Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1861-10-24
THURSDAY

q strain OF nlgh-noWn compliments, Wneu
Nellie said, with an impatient wave of the
hand
Spare me, sir. You did not always talk
So"
He looked at her in astonishment.
Many years ago l answered you the same
question which you now ask.
He colored up to the temples. | surely
do not deserve" he then said, to be made
a jest Of"
=" Neither do make jest of you. Do you
not know me-"
i" | never saw you till this summer"
" You saw me eight years ago. You and
a friend were on pedestrian tour. You met
little barefooted girl, whom your friend
made a sketch Of and whom you jeered at and
then ncSnamed" And rising, she made a
mock courtecy for she saw she was now re-
coguized " am Cobwebs,' at your SER
vice, sir J"
The discounted suitor never forgot the
look of disdain with which Nellie courtesed
to hm His modification was not leSsened
when, on leaving the house, be met Clarence
on the door steps He tried in vain to assume
an Indifferent aspect, but he felt that he had
failed, and that his rival suspected his rejec-
ton.
Nelly Could not avoid laughing at the
creStfallen look of her old enemy. Her whole
manner changed, however, when Clarence en-
tered. Instead of the triumphautly saucy
tormentor, she became the coucious, trem-
bling woman. Clarence, who had longed for,
yet dreaded this interview, took courage at
once, and in a few manly words, eloquent
with emotion, laid his fortune at his Nelly's
feet
Poor Nelly felt more like crying with JOY
than anything else But a little of the old
saucy spirit was left in her. She thought she
owned to her sex not to surrender too easily
and so she said, archly glancing up at Clar-
eEce :
" Do you know, Mr. Harvard whom you
are proposing to Z | am no heiress, no high
born city bel bat only-'e. n e see-wLa, is
1t ?-oniy common country rustic" Aad
she rose aud courtesied to him.
" For Heavens sake don't bring that fool
ish speech up against me !" he cried, passion
ately, trying to take her hand. % have re-
pented it a thousand times daily, since the
uulucky moment | wGS betrayed into saying
it, Do me the justice TO believe that | never
meant it to be personal"
We'll, Then, will say nothing more of
that matter Bot this is ouly whim of yours.
How is it, that having known me 50 long,
you only now discover my merits Z"
" Known you so long r
" Yes, sir" demurely.
d" Known you"
:. For eight years"
" Good Heavens y he cried, suddenly, his
whole face lighting How blind | have
been ! Why did l not see it before You
are-'
Cobwebs,o said Nellie, taking the words
out of his mouth, her whole face sparkling
with glee and she drew of aud gave auoth.
er sweeping courtesy.
Before she had recovered herself, however,
pair of strong arms were around her. for
CIareIcs div ned now that he was loves Mel
lie all along, had had half a secret fear that
when her suitor knew the past. he might not
be so willing TO marry the barefooted girl as
the brilliant belle, but all this was now gone.
Two months later there was a gay wedding
at St Marks \ month after that a bridal
pair, returniuiug from the wedding tour, drove
up to a handsome house in Philadelphia. As
Clarence led Nellie through the rooms, in
which his perfect taste was seen everywhere,
she gave way to exclamation after exclama-
tion of delight
At last they reached tiny boudor exquis-
iteIy carpeted and curtained. A jet of gas,
burning in an alabaster vase, fused a soft
light through the room. A solitary picture
hung on the walls. 1t was the original sketch
of her, eight years before. now very elegantly
framed. The tears gushed to Nellie's eyes,
aud she threw herself into her husbands
arms
a. All how / love you :" she cried
Nobody who sees that picture suspected its
origin. 1t is too sacred a subject for either
Nellie or Clarence TO alude to- But it was
only the other day that celebrated leader of
fashion said TO a friend
What oueer pet name Mr.. Harvard has
for his beautiful bride In anybody else ex-
cept genius it would be eccentric. But you
DO not know how pretty it sounds from his
lips"
What is it r.