Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1873-05-01

a woman ran Dy me SO CLOSELY bQaG
her skirts brushed mine, and the fog
lifting a little at the same moment, I
saw the outline of man take his elbows
from the gate on which he had been
leaning, and STOPPING down seemed to
look for something on the ground. Then
he hurried away toward the village, and,
as Bunyan says of his pilgrims, 'tI saw
him no more" " r@-s - =
I felt like person blindfolded, who
had been tormented with other peoples
secrets against his will I leaned my
own arms on the gate until the fog
cleared away, and a soft, wavering moon
light fell on the trees, which seemed to
whisper together about the very secrets
that I had shared with them. In a
crack between post and bar something
cleaned in the moonlight. I picked
out a ring-the ring which one had
thrown away in her angry haste, and
which the other had looked for on the
ground in vain. 1t was violet, formed
of small sapphires, with a diamond in
the center I carried it home and
tucked it into the further corner of my
upper drawer, and for a month pom
dered it in my heart I looked eagerly
for all notices under the head of &c Lost
and found. :" Vast hordes of dogs
seemed to have gone upon their travels
about that time; muffs and bonds and
other small matters were entreated to
return, and no questions asked but no
one had lost ring. I composed with
ments which should delicately convey to
that outline of man that his ring
might be recovered if he desired it. I
said no word to my aunt with whom I
shared the cottage and all other worldly
goods) of my little adventure in the
avenue. IF she had ever had any nom
sense about her it had entirely worn off
before my time. She would have sought
for the owner of the ring in the same
straightforward and exhaustive way as if
it had been stray hoe, found in our
garden. Those two lovers would have
been forced to stand and deliver their
names and their secret within a week.
Aunt Esther had brought me up in
the same way that she did everything
else; she never forgot to wind her clock
on every seventh day, and she never
failed to give me good measure of home
comfort, but it was not pressed down
nor running over. / gave her honest
liking and respect without any love, and
she never missed it. Nevertheless, it
gave me a terrible shock when her Wig
orous life was suddenly arrested by a
stroke of paralysis. Our only servant
in her fright was helpless as her mis-
tress but Miss Purdy, who lived next
door, came in to stay with my patient,
while ran through midnight darkness
down the avenue and the long village
street for the doctor. DIR. Gilmore was
the name on the first door that had q
light behind it. At the first pull of the
bell the handle came off in my hand,
but opened the door and found myself
in the office. The doctor lay on lounge,
sleeping heavily, as if he had just thrown
himself down after a hard days work.
I called him In vain, and finally laid
violent hands on him. He must have
been dreaming some fearful thing, for
he seized my hands as in vice and
roared, CHOW, I have you p before he
opened his eyes. - .sz. -
who have you," said, laughing. He
released my wrists and sat up with his
eyes very wide open.
sc And what are you going to do with
me ?''
"Oh, you must come to my aunt at
Dovecotes, this very moment" and ]
began to cry more heartily than had
laughed. 80
he took me up as easily as if I had
been baby, and laid me on the lounge.
Now lie there perfectly still until my
carriage is ready" he said, as one IN
authority. In few minutes he brought
me some innocent-l looking stuff in a
glass, which drank without word,
and my nerves grew steady again.
climbed into the little old-fashioned
su1ky, in which there was but spare
room for it's owner-a carriage that
thropic doctor who did not mean to
drive his own patients. I contracted
myself into about the substance of a
paper of pins, and held my breath, but
that sulky was a tight fit indeed
wore thin summer dress, with only a
straw hat on my head, and as my ex-
citement lessened the cool, sharp air OF
the September night pierced me like q
knife.
GO You are shiyering," said the doctor,
wrapping one side of his round cloak
about me and holding me. close to his
breast, with one arm, while he drove
his horse with furious speed with the
| other.
"I give you great deal of trouble, ,
I whispered into his beard.
:" Not at ALL 1t is all in my days
work. he said, grufdy. This was not
very gallant, but it made me more com
| Portable in mind, as it was possibly
meant to do.
! He did all that doctor could for my
/ aunt, which was little enough. Time
and patience were all the prescriptions
/ that he gave to her or to me, but he came
every day, sometimes twice, as he per
ceived that time was growing short an(
patience would soon have its perfec
work.
The old story-old as when Gain wen
/ courting into the land of Mods com
ing, as my reader can see with half al
eye. did not fall in love with DIR. Gil
more nor he with me-all at once; bu
there grew to be an irrepressible com
fort IN his rough sincerity, and the warn
hand-elasp with which at every visit b
4 met and stilled my shrinking nerves.
In the first week of our acquaintanc
confded to him my unwilling hstenin
in the avenue to the love-quarrel o
strangers. With his advice and assist
! ance sent CAREFUL ly-worded advertise
ment to the village paper. To judge b
the pile Of answers which received de
scribing every kind of ring that ever wa
worn, one would think the earth shoul
have been sown as thick with them 6
) was the field of Canine after the gres
slaughter of Carthagenian knights. BIT
) not one of the answers so much as hinte
? at a violet of sapphires with a damon