The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1872-03-13
oN q muFFe
BY J. HARVEY SMITH.

'At what time shall call for you?'
About cight--no sooner said Nettie.
! Good afternoon
Coed afternoon, Nettio, said L; and
! then walked home through the deep
SHOW, heedpg not where | was going,
thinking only Of Ncttie.
! You must know I Was in love with
! Nrttie Burns; and nearl y two thirds Of
! the male members of the community
! where lived were in the same pleasant
prrdicament. But I had loved her ms
! far back as could rccoiect--I think
from the time when | was seven and she
/ was three. And then, when we grew
! older, and wcnt to school together, in
the old red school house on Burton's
Lane, We always went together, | carry
i"g her books, and very proud Of the
honor-I was, I can assure you. But
now that she was eighteen and twenty
two, began to feel less easy in her pres.
cnce, and generally was silent when she
was by, proving, no doubt, a very uncn-
; joyablc companion.
But I could not help it. Though |
loved Nc,tc devotedly. could not de-
clare my love. !, kent S"rrcll, aged
! twenty-five, strong, hearty man, allie
to do a days work with any man in the
country, aud afraid Of nothing visible or
. invisible, became very coward in her
presence.
! But at last | had come to the resou-
ton to declare my love IN writing. So,
with great difficulty, had written q
note. Only fonr or five lines it was;
and then the question was, bow to de-
liver it.
! At last I fixed on plan. Nc,,ie and
we've going to Cuylcr's Run, to house,
warming. We were going in my s!riSh.
Now, thought, when We arc returning,
can have plenty OF chances to slip the
little :sotc into Ncltir'S hand, making her
promise not to look at it until she reach.
ed Er"m". That evening called f,r Net
tie, and she did Look 50 beautiful that |
could hardly refrain from falling down
before her on the SHOW, and declaring
my passion then and there. Bu, | didn't,
because was afraid!
As we rode home together, Ncttie
chattcd gaiy, while was silent and
grnm-lor could not, try how would,
muster up courage to deliver that mo-
mertouS epi>tle into Ncttic'S hands.
Cl,<cr and nearer We approached to
her house, ami still | krpt silent; and at
last drew up before the door and Nettic
alightcd.
Suddenly my hand touched something
soft and furry.
! picked it up and looked at it. 7;
AaS Nc,tc's muff. was only about a
hundred yards from the house, and |
was turning back to deliver the muff to
Nc;iic, when brilliant thought struck
my stupid brain.
: would make the muff he my mcssen,
ger! ] Immediately carried out the
thought, and inserting the little note into
the inmoSt rccc<scs Of the muff, drove
back and knocked at the door.
Nc,lie appeared in answer to my sum,
mons.
You forgot your muff, Ncttic,' said I,
handing it to her, and blushing guil!ily,
meanwhile.
Thank you, Mr.. Sorrcll,' Said Nctlie,
swcctly, you're very kind to take the
trouble to come back with it. Good.
night!'
Good night" said |, hu<kily, though
ioyjuily, for SAN her put both han1S
into the mutF, and felt certain that she
had the note.
The next day waited anxionsly for
an answer, and none carie and two
weeks passed and still no answer. me,
Ncttie, and she never made the least al
lusion 10 the note
At last could stand it no longer The
country and all its belongings became
liS,astcful to me, and made up ny
mind to 90 to the CITY to make my for.
tune-or, rather only to drive the
thoughts Of Netlie out Of my mind.
| shipped AS a land$maa on a brig
bound to Ceylon, and then to-but it is
useless to follow my life through ter
long weary years. At the end of thai
time had noble ship Of my own, anc
u vcrY handsome sum in bonds, and va.
on the easy road to wealth. But there
was still blank place in my heart tha
no wealth could cover. And Though
had sailed under many foreign skies. ant
had seen beauties Of every shade, from
pure white to jet black, nothing could ef
face the image Of Ncttic Burns from my
heart, and d-she didn't care anything
about mel At last I returned home
My mother, of course, was rcjoiccd tt
see me after so long an absence.
Now, mother, said, when she haG
done admiIing ne, It'll me every thing
about everybody ! know.
This might have been quite labor for
some pcople-but nv mother was fond oil