The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1871-12-23
Gt1e6stelIiasaeen.
MISS BROWN.
A CHARMING LOVE STORY.
From Chamber journal.


After breakfast, Mr. Dixon begged L
have few minutes conversation with her
1t was fine bright morning, and khey
went out on the lawn near the house. &u
presently they discovered that the az
though line and spring. like, was LITTLE
chilly, and the paths were slightly damp
and Mr.. Dixon had forgotten his hat, and
Miss Brown her shawl; so they returned
to the house, and Mr.. Dixon led thewAy Il
the comfortable library. II was mort
suitable trysting-plRCe for such middle
aged lovers than the damp garden; buI
Miss Brown thought, with curious visit
lul sadness, how little she would have
cared about damp and cold once.
swell, my dear Priscilla" began Mr..
Dixon as he placed o chair for her near the
fire, "now that you and have come TO an
understanding, we had better begin to
consider our future arrangements little. y
He had taken chair for himself, and
put II Is pear To hers as he could manage
and now he again offered to take her hand.
To his infinite establishment, she quietly
withdrew 1t, and at the same time pushed
her chair little farther back. Robert
she said, getting flushed and then pale
again, "lm afraid / was wrong not to say
this ycstGrdAy-but-I don't think VIC
have quite come 70 an understanding vet
Indeed" and now she blushed like girl,
you took me so by surprise. ItWRs very
stupid of me, but-but"-. She was
getting confused, and losing her dignity
sadly.
mot como TO an understanding OK.
claimed Mr. Dixon impatiently. "Why,
Priscilla, you don't mean to say that
you've changed your mind2" He spoke
sharply, almost angrily The next mo.
ment, he recollected himself, and tried Ia
recover his temper. But the harsh tone
had had remarkable effect on her, at
which she herself was Surprised; instead
offrightening her, 1t seemed TO rouse her
spirit, and she was astOnished at the calm.
ness and tearlessness with which she an.
swered him.
AS to changing my mind, Robert, you
have given me no time TO make II up.
was confused last night; was not pre-.
pared for what you said to me. lam sorry
you spoke Of II TO Maria"
"But you agreed. You seemed quite
satisfied" He, in his turn, was ConfOund.
ed at the notion Of there being any diff.
Guilty in his way. He began to suspect
that Priscilla had more In her" than
either he or his sister supposed. He was
Vexed with himself for having Numbered
in his last speech, and he was also vexed
with her.
"Yes, l know, l was wrong. Perhaps
Ill Maria had not come In just then. |
had no time, you know. But, of course,
was wrong am sorry allowed you
To misunderstood me-"
Then l haze misunderstood you, have
II" he said sulkily. What fools women
were not TO speak out plainly what they
meant at once.
II Think suppose you have misun'
derstOod me-"
lie got up hastily, and pushed aside his
chair. lie looked, and indeed felt, a. II
he had been ill.uscd. She, too, began TO
feel that she was not behaving well TO
him. She had certainly given him cause
to believe that she accepted his offer. She
was sorry and annoyed. What could she
doY Besides, did she really mean TO re.
uSG himp ....
Something in her own heart whispered
To her that she did mean TO do 80. But
she could not quite yet bring herself to
believe that this was her intcntiOn-this,
after all these years of fidelity! Was 1t
to come to this
lie was standing stiilly up, with his
back " the fire and his hands behind him,
and on his face was IN expression which
somehow made II seem Ike new and
strange laCo 10 her. She found herself
wondering II he often looked like that
Sho thought for little, and then said :
"RObert, am sorry | have VeXed you.
You know that am naturally slow
lie interrupted cher apology hastily.
The few moments during which he had
been thinking over this unpleasant and
unexpected turn OF affairs had shown him
that lis mind-perhaps even his heart, or
what might remain Of it-were very
strongly set upon this thing. Ho would
not give Il up. He caught at the idea
conveyed by her words.
"Y0u mean that you haven't had time
enough to thing II overp Well, Priscilla,
| don't want to hurry you. l thought II
best to speak plainly TO you at once. I'm
too old for nonsensical shiIly.slallying,
like TO speak out my mind without beat.
Ing about the bush. think ! would make
YOU q good husband. would domy best
| wish you would agree OF once " take
inc. But If you would rather walt little
before giving me your answer, ! wont ask
YOU to say anything more now Perhaps
yoll're riyht. and I've been too hasty with
you. Well say no moro about 1t now,
then, and you'll take time and think over
IL"
Yet, though 1t seemed 10 her that this
was Just what she wanted, time to think
over II, she was not quite satisfied. Tint
secret misgiving in her heart seemed to be
getting stronger and stronger with every
minute she spent in his company. Would
1t not be better 10 give him his answer at
once? Yes, II she could be sure, quite
sure, what the answer ought to be
If she had considered only her own
feelings at that moment, she would have
been sure enough but sho was thinking
of him as well as herself Shesaw he was
mortified and disappointed, and she could
not bear TO give paintO any creature, least
Of all 10 the man whom she had once 10Y.
cd, and who, her feminine instinct told
her had some real affection for her now.
SO she agreed to his proposal she would
think about IT, And then she told him
that she would return home at once to her
own house. .y....... ...,
lie opposed this but abe insisted on II,
with new pertinacity in sticking to her
own purpose which startled him not III.
lie. Afterwards, she herself spoke to
Mrs. Lorimer, not without hesitation and
main, on what had passed Mrs, Lorimer
was exceedingly annoyed; but sue saw
that Tor the present nothing more could
be said. She felt, too, that her brother
was likely to be provoked with her for
her mistaken opinion about Prlscilla A.