The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1868-12-11
FINDIAY OHIO, FRIDAY MORNING.
And now, though the tale / would


q. tell may seem that of a coquette,
I'd must here beg for a distinction.
'h was not coquettery in Nan that mac
sii through the supper with her e
b. bows on the table and her white teet
cleaning brightly with every sail
ID that she uttered. It was simply tn,
10 In the wssk lovableness of he
!, nature IL came naturally to Nan {
Of please. There was in her mind non
le Of the fixed resolve of a coquelte. I
% make people love her and then hear
lessly throw them over. Nor ws
% it mere thoughtlessness causing tn
same results, but rather responsiv
y power with Nan, that made her fo
d the time in the same mood as thos
8 who were with her. And this wa
J how it was that while, through sup
d per, Mans little quaint short ser
tences seemed composed OF whit
3 froth, highly adapted to MIR. Popham
1 understanding; the drive home a
night found her softened, and 8
:, gentle, that Cayendish would hav
4 then and there fallen in love with hel
! had not the poor fellow already &C
!, complished that desirable end will
the most commenGsble zeal som,
time previous. And this was not act
ling In Nan. Honor when honor is due
Whatever Nan did, at the time, wal
natural, even though her modes wer
as changing As the wind, and thu
thoughts Of one hour inconsisten
with the next.
To night, in the star-lit drive, sh,
WAS 80 subdued and so loveable II
the calm that came near her SO rarely
and became her 80 well, that poo
CAvendish had enough to do not tC
let Eve and his horse shift for them
selves while he claspsd Mans little
hand to him closely. and implored
her to give it him forever. But this
though for once the danger passed
over, was what actually came to
pass, bringing Nan home in the
cleaning from haymaking gather
ing hard by. Eve had herself been at
the gathering, but had been per
suaded, much against her will, 10
drive home, leaving Nan to walk,
escorted by Csvendish, who. OF
course, found himself going their
way. This went very much agains,
Eve: but then IL is difficult to saw
what little project OF this kind would
have pleased Eve.
In the abstract, che by no means
disapproved Of early marriage; her
own early lite had been too happy for
that. In the abstract, she entirely
wished that her daughter should
marry indeed, no known possibility
would have SO grievsd Eve, as for
Nan to have been condemned to life
shut out from the fulness Of content
she had herself known with young
Ashley. She had even told herself
that OF all those who were signing
for Nan, none were SO worthy as
Cavendish. But all this was quite In
the abstract, and it went very much
ae ainst the grain that this desirable
young man should thus get chance
Of pleading his cause. This, howev-
er, did not much trouble Cavendish
The cleaning and Nan were both
unusually pretty, and the eombina-
ton, l suppose, was inspiring. Any
how, he began, almost before poor
al xious Eve was carried too far to
watch their proceedings, or gather
from their gestures what the subject
of conversation might be.
"Oh, Nan, Nan, you don't know
how l love you'll
Did she not Mans little heart
though it certainly beat fast, was
scarcely, l think, throbbing with
surprise. And Csvendish corrugated
the most popular of verbs, always.
however, in the first person, singu-
lar. And Nan walked beside him,
with her ungloved hand white on his
arm, and her sweet eyes lowered,
and all the dimples round her mouth
imperceptible-- behind, perhaps,
in the charge Of Mr. Popham. Pres
emily Cavendish finished up in the
same manner in which he had been
going ON all through, "Dearest."--
He had made her an offer which,
prosaically rendered, was an intima-
tion that he possessed nothing, new
sr had possessed anything, did moi
much think he ever should posses,
anything Of sufficient magnitude to
enable him to support q young wife
still, without binding herself to hin
In any way, would Nan give to hin
grounds for hope? Vague, per
haps, but where would Mans delicate
perceptions have been if at this mo
ment she had failed to understand himl
And now, am / expected to unravel
Mans hssrt2 1t were beyond me
Any ordinary mortal would have
said she loved him. Cavendisf
thought SO, and even Nan herself
yet we Judge from results. But it IL
not fair now thus to look forward
into the future. Cavendish did no
. do so, nor did Nan. AT his frs
word. dearest" Mans whole hear
was stirred; the loving, unstable
heart, that so many were longing t.
| gain, though heaven only knowl
whether the magic word, pronounced
by Mr.. Popham, would not have ha'
much the same effect. At least
when they separated, they were nei
ther Of them, they said, in any Wa!
: bound. Poor Cavendish! Not bound
< He was bound, at least, to ship
/. wreck life, whether he forever re
lmainsd constant to Nan, or whethe
lin his manhood he found there no
sufficient to satisfy whatever in him
, self was true, and so, marrying latel
I some one far more worthy, woul
r vet have lost his first sweet cOnoep
! ton of woman in the last he took O
t poor Nan.
e All. Nan, Why were your gifts s
many, If you. foolish, could only thu
e sse them2 The love of your mothe
for Ashley had sanctifsd both thei
:. Lives. Cavsndish, at night, alon
= and musing. "Darling little NaI
8 what would / not give to be able
!, call her mine now!' Quite righ
Cayendish, Had that been so, the
e might both o1yOur lives have bee
= different. Nan would most certainl
d have been true to her husband, thoug
d it is open to question whether 81
e would ever have turned inte anOth,
=" Eve. Still, 1 am not at all prepare
y to say that for Cavendish Nan wOu