Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1873-07-17

y tempt ITOVlueHCe. r.,
girls in silTSefriy ~trebleh thsyody but
Molly Pomfret. Molly was little put
out. "Two is company-more is trump
ery,' was emphatlcally her motto, and
she by no means relshed the interruption
of the tete-a-tete beneath the blanket shawl.
Aunt Mary noted the vexation in Molly's
face, and Rugged herself again.
"That's right, DEAR" she thought. go
on just So Give Jim a taste of the pleas
ant look that will await your husband
whenever anything crosses your fancy
It's very good lesson for him, and hope
| he's taking notice"
| So, by way of making sure he should,
she leaned forward, and said, pleasantly
whats the matter, Molly? Anything
| gone wrong ?"
Nothing much" was the reply, with
pout. Jim caught the LOOKOUT, bless
you! he didn't regard it as pout. To
| his eyes it was merely an accident of the
| moonlight or because Molly was catching
cold; and he seized the offending shawl
and wrapped it around his charmer with
such devoted eagerness that his aunt
could gladly have boxed his ears. Luck
| ily, Molly was in the mood to take Otfense !;
so she shook the shawl off, and said
sharply:
"Don't! ! don't want it You're muss-
| ing me up" and Jim shrank back re-
| buked.
Grow, Brothers. Row." "Tranquidillo,"
"Those Evening Bells" and other time
honored favorites composed the repertoire
of the Child family, and were heartily en-
| loved and encOred till late hour. The
concert wound up with Coronation" that
| delight Of all country church-goers. And
| it was then that Grace, left out in the more
secular music, began to sing and her clear,
bird-like notes astonished everybody who
had never happened to sit near the par
sons old pew on Sunday.
"Why, Grace, what a beautiful voice
you've got!" said Jim, leaning forward to
| look at he'd
| She bl,fshed with pleasure. "Do you
think SOP" she said and smiled. The
moonlight was upon her face, and
brought out, as moonlight often does, a
certain subtle, inward beauty not so visi-
BILE by day. She looked inexpressibly
fair, sweet and womanly just then. Some
thing pathetic, too, blended in the COM
plexion For the first time Jim thought
to himself, "What pretty girl Grace is
growing to be!'
Aunt Mary, meantime, was regarding
Molly. That dreadful moonlight! In the
light of its revealing beams, half CLEAN,
half shadow, the face Of Jim's charmer
altered almost tc plainness. Certain hard
lines became visible-the cOquettish
black ,eyes looked shallow and beady.
Aunt Mary believed in moonlight, and
nodded her head to some secret thought.
eyes, yes," she said; 81 knew it.
Pomfret all over, for all her pretty looks.
Well, when I'm man I'll pick out my
wife by the moonlight"
Molfy's sulkiness had not quite melted
next morning, and she awoke in an i'll
| humor Her bed had been hard; she
hated washing her face in a tin basin; the
tiny looking glass made her appear like
| fright and she could not do her hair. To
her easy Incidence these little discomforts
were great and real; the pleasure party
wasn't pleasant; she was sorry she came,
she declared. Sadie laughed at her, and
that made it worse. Carelessly and cross
ly she got into her clothes, and emerged
pouting and untidy, with hair, only
half brushed, to find Jim and his
sister deep in the preparation OF
breakfast, the Vose girls fishing,
and Grace, in fresh, dainty print and
white apron, setting the table. The
early dip in the sea, with which all the
girls except sleep-loving Molly had in
Obliged themselves, had tinged Grace's
usually pale cheek with delicate pink.
Her light brown hair shone in its glossy
Haids. her eyes were bright with exercise
and pleasure; for, to the quiet, shaded life
of the old parsonage, this frst outing ing
of Grace's was champagne after weak
tea. Certainly the contrast between the
two girls was not to her disadvantage.
More than one marked it; and Aunt Mary
| said to herself, "Grace'll be beauty one
day, if the Lord ever lets the sun into
her life-and so much the better for jim"
aCome and help" shouted the young
gentleman, delighted at the appearance OF
| his charmer.
But Molly wouldn't. She hated cook
inr: she .didn't know where things
| wereu; the dishes were hot; the pail hurt
her wrist. She shrugged her little shout
ders and walked of under the trees alone.
| Jim looked after her, amazed.
MyVhaf,s the matterfw he Whispered 10