Huntingdon Journal

              feY JAS. CLARE,
HDNTINCtDON, pa., TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 1850.
VOL XV, NO. 6
 UDiA LITTLE'S LOVERSj
"'' 'Orthe Rival's iil a flx.
'¦"¦'" ;•'.¦»¦•¦ 	
BT  PAUL CREYTON.
One of the prettiest   lasses that ever
f' raced a country  dance, or turned   the ead of a lover,   was Lydia   L'ittle   llie Bubject of the folIoiVfng sketch.
Nobody could deny it ; she wns very {iretty.—Even her rivals allowed thut she was (juite fascinating, and her bit¬ terest enemies declared that after alt she was a beaiity.
, Although Lydia Little was really handsome, it was a i'ery unfortunate bircumstance that shb was conscious of ihe facit. It is no injiify to be a prelty girl; If she dosen't kHOH' ft j, but Lydia bad quite as perfect a knowledge of her charms as even her wartnest admirers, and the consequence was, she became one of the most Tain, shrewd and heart¬ less coquettes that ever made a bon-fire of true hearts in order lo laugh at the flame.
Lydia had ardent admirers, far and near, for her beauty was famous in all the villages wilhin twenty miles of the lown in which her father, a rich old farnier, resided.
Although Lydia Little sinildd on all, Ihere were only two who were known lo ))08sess veiy great importance to her eyes, and who seemed lo cast all other lovers in the shade.
One of these young tnefi were named VVIiite and the olher Brown. These it \vas said, were Ly din's favorite colors, and it only remained for her to choose between them. Indeed it wns a matter of debate in the viliagc, whether it would be betler to become a little white or a Httle brown.
Messrs. While and Brown both lived ill a distance from their mistress, but White hnd thc advantage oVtJr his rital fbr ho lived the nearest.—These two young genllemen had heard of each oth¬ er, although they hnd not the pleasure of a personal acquaintance. While was nfraid of Brown, and Brown was afraid of White, so that Lydia out of pure kindnsss, was very careful that they should never meet at her house.
If the rivals feared each olher, they fenred Lydia's fuiher still more. He had tried to put a stop to her innocent flirtations, and had repeatedly thrertten- ed to shoot hcr suitors if they did'nt keep aloof. Besides that his name was Little, and he was a litlle man ; but little as he was, he was a little fierce and the beaus were not a little afraid of his resentment.
Ooe day when Lydiil*s father was gone frDin home and was nat expected back until late at night, sbc determined lo send for one of her suitors to come and keep company dnring the evening; But which should shd choose 1 Here was n dilemma, indeed. She reflected thnt Brown was wilh her lasl, and feel¬ ing that it wonld be unjust not to allow White lo como in his turn, she resolved that White should be the mani So she dropped a line lo While, nnd had every thing prepared for his reception in the fevening.
Lydia felt confident that htir dear White would fly to meet her, thnt she Ivould have been willing to stake her life that he would be there at the ap¬ pointed hour. White wns very punctu¬ al, und she felt lhat he loved her too well to allow anything whatever to interfere wilh lhe interview.
However as the limo passed, and he did not nrrive at the moment, she be¬ gan to change her mind, and to wonder how sho ever permitted \\'hite to occu¬ py hcr heart with such a noble fellow as Brown.
"Brown would't hate failbd—flS iVould hot, 1 know—"
Such thoughts were running in her Inind; when there was a rap at the door She knew VVhite was there, and forget- ing her resentment, flew lo admit him. What was her surprise on finding that it wns not White but Brown !
"Don't be surprised," pan'ed the delighted lover, " 1 should'nt have dared to come—'fraid of the old man—but I taw him—middle of the afternoon—he told me—(I'm so ont of breath I can't hardly speak)—he was'nt coming home lill midnight."
" So you took an opportunity of visit¬ ing me during his absence, eh !"
Lydia smiled on him first, but then She looked thoughtful nnd finally appear¬ ed quile perplexed. She was consider¬ ing what a FIX she would be in if White ahouid be coming along about that time.
" Ybu must not stop," said she, ner¬ vously. " Father'll be home—I expect hira every minute—and ifhe should find you—"
"Pshaw! there's no danger," said Brown.—" He wont be home yet awhile. And if he comes, I can slip into the kitchen and get out at the tack door."'
Finding she could not send her lover
awny, Lydia resolved to make the most] of him while he stayed.
' Oh," said Brown, " I've a rich joke to lell you "
' bo lel me hear it.''
' As I was coming this, may to-night who do you think f m'^f!"
"Whol"
"Your particular friend—Mr. White."
" My particular friend !" sneered pret¬ ty Lydia.
" Yes—but never mind that—I ain't a'frflid ofhim "
" But how did you knoiV him 1"
" Oh, I had caught a glimpse of him before.—But he did not know ine,- and thtit's the cream of the joke."
' How so 1"
' Why, yon see we fell in with each other, and hewas coming this way, we got lo talking about the folks in these diggins. Says I, ' old squiro Little livos soinewhere here, don't he !' 'Yes,' snys he, grinning—for the moon shone, and 1 could see him—' do you know hiS daughter "*'—'I've heard of her,' said I; 'she's pretty they say.' 'Well, she isn't ariy thing else,' says White; nnd he looked ut me just as if he was pulling the wool over my eyes completely. 'She has plenty of beaup, 1 hear,' says I. 'Yes,' snys he, laughing, 'there's a fcU low by lhe name of Brown trying to come in there. 1 suppose you know. 'Oh yes,' says I, 'but he can'l !'
'I looked very closely at him, and saw he did'nt mistrust that I was Brown, and could hardly keep from laughing right out. 'He can't come in,'says 1. 'There's a fellow by the name of White that's going to cut hiin out 1 hear.' 'Yes,' say^ he, 'White stands a pretty good chance, I guess. 1 know While.' 'Do you ihoughl' saysl. 'Cant you intro¬ duce me some iiinel In return, I'll do you the favor lo introduce you lo Broivn whom I am intimately acquainted with. Brown's a pretty nice kind of a fellow, aUhough he may be unfortunate in love afTiiirsi He's a gOod hatured fellow ; and I presume if he were in my place now, and you were White himself, be'd sooner joke with you than quarrel with you.' 'That's jnst thc way with White,' says he. 'He would'nt quarrel with you if you were Brown.'
'I talked with the fellow iii this Way for some lime, and kept my countenance so well lhat he'll bc surprised, I reckon whon ho learns that I'm Browii himself. Wasii'i il a rich joke, Lydia 1'
'Ah, very,' replied the girl, laughing heartily.    'But what noise is thatl'
'There are footsteps '
'Oh, it is father!'' exclaimed Lydia nota little fluslraled. 'Quick—quick you must be gone—'
Brown did hot wait forcdrenlonyj bui dodged into the kitchen in hot haste He v.'ould have luiitencd from the House in nil instant, but he heard a voice which sounded so strangely thathe had a cn¬ riosity lo know if it was indeed Mr. Litlle that had just come.
He crept slowly back to the door by which he had made his exit, dropped on his knees and npplied his ear to the key¬ hole.
At lhat moment he heard a noise that sounded so much like a hearty kiss that it made his heart come up in his mouth as largo as a pumpkin.
He looked—ond Oh, the faithlessness and fickleness of women !—there was Ijydia, blushing and smiling in the arms of his rival—of hii new acquaintance— White;
Brown's first impulse was to break through the door and eat up his rival, but he soon thought better of it, and de¬ lermined to gilre him a few minutes re¬ prieve befoic he demolished hira enlirc-
'There, stop,' cried Lydia. 'You shunt kiss me again to-night.'
'Why notl' asked White.
'Because you did'nt come to see me nt the time 1 appointed. U's all of twen¬ ty minutes later,    Thnt's why.'
'You dont imagine whal a good ex¬ cuse I've got,' said White laughing;
'Whatis ill'
'i met a chap who bothered me.'
'Thnt was me thought Brown, still looking through the keyhole. '1 did bother him, and bluffed him off nicely too. I wish 1 bad wrung his neck for him.'
'You can't guess rthd it was, Lydia,' said White laughing.
'Do you know 1'
'Tobe surel do—though hc did'nt mistrust 1 knew him. It was my re¬ doubtable rival, .Mr. Brown."
'The plague!' muttered the listner- ner, biting his lips in perplexity.
'Did you see that fellowl' said Ly¬ dia. 'Oh, I wish yort knew how much fun I've had wilh him ! Why the great fool flalters himself that 1 am ninny enough to love him.'
'Highly complimentary,' tho'l Brown, grinding hia teeth and looking hnnriless daggers through lhe key-hole.
'You'd been amused, to have heard me talk wilh him, and lay nn the soft solder. I got the wool over his eyes nicely. He did not know me, and I chatted with him about yon, and myself and him find it v'/cnt dovVn like a pill taken in apple sauce.'
Lydia laughed hearlily to think how thc rivals had fooled each other, each believing all the time that the game was all on his own side, and While laughed too at the ihought of having played such a game on Brown.
Brown was theonly one that did ncft Inugh.—The thought of having been made such a fool of, didn't, by any means, inspire him into a merry  inood.
'I can't stand this,' thought he, scowl¬ ing at the key-hole. 'I must have my turn now. VVhite may take my place here in the dark if hi! likes, and I will step inlo the sitting room.'
He stole cautiously ont the back door nnd proceeded around the house.
A moment after, Lydia nnd her dear While, who were having « fine time of it, heard the sound of footsteps approach¬ ing towards the door.
"It's father!" cried Lydia, believing the old gentleman had really come.— "You miist'nt be seen. White. Run in fhere and get out of the house as soon as possible I"
She pushed White into the kitchen, and hastened to the front door.
Having mnde up her mouth to give her dear fnther a sweet kiss as soon as be enlered, she stood ready to throw her arms around his neck—when, to her ns- lonishment, who should appear but Brown.
I need scarcely inform thc reader that White, impelled by the same laudable curiosity which led Brown to make the discovery wo have seen already, had his eye at the key-hole.
" What! you agaiii!" said Lydia, be¬ stowing upon Brown the kiss she had reserved for her venerable parent. "How glad 1 am you came back. But it is rash in you——"
" Love makes the heart bold," said Brown, giving Lydia an extra hug, for the express beneJitof VVhite, who he expected was at the key-hole. "I began to thhtk the old man hadn't come after all; so 1 came back to bid you good bye more deliberately."
" Ah ! you aro a good fellow said Lydi.i, "but f cun't let you stop now. I really e,\pect father every minute."
" Well, I'll go pretty soon, but I must finish telling you how I bluffed off your dear friend—White "
"My dear friend!" echoed Lydia, contemptuously; "1 wish you to know hotv I ddtcst lhat fellow "
" I thought so ; and for that reason when I had the lalk with him On the rdud as 1 was telling you, out of considera tiou for your feelings, I determined he shouldn't visil you to-night. So 1 fol¬ lowed him unlll he didn't dare to eome nny (arther, for fear I would mistrust he wus coming to see you. Didn't 1 bluff him off, and wouldn't 1 laugh to see him enter nowl"
" What a fool I haVe been niaking of myself," thought White, glaring through the key-hole. "Brown is a man Lydia loves after all ; nnd instead of fooling him so completely as I thought I was doing, when we met, he was all the time playing off a eonteinptible trick on me! I'll rush in and demolish him, and tell that laughing saucy jade just what I think of hcr."
VVhite was on the point of carrying this savac;o resolution into ell'ect, when nu unusual bustle in the parlor caused him to delay. Ho heard Lydia whisper "father is coming," he heard lhe parling kiss, tho front door opening—und the next moment Brown was thrust un- cenuioniously into the kitchen whfe're he lip himself was concealed.
If the reader imagines that the rivals on being shut up in the dark room to¬ gelher, flew at each other like two wild beasts, 1 Would heg to inform him thai he is very much in error. The rivals did nolhing of the sort, ns we shnll see.
Brown henrd a light footstep, and knew White w,is in the room.
" My dear fellow,' he whiiperod.
"VVhnt the deuce do you wuntl" growled the irritated White.
" What a rich joke! ha I ha!" laugh¬ ed Brown. "Lydia ihinks She hasbeen making fools of us, but I believe we both undorstand hor now perfectly."
" Little donbt about that," said While bitterly.
" There is no use feeling sotfy dbout the matter," observed the philosophical Brown. "Our acquaintance has com¬ menced under peculiar circumsiances, and I think it is our duty tocultivote it- I overheard your conversation with Lydin, looking through the key-hole, and as you witnessed my interview with hor just now, we are even on that score. Give me your hand ond let us be sworn friends iu future."
" I am proud  to make your acquain¬
tance," said While, fcelling much conso- 'ed by his rival's philosophical harangue. "VVe are quits as fnr as the joke is co»- cerned ; and as for thnt girl—thtll heart-^ less coquette-— "
" We nefedft't ((iiarrbl about her," ob¬ served Brown, "for she is not wortii a thought. I wonder a man of your pene¬ tration never saw what she was before."
" If so shiewd a mnn ns you were de¬ ceivcil," replied White, 'what ivould he expr-cted of me 1 But wc both know h6r better now, nnd we can whistle her off without a pangi'
' What a sensible fellow you are !' ex¬ claimed Brown, 'and what a pity it is I never made your acquaintance before.'
The rivals shook hands, and became sworn friends on the spot.
Hearing Lydia's father talking very loud to her in the parlor, they thought it a good time to make their escape, and lided out of the house unheard by ci¬ ther the old gentlemen or daughter. On the following day, as Lydia was laugh¬ ing heartily at hcr adventure on the pre¬ ceding night, a small neatly folded bil¬ let was brought her by the postman.
'It's Brown's hand-wriling,' she snid to herself, as she broke open the letter wilh a smile of satisfied vanily. 'Let's see what he says.'
She reads as follows;— fo Our Dear Lydia:
As you are now, in all probitbllity, la¬ boring under thc impression that you have played a mosl_admirable trick off on us, we have formed ourselves inlo a joint commilteo of livo, in order to devise means lo set your mind al rest on the subject. The truth is, denr Lydia, we, the undersigned, understand ourselves and cncli olhtr perfectly and see ihrough your entire courseof conduct better than you imagine. However, we have for¬ med the wise resolution to allow you to retain your naturnl color through life, before we so far forget ourselves in this respect as to think of inducing you to became either White or Brovin.
' Trusting that this oflicial document contains such an explanation of our views as you will readily undersland, we horeby bid you an afl'ectionate adieu hoping you may have better success in your nlteriipts on others.
Signed, Timothy BiioivN,
Oliver W^hite,
'P. S.—{Xot offcial.)—Messrs. Brown and White beg leave iniddly to suggest to their dear Lydia that in future, vvhen she is in want of victims, she will stand a betler chance of meeling wilh success, if, inslead of rtttefilpting such slerling colors as While anii Brown, she should tty something more nearly approaching Green.'
Lydia i'cad this important document twice before she fully uiidtrstood its im¬ port; then in a fit of vexation and rage, she threw it on the floor nnd stamped upon it wilh her pretty liltle foot.
When the first burst of rage had pas¬ sed she reflected that she was no more then justly punished for htif foolish, heartless flirtations.
The event proved a sdlutary lesson to the pretty Lydin, for fromthat time she gave over practising anything like co¬ quetry, and became a very sensible sort of a girl.
A year after, Lydia married a respec¬ table yonng fnriner, and sent to her old friends. Brown anil White, a polite and pressing invitation to allend the wed* ding.
TllC moral Character of Figs.
Some folks accuse pigs of boing filihy in their hnbits, and negligent in their personal oppeorance. But whether food is best eaten offthe ground or from China plates, is, it secns lo us, merely a maiter of taste and convenience, about which pigs and men may honestly dif¬ fer. They ought, then, to be judged charitably. At any rate, pigs are not fifthy enouijh to chew tobacco, nor to poison their breath by drinking whis- liey. And as to thpir persona! appear- ntice you don'l calch a pig playing the dandy, nor picking their way up the miitldy slreols, in kid slippers.
Figs have some excellent traits of character.—If ono chances to ivallow ,i little deeper in some mire hole than his fellows, and so carries off and comes in possession of more of the earth than his brothren, he never assumes an extrn importance on that account ; neilher ore his brethren stupid enough to wor¬ ship him for it. Their only question seems to be, is he still a hog 1 If he is lhcy treat him as such.
And when n hog has no merits of (lis own, ho never puts on aristocratic airs, nor claims any particular respect on account of his family connections. They understand, full well, the common sense maxim, " every lub must stand upon its owa bottom."—Extract.
[ty"If you have contracted an iujudi- cious fricnd-ship, let it sink gently and gradually.
Living and Mcan^
BY HORACE GREELEY.
One tlf the rfibst mischievous phrases in whith a rollen Mornlily, a radically false and vicious Public Sentiment, dis¬ guise themselves, is thnl which charac¬ terizes certain individuals as destitute of financial capacity. A " kind, amia¬ ble, generous, good sort of a man," (so runs lhe Varnish) "but utterly unquttli- fied for the management ofhis own fi¬ nances"—" a mere child in everything elating lo money," &c., &c.;—meaning that wilh an income of $500 a year, he persisted in spending 1,000 ; or with an ncoine of $2,000 to 3,000; he regularly spent $5,000 to $8,000, accordingto his ability lo run in debt or thc creduiity of others in trusting him.
The victims ofthis ifnmorality—debt¬ or as well as creditor—are entitled to more fnilhful dealing at the Iiands of those not directly nirected by the mis demeanors of the fornier. It is the du¬ ty of the communily to rebuke and rd- press these pernicious glosses, making the truth heard ond felt lhat inordi¬ nate expenditure is knavery and crime. No man hus a moral right thus to lavish on his o'A'n appetites money which he has not earned and does not renlly need. If Public Opinion were sound on this subject—ifa man living beyond his means when his means were commensurate with his real needs, were subjected to the reprehension he de¬ serves—the evil would be instantly checked and ultimately eradicated.
The world is full of pcople who can'l imagine why they dont prosper like their neighbors, when the renl obstacle is not in banks nnd tariffs, in bnd public poll cy and hard times, but in their own ex travagance and heedless ostentation The young mechanic or clork marries and takes a house, which he proceeds to furnish tivice as expensively as he can afford, and then his wife, instead of ta¬ king hold to help him cam a livelihood by doing hor own work, musl havc a hired servant lo help her spend her lim iled earnings. Ten years afterwardyou will find him struggling on under a load of double debts and children, won dering why the luck wns always against hini, while his friends regret his unhap¬ py destitution of financial nbility. Had they from the first been frank and hon est, he need not havo been sd unlucky.
Through every grade of society this vice of inordinate expenditure insinu¬ ates itsolf. The single man " hired out'' in the cciunlry at ten to fifteen dollars per month, who contrives tb dissolve his year's earnings in frolics and fine clothes : the clerk who has three to five huDdreu dollars a year and rrlelts down twenty to fifiy of it in liquor and cigars, are paralleled by the young merchant who fills a spneious housc with costly furnilure, gives dinners and drives a fast horse on the strength of thc profits he expects to realize when his goods ttrc all sold and his notes all paid. Let a rtian have a genius for spending, and whether his income is a dollar a day or a dollar a minute, it is equally certain to prove inadequate. If dining, wining and party-giving wont help him through wilh it, building, gaming and specula¬ ting will be sure lo. The bottotiilcss pocket will never fill, no matter how bounteous tho stream pouring into it. The man who (being single) does not save money on six dollars per wetiU, will not be apt to on sixty, and he who docs not lay up someiliing in his first year of independent exertion, willbe pretty likely to wenr a peor tllan's hair in his grave;
No man who has a natural use of his faculties and his mussles has any right to tax others with the cost of his sup¬ port, as this class of non-financial gen¬ tlemen habilually do. It is their com¬ mon mistoke to fancy lhat ifa debt only paid at last the obligation oflhe debtor is fulfilled, but the fact is not so. A man who sells property for anolher's promise to pay next week or noxt month, and is compelled to wear out a poir of boots in running after his due, which he finally gets in a year or two, is never really paid. Very often, he has lost half the lace of his demand bv not hav¬ ing tho money when hn needed it, be¬ side the cost nnd vexalion of running af¬ ter it. There is just one way to pay an obligation in full, nnd that is ttf piy it when due. tie who keeps up a running fight with bills and loans through life, is continually living on other men's means, is a serious burden ond a detri¬ ment to those who ddal with him, altho' his estate should finally pay every dol¬ lar of his legal obligations.
Inordinale expenditure is the cause of a great share of the crimo and conse¬ quent misery whicii devastate the world. The Clerk who spends more than he earns is fastqualifying himself for a gam¬ bler and a thief; the trader or mechan¬ ic who over runs his intome is very cer¬ tain to become in time a trickster and a
oheot. Whenever you see a man 8|)eficl- ing faster than he earns, there look out for villainy to be developed, though it be the farthest thing possible from his presont thought.
When the world shall haVe besome wiser and its standard of mornlity more lofly, it will perceivo nnd affirm that profuse expenditure, even by one who can pecuniarily afford il, is pernicious and iinjustiriable—that a mnn, however Vvoaltliy, has ho right to lavish o.n his own appetites, his tnstes or his ostenta¬ tion that which might have raised hun- ' dreds from destitution and despair (d comfort and usefullness. But that is an impruvement in pubfie sentiment which must bo waited for, wliilo the other is more ready and obvious.
The mcunness, the dishonesty, the indignity, of squandering thousands un¬ learned and keeping others out of mon¬ ey that is justly theirs, have rarely been urged and enforced as the should be'; They need but be considered flnd uii¬ dcrstood to be universally loathed and detested.
Female Temper.
Se.\siule Re.marks.—The Boston Ol¬ ive Brnneh thus sensibly discourses ol female temper:
W^e like to see a woman of spifit nnd life ; for a dull, supine, prosy wotnan is a poor affair indeed. And we have no particular objection to seeing"the sparks fly occasionally," when something really slirring occurs. We like to see her joy¬ ful nnd lively ; and if she has a spirit of waggery, we can put up with it very well ; noy, we like it all the belter. But a cross, sour temper, we hnve no good opinion of, for a woman who cnn never look pleasant, but is always fretting ttnd scolding, will make an unhappy home for nil within her house. And we had as lief undertake to live in a barrel of vinegar in a lliiindcrstorm as lo live in the house with such a woman. Solomon was right when hc said, "It is belter to live in the dorner of a house top thdn td dwell in a wide spread housc with a brawling woman."  ¦
Let a woman wcnir sunshine on her countenance ; and it will drive the dark clouds from hcr husband's face, and joy will thrill thiongh the heart* of her chil-* dren. Let a woman's words be soothing and kind, aiid every ihing is happy around her. ller inlluence will bc pow- erfuh Oihers will cntcli hef swcot tem¬ per, and a'l will strive to see wlio can be most like her; Sweetness of temper in a womnn is more vnluable than gold, and more to be prized than beauty. But may Heaven keep us from an untamed shrevy whose looks are wormwodd, tititi whose words are gall! Wo had rpther take Daniel's place with the lions, than think of living within gun-shot of such o termagant. If women knew their pow¬ er and how to exert it, they would always show sweetness of temper, for then they are irresistible.
Religion is a cheerful thing; so far from being always at cuffs wilh good humor, it is inseparably united to it.—• Nothing unpleasant belongs to it. A wise epicure would be leligious for the sake of pleasure ; good seifse is the foun¬ dation df bdlh, and he is h bunprler who oimeth at true luxury, but where they are joined.—Saville.
Give NOW.—Defer not thy deeds till the mantle of death has covered thy form. Ten dollars given to-day nre bet¬ ter than fifty left in thy will. It is not benevolence lo givc away what thoa hast no further need of; nnd no legacies will purchase fulure felicity for the mean and avaricious beart.
Error.—Error is the cause of mnn's misery, the corrupt principal that has produced evil in the world; 'tis this which bogeis and cherishes m our soula all the evils that olllict us, and we can never expect a true and solid hoppiness, but by a serious endeavor to avoid it.—¦ .Malbranche.
\^ A single stroke ol an axe is of little consequence, yet by the continual application of that small power, proper-i ly directed, what amazing efTects nr<f produced ! The sturdy oak and lofty pine do not simply own its power, but whole forests lie before it,- niid- the wil- deriiCss becoiries n garden.
Induslry well directed, will giVe a hiari competency ino few years. The great¬ est induslry misapplied is useles.
(0"" Seest thou « man diligent in hia business 1" snys Solomon, "he shall sland beforo kings." We have a strik¬ ing illustration of this aphorism in thc life of Dr; FrElnklin, who quoting tha senlence himself, adds:—"This istrue; I have stood in the presence of five kings and once had the honor of dining with one;" All in consequence of his having been "diligent in busincss" from bis earliest years. What a lesson is tbi» for youth, and for us all !