The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-12-15


to lie q background OF sadness. |
had spoken Of It TO Fred, and said |
was afraid she had some mental
trouble.
"Oh, no. he answered, eheerily :;
at is only her anxiety about the fu-
ture. As soon as she gets a good
lafk.n
The good place vas found now,
and q great deal of the shadow did
certainly pass away. / thought
Fred had been quite right when |
heard her singing through the house,
and telling BERTHE the most bewitoh-
| ing, joyous little stories. But at twi-
light, or when she was singing
hymns, or when she had been alone
and l came upon her unawares,
there was a touch of pathOs lurking
there still, hint of tears, look of
patience, that went to Ty heart. !
told Fredit seemed just like the way
felt, before we were married. when
he had gone of on that long business
voyage, and | did not hear from him
for months, and l believed Fanny
had lover somewhere.
! Nonsense, DEAR" said Fred, kiss
ing me. "You are the most roman
ttic little woman on earth, and think
more about love than Fanny does,
I'll warrant"
The next Thursday we were e1-
recting Kitty Lang to tea, with two
hmesick girls she had discovered,
who had come up from the country
to learn the milliner's trade. Fanny
and l flew around making prepara-
tions for / meant to have delicious
chicken salad for supper, biscuit aad
coffee, and some of Fanny's wonder
full cakes and tarts. Everything came
from the stove perfect success.
Bertic was good as little cherub,
and kept his white frOck clean all
day. Fanny and ] flushed every
thing by three o'clock, and were con
graduating Ourselves. when sudden
" the clouds began to gather, the
4! wind rose to almost hurricane, and
| in halfaa hour the rain vas pouring
| down in torrents.
We said II might he only shower
that would pass of, and so kept hop
| Ing TIL half-pGst five, when the skies
| seemed blsrser than ever, ard II was
evidently setting in for wild, stormy
night
"Do you suppose they will come
| I asked Fanny, thinking TO myself
how many weary blocks away Kitty
| Ians's bOsrling-hou.e was.
Fanny shcOk her head.
-
know" she said, "And her umbrella
is broken. I don't believe they will
! come"
And they did not come. We waited /
and waited, till At last | began To /
think even Fred himself would not /.
get home, he was 20 late. But al /
seven ] heard him rushing in at the /!
| hall door, and his voice telling some I
one where TO set the umbrella.
"Oh, I hope he has brought Ne 4
wins" exclaimed, running out.
But It was not Nevin., nor any one |
/ knew; only a red-hsired, shrewd |
looking boy about fourteen years Old, !
who, Fred explained, had Just been /
taken into the once a. an errand boy, /
with a chance TO work his way up. 1
And Fred added, with smile, that 4
the little fellow meant TO be one OF .
the firm yet. /
Z I don't think I ever saw 6 smarter .
boy in my liie-R perfect specimen II |
young Ameriea-wide swake, keen, f.
not a bit afraid. II he had been six .
years older, Fred said afterwarl, he {
should not have though: of inviting .
40 .elf-suffisient young man to our I
| TDur.day EVENING" But, as il /
was, II vas the very courage OF the /
boy Il at won on his sympathy, think /
ing of all the probable disappOiut-
ments, temptations, and pitfalls that
lay before tine unconscious little fel-
low. HIS name was Roger. l lsft .
him in the sitling-TUOm with Fanny,
and hurried to boil my coffee, which ] I
made none tine less nice because we /
had only this little Waif 10 share it !
With Us.
Aud didn't he enjoy his supper, 1 /
have known hosts of boys in my day, /
but none with better appetite than
Roger, He thought the chicken salad
"buliy," and regarded Fanny's tarts 4
with especial favor. He got acquaint-
ed with the utmost rapidity, and was
very ready to tell all about himself
about his widowed mother, how they
had lived, and about the bit of proper
ty that lay in the bank waiting for him
to be twenty-Oue and go into bust
ness. He spoke cheerily OF his posi-
ton as errand- boy, saying:
"IfI am going TO climb the ladder,
| suppose the right place to begin is
al the bottom :"
II rained harder than ever after tea,
but We adjourned 70 the parlor, as
usual, TO entertain ourselves. Roger
seemed pleased with everything
played with BERTHE, whom be called
cunning little shaver" looked
through the stereoScOpe. examined
the albums, and finally sat down op-
pOsite Fanny. He seemed to take the
greatest fancy to Fanny from the very
first, and his eyes were wandering
toward her continually. Lie found
she was from England, snd then he
piled her with questions about what
parts Of Il she had seen, in what
county she had lived, and how long
since she had LEFT there. She was
more amused at his curiosity than
offended, and answered him fully, ss
one would tell stories Of long ago to
q child.
Fred sat reading his newspaper, and !
presently called our attention to Gu.
rious account, which he read aloud, of
a returned soldier looking in vain for
his only sister for years. She had
heard he was dead, had married, and
gone West. The name OF her hus-
band he copld not learn, nor where
she went and So he had searched and
inquired throughout the country for
three years, without flndhg any oiew,
till one day he met her face TO face in
little village postOf1ice in some re-
mote part of Michigan.
This led to conversation on the
ways in which friends might be lost /
to each other, aud Roger frightened .
UP. He evidently had story to tell.
"That is like what has happened to
my brother" he said. "May l tell
you about it, Sir?"
Fred laid down his paper indulgently
to listen, ! took my knitting, and |
Fanny, saddened maybe by the talk
about her English home, sat with |
dreamy, sOrrowful eyes, looking off
into vacancy.
SO Roger began: "YOu ought to
see my brother Phil; he's a splendid
fellow. He's only my half-brother,
but love him just as well. He don't
look like met he has black, curly
hair, and is real handsome. He's q
smart business fellow, too, and he is
twenty-nine years old; but he don't
get married., because he can't find the
girl he's i'll love with, though he has
hunted high and low. You see, the
firm he worked for sent him to Eng
land three or four years ago 10 see to
some agency, and there, in some ,ittls
village, he fell il love on n Sunday
| with q Girl that Suny in The chnir !