The state rights democrat. [volume] (Albany, Linn County, Oregon) 1865-1900, 1871-10-13

Wh1ie, ny sudden exclamation Irom
Clara. ,a
81 declare, Bessie, there is Your
New York adinirer coming up the
aislem
Bessie started, and looked up. Sam,
with pang at his heart, saw hand
some and very fashionably dressed
young man coming toward them, and
turned away, utterly saddened, as
Bessie greeted him with smiles and
bushes.
This is my old friend, Mr.. Field
ing, Mr.. Stevens" she said, introduc.
ing the two /; but Sam only stayed to
shake hands very stiflly, aud then hur-
ried of, and presently left the church.
She did not care for him really,
then, at all, except as n friend. This
was why she was so anxious to escape
from declaration She liked this
fashionable New Yorker, and what
wonder? lie was stylish aud hand
some, while poor Sam Fielding imsa-A
ined himself to be only awkward and
countritied.
He was so miserable that it was not
till he was fairly in his room that he
thought of the ring, aud then he dis
covered that it was gone. lie had no
recollection Of it after he had put it
on his finger; it must have dropped
of in the pew. At first he was so
unhappy that he did not feel rs if he
could 90 aud look for il, but com
mon sense prevailed, and in the after
noon he went down 10 the church.
The dressing was all complete, and
the sexton was sweeping out the
building.
What sort of ring was it ?" he
asked, when Sam told his crrand, rs
people always do under such circum-
stances, as ii he had several dozen oh
hand.
But Sam was non-committal.
Have you found any ring at all 2"
well, no, | hain't. / found one
old steel breastpin; | guess that amt
it, is it? ~
Hardly, Sam thought but he made
no more fuss after he himself looked
in the pew; il was no use, and he did
not care to make the matter public;
if he said he had lost diamond ring,
the whole village would be wonder
ing what he had bought il for.
The next few days were perhaps
the most wretched of Sans life. lie
never went hear Bessie, and Stevens
was with her constantly-at Christ
mas Eve service, ut the church the
next day, and at the party at the Ire
lands III the evening-pericctly dcyo-
ted. Sam stood glowering in cor
ner Tor little while, and then went
away. 1t is true Bessie did look at.
ter him very wistfnlly AS he went
out, he caught Il glimpse of her face,
but he fancied that it was only be-
cause she was sorry for him, and so
went OFT miserable enough.
The next Sunday, Sam again went
TO church, because he thought it his
duty, though it cut him TO the heart
to see Stevens in the Siillers' pew
with Bessie. He would not look at
them il he could help it; and SO it
chanced that his wandering gaze rest
ed on bunch Of holly over the old
pew where be and Bessie had been
that night. How bright and shiny
the leaves were, to be sure They
seemed absolutely to CLEAN, they
were SO smooth. In one spot in par
ticular, a ray like fire appeared to
shine out from them. AS Sam look
ed, Sudden conviction came into his
mind that il was the light from his
diamond ring that he was gazing at.
BY some accident it had been tied up
in the holly, and was there shining
down on him. -
1t was possible that it might be so,
at least, and he resolved to satisfy
himself about it III the morning.
Accordingly, the next day he went
to the old sexton, and, merely saying
that he had left something in the
church, got the key and let himself in
He walked up to the old pew, and
then discovered that even when stand
ing on the seat he could not reach the
holly bunch; of course the ladders,
etc, used in decorating the church
were no longer there but from the
gallery he saw that he could easily
touch the bracket.
He went down the aisle again, up
into the gallery, and was crouched
down in the corner, over the lamp,
where the holly hung, when he was
arrested by hearing Bessie's voice.
"Why. who has left open the church
door 2" and at the same moment Bes-
sizes pretty figure appeared in the
open entrance.
"Let us come in and see," said an
other voice, and the inevitable Mr..
Stevens appeared by her side at the
door.
"There does not appear to be any
one here" said Bessie, coming hall
way up the aisle, and then pausine
with look of surprise and some an
noyance.
Sam crouched down; it would be
too absurd, he felt, for him to loom
up suddenly and say:
II am up here on a wild-goose er
rand"
"Don't go out yet" said Mr.. Ste
vens, coming close up to Bessie.
"Yes, | must" she replied quite has
tily.
@Non urged the young man, and
now he laid his hand on her arm "yor
must hear what / have to say first =
You know well enough why / came
to Cornville-you must know that
only came to ask you to be my wife
you have avoided every opportunity
Of late, but am forced to return t.
New York to morrow, and / canno
go without pleading my suit. Bessie