mrs. M. sharply.
“ Ma, you can't blame us,” said Miss Ann,
“/or not wishing to see our dear departed
father's ”
“ Hush I tell you! and speak when you're
spoken to.”
“Oh Sister.” said the Captain, “do let the
children have their opinions. I should think
they might express their opinions of even Mj\
Saint Twattle. without having their heads snapt
oft'."
Mrs. M. was in no humor for this retort, just
at this time; and she showed more independence
and temper than she had evinced for many long
: years.
“ Well,” said she, “ /’m my own mistress, and
I’ll marry who' I please, if all the brothers and
I children in the world should oppose it" So
. saying she hurried from the room.
“ Well young ladies, I hope you’ve got a
; teacher to your liking now!” said the Captain.
The girls each seized a hand of the Captain,
and begged his forgiveness for uprising his ad
| vice to their mother; and promised more for the
future than the Captain could have required.—
Ho withdrew his right hand from Ann’s em
brace. and turned his eyes away from them, as
if looking for something that he did’nt wish to
find ; and with bis middle finger pressed some
thing from both, that he manifestly wished to
j conceal.
“Oli my dearest, dearest uncle”—said Jane,
i “our father, our only, our best counsellor! Will
you not do something to stop this match ?”
“ I don’t know what I can do,” said the Cap
tain, striving to dissipate, or hide his feelings by
rough words, “unless it is to cut the scoundrel's
throat; to which I feel strongly tempted”
“No uncle, no. Use no violence ’
Here William came in whistling “ Yankee
Iks idle."
“You young scoundrel!” said the Captain,
1 “you've brought things to a pretty pass! Would
! God you had died at your birth.”
“ Why, what have I done uncle?”
“ You’ve filled your mother's heart with an
guish ever siuce you quit Markham’s school; and
you’ve brought into the house a man who is
: going to beggar her and all her children.”
“ 1 did'nt bring him uncle. You know I was
willing back to Mr. Markham.”
“ Well—to do yon justice—but what have
you been at ever since! Disturbing prayer
! meetings, you little rascal; and running in
to all manner of iniquities! You’ll come to The
gallows as sure as your name's Bill Mitten , you
voting dog! Do you know your mother's going
to marry Twattle ?”
“ Yes sir; he told me about it long ago; but
said he would’nt do it if I objected ”
“If you objected! If you objected. And I
suppose you Royal Majesty gave your consent ?”
“I told him,” said Bill, with humility, for he
had never seen his uncle in such a terrific state
of mind before, “that if he loved Ma and Ma
loved him as much as he said they did ”
“ Clear out of the house you young rascal, or
| I'll ” (Bill scampered.) “ Don’t you see the
deep, designing knave and hypocrite, in every
thing he does! Using a child—his pupil .
I’ll smoke the viper out of his hole!” so saying
he rushed up to Twattle’s room amidst the
screams of the girls.
He knocked at the door; but received no res
ponse.
“ You may as well open the door, Mr. Hell
cat ; for I'll come in if I have to break it down.”
After a short pause, and no voice from with
in, he forced open the door; and behold, the
Doctor was not in. He went in search of him,
but luckily didf not find him till his fury abated.
He went home and took his bed; for the excite
ment had brought on a smart fever.
(to be CON'TINUED.)
A well known author race, wrote an article
: in “Blackwood,” signed lA - S.”
“Tut,” said Jerold, ->n reading the initials,
“ what a pity he will tell only two-thirds of the
| truth.”
Coke-Trees.- -The Dallas Herald, of the 4th
inst., says: T l « cork-acorns distributed from the
Pateut Office amongst our citizens were planted
and many of them have germinated. In some
places have seen them several inches high,
presorting a very healthy appearance, and re
sending in their young growth some of our na
tive varieties of oak.
The Milwaukee Sentinel says that eighty five
thousand barrels of lager beer and ale are man
ufactured in that city annually.
A fool in high station is like a man on the top
of a monument — everybody appears small to
him, and he appears small to everybody.
Women are called the “ softer sex," because
they are so easily humbugged. Out of one hun
dred girls, niuety-five would prefer ostentation
to happiness — a dandy husbaud to a mechanic.”
NO. 4.