The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1869-12-09


Q was saved. The curve was 80 shar
t that he looked back as be felt q stang
It jar, and saw the two back cars plung'
of; then he knew there was no hope
8 III learned what prayer meant in thai
e second, Maggie" SAID Tom, revereatly
l.. Then he took me in his arms and
!, carried. me out: be would not let Uncle
8 Cyrus help him, and 1 could not ye,
C stand; and Tom took his first ride
! after all, ia the old wagon With the
q b'sh green settle. 1t Was only eight
o'clock when we got home, though it
t had seemed so much like midnioht to
: me.
That night, IS avoke Tom for the
tortlcth time, to make sure that he was
really by my side, and not man yled
/ corpse among the whirling waters and
sh 'rp rocks Of tue river, / said, softly,
i '*Tom, I ,oiH go to the Episcopal
church, and I wiN make a business Of
learning to find my place in the Prayer
Book."
"Oh, Maggie" said Tom, ~ have
taken pew in your church, forgot
to tell you: tn is terrible shock put
everything out of my head. When 1
thought it was all over with me, I
hope / you would find it out, and know
l wanted to please you."
"Oa, Tom," said I, beginning to cry,
"you always wanted 10 please uc 5" and
l privately resolved to take The Origin
Of the Stars "by the horns," as fathe,
used to say, ard learn everything abos,
oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen as socn
as We got home.
"Don't cry SO, Maggie" said Tom,
"you'll be getting hyster;cal next. Now
l will tell you some home.news that
will surprise you and make you laugh
Philip Flanders is engaged"
was surprised, though I did not
laugh. If ever anybody 'tsaw stars" 1
did then, but I knew their ''origin''
without going to Toms book for it.
"Engaged! sail I, with an un-
natural airiness in my tone: "to whom,
pray 7"
uess," said Tom-"some one that
you know"
could think Of no one but Lizzy !
Plummer, and 1 would not guess her,
for l never could bear her, because she
could wear boot half a size and a
glove quarter OF size smaller than I !
could so 1 gave it up.
"Mrs. Harriet Monroe" said Tom,
with great solemnity.
""hy, Tom p I ..cried, sitting up
In bed-"she is forty-Sve, at least, aud
so fat"'
Eyes" said Tom, pulling me back,
"and she has Sat purse, which is all
Flanders cares tor: they have been Gu
gagged for year, and have only waited
to secure some property which was to
come to Eer at this time. They will
be married and go abroad at once"
A year! Then he was engaged to
her before and after he becam: my
"lonely," "wretched," F'more than
friend pail the time that he was sing
ing with me and admirins my slender
willowy figure, and she so fat :! H.
whose only fault had been that he had
too much heart-whose misfortune aud
misery had been that he had met me
too late-was going to marry an oldish
widoS for money.
We'll, he had secured a strong ma
troniy friend: was glad, I was sure;
or at least I ought to be. If my pro-
posed occupation was gone, I should be
at liberty to devote myself to Tom with
clear conscience, or at least as clear
as it could be under the circumstances.
''Do you know, Maggie" said Tom,
"that James Roberts once tried to make
the jealous of you and Flanders !"
"Of me ?" said I, family. l.,
'Yes," replied hc. "Roberts came
to mo one day and said, tom, isn't
Flanders at your house good deal?
'Yes,' said I, 'he is: he is help to
Maggie about her music Il thought
te was there pretty often,' returned
Roberts, 'for have happened in sever-
al times when you have been at the
club, and have always found Flanders.
He is a confounded firt, aud if l had
young and pretty wife, I would no.
trust him with her. l would stay at
home from the club and take care of |
her." y: ;; -. 49,. !
"ls he flirt ?" interrupted.
';Oh yes," replied Tcm-"partieular-
ly with married women. Roberts said |
he had made untold misery in a great
many familics. His dodge was to |
make each woman believe that he was
lonely, wretched aud dying for sympa-
thy, but that he should never marry,
because he had not met her till 1t was
too late."
Oh, wasn't I glad that l had never
kissed Philip, and that his one passion
ate kiss had been a complete surprise
to me?
Tom went on II am much obliged
to you, Roberts," said I, when he had
said all he had to say, but do not
choose to give up my club, and 7 can
trust my little wife with any man." i
"And SO you can, Tom-so you can!'
r