Newspapers / Spirit of the Age … / Nov. 13, 1868, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of Spirit of the Age [1873-1???] (Raleigh, NC) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
v,- f m OthE PBIEND, OF TEMPEEANCE, IS PUBLISHED EVERY FBIDAY, . AfNo;iafetvUleSt4 Raleigh, N. C, THE FRIEND OF TEMPANOE. ti ABTERTISINp fli'ffiS A limited nnmfipr of adrmisMncnts wfl(vL iast' rtd at the following ntcsi t Mntk Cfy - . ,, y I II. II. WHITAKEK, Editor. ItHE OFFICIAL ORGAtf OF THE ORDER 05tHE FRIENDS . OF TEMPERANOEj For each subsequent ifisertiott,. t s . fTr - 0 ' TEItMS? n - 1 J;; -- K 31 ja Ei!it liit tr1esrcdlftVtntc; 4: i sonar - N't : . u " i4 M"""'"""''','""M"M'M'"M"'M',,',,,MII,,MPP""""WMMBi lllll ii LaiJiilT la JlLQiili IdILi,, 1 T .$-1:50 . G50 : 12 50 . 20 00 V a Twenty,' " I. 1 ' . '.THE.GOlilEN WEDDING.: I 5He first tonewas sharp, eajjer; sig bificJMt'andiuasculme; 1 - The response was mHd; languid; in- 'Whose wagon tracks are these i A fanner past middle age; sunbrow faed,and muscular-pbin ted to ' fresh tracks that described a" circle : on the moist earth and j stretched away 1 in long pa rallel lin es: t - 5 1 1 , The feminine face, pretty and girl ish, grew crimson as the answer was hesitatingly given: ; 'Mr. Olcott's carriage was here -this " afternoon.' j,i.Vv:--:';:.' 6 v:r; It is only fair to suppose the carri age had a horse before it, and a driver in it. remarked the farmer dryly. 'Who. drove?' 'Mr. Olcott, answered the young jgirl,' with deepening blushes. 'What does this old covey want to come here so often for?' inquired the farmer, testilv. i 'Jacob,' called, a shrill fetnalu voice from the window, 'have-vou taken the wheat to the mill !' 7Noi; but Itntb'is taking her eggs to ti' very jio r market answered the far mer shortlv ' ' ' .' ' 'Don't tease the child," said the wo man rebnkingly. And you'd better hurry up, of Mr. Jones will be gone !rom the mill before you get the rist there :- ' " ." '': ' - . 'Iluth exclaimed the man, step pi"g to the girl's side and speaking in , a low tone, 'if I see Jeroiiie Anderson coming here I 'shall put him on ano ther track. He's1 too good a fellow to be trifled With, and Olcott isn't a cir cumstance 'Jacob, are you ever going to get of with that grist?' was the .shrill inter ruption to the man's remark. 'Yes, Fni going in two jerks was the prompt reply. His voice sunk to ft whisper: 'Ruth,' don't Tmake work for repentance he said, impressively 'It's a dreadful thing.' . 'Ruth called the shrill voiced wo mrn,: 'come in the house. You'll catch your death cold sitting out there in the dew; and last night you was traip sing over the- wet grass as if you wasn't subject to the quinsy and rheu , matiz in your shoulder. It must be a thousand 'times nicer to ride in a handsome carriage like Mr. Ol cott's . . 1 'Yes, ma'sim.' " Ruth'said it hurubiv ; but the aflir mation would have provoked a score of queries had she been testifying on the witness stand, for there Was that in it that suggested mental reserva tion. , . i . ' Mrs. Beebe, the practical sharp sighted, clear headed woman, as she t was called, noted the manner with displeasure: 'Of course, '',, 'she said, "itfstands to reason r that it's better to ride than to .walk, :and it's better to wear silk - gowns than oalico, and you'd be1 standing in : your own light to give Jerome, Anderson any. encaur ngement when & man like Mr. Olcott worships the very ground you walk nw . - ; ,: : Ruth made no reply. The question was debatable judging from the inde cisjoainher fyce. . 5, ! She sat down at tho window and looked out until her mother called '. her. '-..," ; . 'Whatever upon earth ails the child! :4 Why, Ruth, you're ' sitting in' the ' draught, anil there'll be a sore throat or something worse to pay !' Ruth arose with a smothered sigh and looked at ' the clock. 'Half-past eight ! she said to herself. 'Father has put Jerome Anderson on another track,' . He wbnt ' come to 'night . - ; She took her work basket froi the VOLu II. closet and drew up to the table where her mother sewed by the light of a tallow' candle and took from her work basket some "muslin and a; bit of , Her, mother watched. her closely. 'Is that all the lace yoa-- bought ?' she asked in a tone that was full of calcu lation: -s :r " : 'les, ma'am; it i real . .explained Rith ,r i., j -iiv- -v-. 'But it didn't take all the money ?' asked Mrs. Beebe, in the same calcn lating tone. ' I ' . ' . 'Yes, ma'am. It takes a great deal of money to buy a very little real lace. Aunt Catharine used to. say - a person was better dresse d with . a yevy little real lace than a great many yards of imitation answered jRuth, in justifi cation of her purchase. ; 'Humph !' ejaculated Mrs. IJeebe, somewhat disdainfully. 'Your aunt Catharine has some very high notions. She ain't a bit like your -father.' She can afford to buy real lace, if she wants it. If I'd been in your place, I'd rather had more lace for the same money. You've got some very extrav agant notions for a poor girl, Ruth Ann. - Ruth blushed guiltily. She waas conscious o f he r failing in that di rection.' She remembered how that very morning she had stood at the counter of the little vill-ige store, try ing to reconcile these very condemned notions with her limited ability. It had not been an easy task. The no tions were so extravagant, and the ability so very smalL Then the abili ty was so uncompromising. The shil ling? could not by any possibility ex pod themselves toirmeefe-her tastes and there had been no alternate but for the tastes to succumb entirely to the shillings. ' V ; , A very trifling thing this balancing of lace and filthy lucre in a 3oung girl's mind, say 'you ? Perhaps so to men who never look at 1 nee with ref erence to their own , toilettes, and to women who have lost their love of dress with their youth; but to a young girl who knows that the frill around her throat has much to do with the tint of her complexion, and that a web of delicate threads softens the beauty of plump, round arms, this question of lace is an all absorbing one. Ruth Beebe had other thoughts, standing at the little counter, compar imrthe lace she wanted with the lace she didn't want, trying to- reconcile quantity and quality, , and price. From tangled thoughts of lace it was a step to tangled ; thoughts of life, for Ruth's life was- somewhat tangled now. It had been a very smooth' life until Mrs. Beebe's ambition had chan ged it. Ruth Beebe, only a year younger than she was now, standing under the apple trees, with pink and white blossoms falling on her chest nut hair, looked up behind the brown hands that'sifted the apple blossoms throuerh his finders, into Jerome An- dersons honest, love-lit ? eyes, and there was no entanglement in her life then. ' Mis,! Beebe, i from the farm . house window, looked into the orchard with a. brow piled full of frowning wrin kles, ' ; ' V';' ' 'Jacob !' she called, in a loud deci ded tone. Jacob did ndt hear. He was either asleep or dreaming just in sight of the pretty picture in the orchard. acob I' exclaimed Mrs. Beebe, this time touching tHe man on the shoul der.' ; . Jacob Beebe came to consciousness with a stttrt. 'What's the matter, Ra chel ?' he asked. 'Are the cows in the corn, or ?' r 'No, no !' answered hjs wife, impati ently, 'it's about Ruth 'What about Ruth ? inquired the man, subsiding into a seat 'What I've got to say answered Mrs. Beebe. 'O, I thought it was young Ander RALEIGH' K7ci, FRIDAY, NO 133' son's arm,' said Jacob Jtaebe, with a lowk chucking laugh. - :i . ; :r ; Mrs. Beebe rose up in her wrath "Jacob, she;said lyon,,e a' I - v XhQ': nngry j womaa changed iet nlhjdn audi modified her . remark. !Yonre enough to try the patience of a saint she said, i J ;r r . . J acob Beebe laughed. The ; laugh, interpreted, ; said, . Tb4t "is- , not ''for TOUT 'Ruth is a woman, V continued. Mrs. Beebe, emphatically. : 'Hardly, answered her .. husband, meditatively. 'It's only a few years since she was a baby.' r h i j i- 'Eighteen just eighteen, the tenth of last month corrected Mrs. Beebe. 'But that's neither here nor there.- She is a woman -.and is thinkincr of beaux, and the next thing she will be getting married.' 'Married i' echoed Jacob Beebe, sadly. 'Yes, of course; but it's a pity.' 7. ::.: : , . -: . 'Now the question is, who shall sh 3 marry ?' continued Mrs. Beebe, as if she were stating a problem in alge bra or a proposition in geome try. : : ; :! It ain't for you or me to say was the calm reply Of her husband. 'She's pretty enough and good enough for the Governor exclaimed Mr?. Beebe. j 'Or the President added Jacob Beebe, with a proud smile. i 'She ain't likely to marry anybody that will be a credit to her family, stay ing around here and going on with that 3'oung Anderson said Mrs. Bee be, indignantly. ' 'Jerome is a! likely lad,' answered Jacolv inf akihaiy tone. 7? 'He isn't the man for our Ruth ; on ly an Anderson and Lis father in (debt when he died, and all the family hang ing on to Jerome,' remonstrated Mrs. Beebe. 'If you haven't ambition enough in your nature to want to settle your : daughter better in life than that, I have, and I've been think ing it would be a good thing to send Ruth to her aunt Catharine's in the city, and let' her see a little of the world.' v At last Mrs. Beebe had said what she intended to say when she aroused her husband from his nap or dream with that shrill cry of 'Jacob.' There had been remonstrance on Farmer Beebe's . part. It was hard - . i 5.. . . ' to irive ui) his -daughter .for a few months even. He did not . see her danger in staying home as her mother did, and he did seae her danger in go ins: awav as her mother did not. But Mrs Beebe carried her point. It was hei way to overcome all obstacles that Jacob Beebe-could interpose. - ; : From this visit had come the en tansrlement of Ruth Beebe's life. 1 lit was easy to engraft on a young mind like hers a taste for the luxuries that surrounded her in her - aunt's home; and Mrs! Beebe's ambition and schem ing, was 'gratified on Ruth's return to see that she did not settle down quite content with the old simple ways of living. The discontent might 'have worn away but for Mrs. , Beebe's fos tering, and the attentions of Hum phrey Olcott, the rich man on the hill. These attentions in their ultimate meaning settled so satisfactorily the troublesome questions f of taste and ability that Ruth was tempted to make the most of them. But there was Je rome Anderson, the honest young far mer, who looked tenderly on Ruth and askance at the rich man on the hill; and with thoughts of him all ; of Ruth's life with! its opposing claims and counter forces, twisted itself1 into a tangle as perplexing as, the Gordian knot ; j She was working away mentally at the tangled web that night, as she sat at the little work table with the poor candle light falling on the white mus lin and bit of lace. Mrs. Beebe looked at the clock. It would soon be time for Jacob's return, KO. 29. and she had something to say to! Ruth In' her -husband's absence! ' l don't know what yoa're thinking of to encour age a poor man like - Je rome Anderson she said at length j biting off her thread with a jerk 'If I was ydu, I'd give him) his walking papers .V f 1 h'i? Ruth recognized that as' a boh ad Tancet moTement l& draw ' er into a w6rdydmbShThar;Se1th before, and knew the ground -well She snuffed the candle without a word of comment Silence was tho i only intrenchment into which she could re tire. 1 .'-tv.---.i . .s-i.-. 'j -ii 4 ; Mrs. Beebe changed her tactics. 'These candles are miserable she re marked, in infinite disgust 'The last tallow wasn't tried right; and if there wasn't water in these dips they wouldn't sjatter like all possessed. I expect it comes tough for for you to see by these feeble lights after enjoying your aunt's gas.' j 'The gas light was very j pleasant,' answered Ruth, meditatively. j ? Humphry Olcott's new house is go ing to have gas in it,' remarked Mrs. Beebe, glancing at her daughter to note the effect of her words. 'He is building a fine cage. Almost any bird might be content in it' 'Olcott's house is pretty sure to have gas in it,' commenced; Jacob Beebe, who had returned from the mill in time to hear his wife's remark concern ing Mr. Olcott . 'It's pretty sure to have gas in it when its master is home; and if I was a bird, I'd rather have the poorest, homeliest pest an honest bird could build me than Olcott's cage with, jts golden bars. That's my opin ion 'O, Jacob you ar4 so set in your no tions !' exclaimed Mrs. Beebe. 'And here is Ruth sighing and longing for things every day that you can't afford to buy her. Just look Jacob at j that little piece of lace l Ruth would buy the real stuff. She don't approve a of imitations: There's a pretty girl for a poor man's wife! I tell you, Jacp b, men don't understand these thing's.' Jacob Beebe sighed. 'Lace is not the worst want in the world he said in an under tone. 'And I hope Ruth will remember that the love of a mar ried woman ought to be the real stuff, and no imitation. Wive3 can get along better without lace - than love. Are you going to your cousin's Iwed ding?' he asked turning to Ruth. 'Yes sir,' answered Ruth. 'Mother thinks I had better, and I am trim ming my dress.' . .. j ..... 'And you want more lace?' , asked the farmer, 'gravely, as the colored servant called Mrs. Beebe into the kitchen. . : .. '. . ; . j 'It's a little scant, but I don't .mind much answered Ruth, looking up with a feeble smile. . . -y"?: n'- 'I wish I could afford began the farmer, , .., - - - ( . -Ruth stopped him. I don't mind a bit she said, and her smile . was brave now, as she put her arms' around her, father's" neck. , 'Don't think of it again. I don't care . ; . -j . I Farmer Beebe smoothed his child's hair tenderly. 'You're a good girl, Ruth he said, with trembling voice; 'Don't let them spoil you , ; ; j MrSi Beebe came in,: and; Ruth took her candle and went up stairs. , . ; j 'Jacob said Mrs. Beebe, sharply, when they were alone, 'you're enough to try the patience of a saint, as I've told you before. Here I am trying to do all I can for Ruth Ann, and you just upset all I do by your unreason able talk against Mr. Olcott It isn't doing justice by your child nor me. If Ruth Ann ever makes anybody she won't have her father to thank.',, Jacob snuffed the candle and pick-1 ed up the Bible. The act was strange ly like his daughter's au hour age Experience had taught them both to avoid Unequal warfare mth this wo man. . ' " ' " " , ' ' ' Tl Mrs. Beebe frowning weiit into the kitchen to look after - things for I the night She knew better than to hope 185S. liberal ifranrtf.ffiii Ul bcjnadowitb par ties wishing id jultcrtUti by the moqtb qr jear. to dfaw.him out .of th(Tsileh(?eiW!ieTe in he hadintfenchilmsel ,Andt acob read 'JiiiJlIehiseyes fi ted on one verse on the .open page 5heJiJ;i3wifar aloud : Visiting nnto the third and fourth1 generation the Iniquities of the father upon the childrefaJHdfojp ped there I with 1 itt groan- yes,'iihd continued; , ' I suffer ior mj - .father's, wrongs, and my child suffers for onine. Ruth Beebe stood m a crowded cilv parlor watching the thr6rigk arotrli6? her. There was much to pleaso Rnth'a fancy.4 The shimmer, of, tne; silkshe. glitter of the jewels, the fragrance 6t the flowers, the music and the bril-' ' Hant lights' were very beautiful in r her estimateThere was "a stir at tho door, and ushers cleared, the . way ; for ,tth bridal party. . For 1 a moment, .Rath, saw. nothing but the' trailing satin'and flowing lace, the orange blossoms Jahd' the pearls ; then her eyes sought :t the bridegroom, a little r hard ! faced ; and wrinkled I man. r. She started f .visibly, an d glanced to the corner where stood a young man with a look of intense" scorn upon his handsome 'features.' Ruth remembered her cousin 'Nellie's, words in a confidential mood: ! I shall i never love a man as I love Walter.. D wight The young, scornful face in the corner was Walter's; and 1 Nellie was vowing love, honor and obedience ' to this dark faced and . wrinkled man. t Ruth shuddered as her father's words, came tp her mind: '-The dove of aniar- ried woman ought to be the real fstufF and ho imitation.' ' She looked arotra'd and listened. ! Congratulations' had -commenced in the centerof the room and rippled into the gossipy waves in $ the corners. , Ruth gathered ihat ihe groom was rich as a Je w ; ' that the bride's silks would stand1 ftloheVtnaU her la'ces were fine ;-as' cobwebs faind rare as' genuine gold; that the gropm'a past life would not bear close , scruti- ny ; that the' bride was listless and in different; that:;- H ' She heard ho more, watching ' her cousin's white face, as Walieir (Dwightn approached. '.flof could sheTdo it?' sas her involuntarj", thought and r then she cheeked hdrself in Self-cbn-demnation. Suppose' "she T married Humphrey OlcOtt what better was she f Ruth never lost sight of that plnte , face in the supper, and dancing and merriment that followed, liven when tue onue anu guests ana caterers auu -musicians -were "gone,' and '.all the house was still, as-she sat; upon t the ' floor with her chestnut hair falling ja. t' unbound beauty, and the simple white dress laid off, the bride's, pale face i haunted her still. She closed her eyes' . to shut out the sight; and stopped her ears to drown the ! words of Service: : Until death do us part', At lifetime !. She had; hardly, iiught 89 farv, A , girl V thought's go so little i beyond -tHe wedding1 day, the bridal troiisseau ' . the gifts ; and iBrst establishment -as ' mistress of a home; (Shet ignores so totally the plain Tcommon,,daya fthat , follow--days, like, those in the Jastr full of vexations and trials days, when the Bun is hidden and the- Wind cl blows from the east, iwhen the nerres are all t stiruDg ; and trifles t become . -. tests of temper, , when inenv , and .wo-r , men lay off their, ? social armor, f(and stand revealed toleach other with 'all'' their "weakness" j and littleness? and X blemishes uncovered. Ruth's thoughts grew; personal. amphreT.OicoUaikl a lifetimq 'i?t-faSf and, of growing bid 1 Years of pain and grief,, perhaps ! She began to ha vo faith iri 1 her father's words ? Wivei t cane get s along betterwithout . laccb th anlprr?- Sh almost resolved to fnvake, Osura.,of . s the love if she misse.d the Js-ce ; ."and, girl like fell asleep s before the 'cpie&y tionras quite settled! mnVmtiih -There was a golden wedding in thar neighborhood 9! , 1 farmer Cf debe's. gtIt f was not much of in affair .T the oqvipleir were too simple and unpretending tfor.k that ! ''iXi 'd There will be very littl gold -ind a great deal of wedding l remarked ! farmer Beebe on their wayt ; Jt, c Ruth, j usl returned from the,p city . wedding; looked Up with a smile Sho" understood - her father's meaning!-10 Slie had gathered some facts from her' aunt Qatharine concerning her.ifath'o er's marriage. It had been the result V; of his 'father's ambitious ( scheining that he had " wedded Rachel1" Crane; d he had not married her without a, haunting memory of a mildeyecl,genr tie voiced woman! .-o7 f . That golden wedding settled, Rath,-(i Beebe's fate.. Her eyes scarcely left, y the old couple; She had always known1 them and ? prohdnnced their derotioh.s beautiful, years before. bride and h groom with ? the vows, d-, . piarriag fresh upon them had , interested her; : ' (Concluded 6n"M jfyc.)' 1
Spirit of the Age [1873-1???] (Raleigh, NC)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Nov. 13, 1868, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75