Uncle Jacob

“ I have heard brother Jacob say this a hundred times, and so have you, Robert."
"Uncle Jacob never said anything that was not wise and generous in his life!" answered the young man, with kindling eyes.
"If ever an angel lived on earth, he is one!" rejoined Mrs. Gray, looking around upon her audience, as if to impress them fully with this estimate of her brother's character.
A sparkling smile broke over Robert's face.
"Well, aunt, I hope you never fancied the angels dressing exactly after Uncle Jacob's fashion!" he said, casting a look full of comic meaning on the old lady. ”

“ This changed everything, and he became at once the anxious, care-worn man again.
“I do not like to trouble you, Uncle Jacob,” he said, uneasily. “You have had your day of business, with all its cares and perplexities, without bothering your brain with those of other people. I’m in a terrible muddle, it is true; but—I guess there will be some way out of it;” and there came into his eyes that same wild, desperate look which Star had noticed in the morning, and which made her shudder with a terrible fear. ”

“ In one year you'll know more than your father, your mother, or I, or all your college officers—in fact, than the Lord himself."
We all notice that he who is reluctant to praise, whose commendation is scarce and hard-earned, is he for whose good word everybody is fighting; he comes at last to be the judge in the race. After all, the fact which Uncle Jacob could not disguise, that he had a certain good opinion of me, in spite of his sharp criticisms and scant praises, made him the one whose dicta on every subject were the most important to me. ”

“ I shall go first, my darling, but the vail that will hide us from each other is dropping very softly and gently. You will not grieve for me, my child?”
“No, no, Uncle Jacob; only for myself, who will be so very lonely without you.”
But Star could not quite keep back the quiver from her voice as she said this. He noticed it, and put out his thin hand to clasp it. ”

“ The world is full of possibilities and open questions. Up sail, and away; let us test them!
As I scaled the mountains and descended the valleys on my way to college, I thought over all that my mother and Uncle Jacob had said to me, and had my own opinion of it.
Of course I was not the person to err in the ways he had suggested. I was not to be the dupe of a boy and girl flirtation. My standard of manhood was too exalted, I reflected, and I thought with complacency how little Uncle Jacob knew of me. ”

“ The rest of the evening was spent in such conversation as Uncle Jacob suggested, and when he had occasion to look at his watch, he started in surprise.
"Bless my soul!" he exclaimed. "It is nearly ten o'clock. I ought to be getting back to Albert's."
"Then Bert shall accompany you as far as the house. It will be lonely to go alone."
Uncle Jacob reached Squire Marlowe's house as the church clock struck ten, and he bade Bert good-night. ”

“ I have often, I'm afraid, in a horrid, professional sort of way, contemplated Uncle Jacob, who is typical of a distinct class of prosperous old gentlemen, albeit not a large one. [Pg 63] All my training and instincts tell me that he eats too much, and drinks too much. And I know that, until his retirement, his life, as a county-court judge, was almost wholly sedentary. And yet here he is at seventy-six, cheerful, vigorous, and very pleasantly self-satisfied—so apparently sound himself, in fact, as to be perhaps just a little bit intolerant of the frailties of others. ”

“ So I feel justified in making myself comfortable."
"I am glad to hear that, Uncle Jacob. You deserve to succeed, you are so kind to others."
"I am glad you think so, Bert. I want to do some good while I live. It gives a man something to live for."
After supper, which was taken at a restaurant near by, Uncle Jacob said: "Now let us come to business. ”

“ It's twenty-five years since I have seen one that was kin to me."
"Welcome to Lakeville, Uncle Jacob. I am glad to see you. Percy told me he met you on the road: Why didn't you ride up with him?"
"It wasn't worth gettin' in to ride a quarter12 of a mile. I am used to exercise in California."
"To be sure. Come into the house, and lay your valise down anywhere. Here is my wife, Mrs. Marlowe. Julia, this is Uncle Jacob, of whom you have heard me speak so often." ”

“ On entering the house and referring to what I had heard, his master replied, “Ah, sir, if I covet anything in this world, it is Uncle Jacob’s religion. If there is a good man on earth, he certainly is one.” He said Uncle Jacob was a regulator on the plantation; that a word or a look from him, addressed to younger slaves, had more efficacy than a blow from the overseer.
The next morning Uncle Jacob informed me he was from Kentucky, opposite Cincinnati ”

“ It is a page which has been turned from sight for many years, and no one has ever read it save myself. You are about entering upon a new era in your life. I have learned to love you very tenderly, my child, and I want to bind you yet closer to me.”
240“Why, Uncle Jacob, you do not think I have any idea of going away from you, I hope,” Star said, in surprise. ”

“ Mrs. Barton looked an inquiry, and Bert exclaimed: "Uncle Jacob has secured a clerkship in New York at twelve dollars a week."
"I am really glad!" said Mrs. Barton, with beaming face.
"Come, Mary, did you too think, like Bert here, that I was headed for the poorhouse?"
"I felt a little anxious for you, Uncle Jacob, I admit."
"You see that your fears were idle."
"Will you have to work very hard?" asked Mrs. Barton.
"No; my employer is an intimate friend." ”

“ From that day to this, nothing is positively known as to his whereabouts."
"Then I don't see what can be done," repeated Bert.
"There is one thing to guide us," continued Uncle Jacob; "the man's occupation. There is a fair probability that he is working in some shoe town, that is, if he is still alive."
"There are a good many shoe towns," objected Bert.
"True; the clew is only a faint one, yet sometimes a faint clew leads to important discoveries."180
"Have you taken any steps yet, Uncle Jacob?" ”

“ A minute later and Uncle Jacob was gone. Mrs. Barton went back to covering balls and Bert to his place in the shoe shop. Their united earnings enabled them to live comfortably, and they were content, though they had nothing to spare. ”

“ Squire Marlowe said to himself. "He'll be like wax in my hands."
23 CHAPTER IV.UNCLE JACOB'S STARTLING REVELATION.
"Uncle Jacob was at the factory this afternoon," said Bert to his mother, when he went home. "He says he may call here this evening."24
"I hope he will. He was my poor mother's favorite brother—always kind and good-hearted. How is he looking, Bert?"
"He seems in good health for an old man. His face is browned up, as if he had been out in the open air a good deal."
"I hope he has. It is twenty-five years since he went to California. Does he look as if he had prospered?" ”

“ The next morning after breakfast Uncle Jacob took his departure.
"I leave you in good hands, John," he said to Mr. Barton. "Now, get well as fast as you can."
"There is one thing that will make me well," said Barton, "and that is, vindication from the false charge that has darkened my241 life and destroyed my happiness during the last ten years."
"That is coming, and coming soon," said Uncle Jacob. "Only be patient a little while. Bert has already made a discovery that makes it clear who is the real criminal." ”

“ Richards fidgeted and looked uneasy.
He knew that there was not a room in the house that his wife would give up; every one had been arranged for company who were expected or had already arrived, and he was at his wits’ end to know what to do with him.
“Uncle Jacob” poor and ill was an entirely different character from “Uncle Jacob” rich and prosperous.
But he sat chatting socially with him until Mrs. Blunt appeared with a tray and served a tempting little meal, which the old gentleman ate with evident relish. ”

“ It is a mercy that Uncle Jacob lost his fortune before he came to us, or she would have been likely to wheedle him out of it.”
“She has been as sly as a fox,” commented Mrs. Richards, wrathfully, her ire against poor, unoffending Star waxing hotter and hotter, for she was as bitterly disappointed to lose his lordship as a son-in-law as Josephine was to lose him as a husband. ”

“ But his father insisted he should be called Jacob after his uncle. I yielded, because Uncle Jacob was a rich old bachelor. And what do you think, Miss Shirley? When our innocent boy was five years old Uncle Jacob actually went and got married and now he has three boys of his own. Did you ever hear of such ingratitude? The moment the invitation to the wedding . . . for he had the impertinence to send us an invitation, Miss Shirley . . . ”

“ Richards repeated here to-night? To think that he could say anything so basely false of me is almost enough to drive me wild,” Star cried, excitedly. “No, Uncle Jacob; although he has been guilty of the most cruel treachery, I will not contend with him. If he is such a craven that he would try to win a young girl’s heart for the amusement of breaking it, and then seek to blight her fair fame by charging her with what he has imputed to me to-night, he is too far beneath me to be worthy of anything save my supreme contempt, and I never wish to meet him 209again. ”

“ It shows that you feel a real interest in your shabby old uncle. Some time—I can't promise how soon—I shall invite you and Bert to come and spend the day in New York. I will get a day off from the office, and we'll have a nice excursion somewhere."
On Friday, Uncle Jacob called on Squire Marlowe; not at the house, however, but at the factory.
"I've come to bid you good-by, Albert," he said.
"Are you going back to California?" asked the Squire.
"No, I am going to New York."
"It is expensive living in New York." ”

“ If any one calls to see me, try to keep him."
"Yes, sir," answered Bascom deferentially.
"He can't be Uncle Jacob's employer," thought Bert. "He is too respectful. I had no idea uncle was such a man of business. He doesn't appear to be afraid of anybody."
They descended in the elevator, rather to172 Bert's surprise, who had climbed up by the staircase. Crossing the street they entered a dairy restaurant, which in spite of the name supplied the usual variety of dishes. They found a table at which no others were seated, and Uncle Jacob ordered a substantial meal of roast beef and vegetables. ”

“ Uncle Jacob said he shouldn’t dare to say how many times she’d been frightened almost to death about Billy. Many and many a time she was sure he was lost, or drowned, or run over, or carried off, and would never come back alive; but he always managed to come out straight at last. Uncle Jacob said that if all the worry that was worried in this world were piled up together, ’t would make a mountain ”

“ But I never had the slightest idea of opening such a store. I only mentioned it to test Albert."
"But you will have to do something, Uncle Jacob," said Mary Barton, perplexed; "and that would be as easy as anything. Bert could go in the evening and help you if you found it too confining."
"I have something else in view in the city," returned Jacob. "I don't need to earn much you know. I don't set up to be a dude," he41 added, with a comical glance at his rustic attire, "and I don't mean to board at the Fifth Avenue Hotel."
"I am sorry you can't stay in Lakeville," said Mrs. Barton regretfully. ”

“ P. S. If you send a cake, send quite a large one. I like the kind that Uncle Jacob does. Aunt Phebe knows.
My dear Grandmother,—
I was going to tell you about “Gapper Skyblue.” “Gapper” means grandpa. He wears all the time blue overalls, faded out, and a jacket like them. That’s why they call him “Gapper Skyblue.” He’s a very poor old man. He saws wood. We found him leaning up against a tree. Benjie and I were together. His hair is all turned white, and his back is bent. He had great patches on his knees. His hat was an old hat that he had given him, and his shoes let in the mud. ”

“ Richards indignantly objected to this proceeding.
“Let them alone,” she said, angrily; “they will not thank you for your trouble, and doubtless would refuse to return if you should succeed in finding them. I am sure they have shown precious little gratitude for what we have already done for them. Uncle Jacob says in his note that it has been very unpleasant for him here, and if such is the case, let him go where he will fare better if he can find such a place. As for that proud-spirited, independent girl, I never want to see her again; I am glad to be rid of her.” ”

“ This was a kindly way of putting the proverb about giving a dog a bad name, and Uncle Jacob's strongest quality was kindness—kindness and the cultivation of tulips.
He was sitting in the summer-house smoking, and reading over a bulb-list when Peter Paul found him.
"Uncle Jacob, why do dandelion clocks tell different time to different people? Sixty seconds make a minute, sixty minutes make an hour, twenty-four hours make a day, three hundred and sixty-five days make a year. That's right, isn't it? Hours are the same length for everybody, aren't they? ”

“ Star nodded her head in reply; she could not find voice to answer him.
“He is a fine young man—he is a worthy young man,” Mr. Rosevelt said, gently.
303“Oh, I know it, Uncle Jacob; but—my heart is dead, and it can never live again. ”

“ Bert arrived in New York in due time, accompanied by Ralph Harding. They received a cordial welcome from Uncle Jacob.
"You shall not regret your testimony in behalf of John Barton," he said to Harding. "I will see that you are protected."
"Uncle Jacob," said Bert, "I have twenty dollars left of the amount you gave me for expenses. Here it is."
"Keep it, Bert. You will need it."
"But, Uncle Jacob, I have already put you to too great expense. If you were a rich man——"
Jacob Marlowe smiled.
"I can spare the money," he said. "Don't trouble yourself on that score. ”