The Two Nephews

Compiled from a Physician’s Diary


by Sylvanus Cobb, Jr.

My friend and classmate, Edward Warland, had got married and settled down, and on the first opportunity I paid him a visit. He had married Nancy Gates, one of the best and the fairest girls in the country—bright-eyed laughter-loving creature, with a heart as pure and noble as her face was fair and lovely. I found Ned domiciled in a love of a cottage, over the front door and windows of which sweet honey-suckles clustered, and before which was spread out a pretty garden. Nancy met me at the door, and with a joyous smile she gave me her hand and conducted me to the neat little parlor where the perfume of roses fairly burdened the air. “What a happy fellow Ned must be,” I said to myself, as the fairy wife tripped away after her husband.

Ned came in with a warm smile upon his face, and in a very few moments we were engaged in a lively conversation. We talked over the scenes of our childhood days, and then Ned and I chatted about some of our college scrapes. And so the afternoon passed away. After supper Nancy challenged me to a game of chess, and beat me. Ned said I let her beat me on purpose, but I did not. I may have sat down with that intention, but before the game was half through I found I had more than my match.

One thing I had noticed which puzzled me,—or, at least, which excited my curiosity. Every once in a while Ned would fall into a fit of moody thought, and when I spoke to him he would start up, and I could see that his cheerfulness cost him an effort. I was determined to know what this meant for I had my suspicions, and I wished to know if they were correct. So I asked him what was the cause of his trouble.

“Ah,” he uttered, “have you noticed anything out of the way?”

“No,” I told him; “not out of the way, though it may arise from… Read More