The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1873-05-17

other woman could fill the place of his los
+ love. $50 YOU see il ner6r can happen. Miss
> Graves is, no doubt very cStimahle person
but am confident not the woman to make
Hugh Hastings change his mind. assure
YOU, such thing as marriage between 'hC
two is absurd 1t never co"'d happen; and
their going to the city together must nave
been purely accidental
However, we did feel n tritle uneasy; ant
if it had not been for the fact that Hugh had
often declared that he should never marry
would have felt still more So or course a.
we made the statement so positively, 1t was
accepted People began TO speak OF Miss
Graves unsuccessful attempt to captivatC
/, Hugh. Now this was just what we didn't
for any slight put upon any woman through
his means, would have brought him into the
field as her champion at once.
i So the fact that we knew absolutely nothing
about it, made it trile unsafe for us to make
many remarks. The most we did was tc
affirm that it never would happen, which
we repeated so often that we grew to believe
| ii ourselves.
About this time Sue came home. She had
been spending some time visiting friends at
tbc West, and so knew very little of the Cos
sip. OF course, we told her, and it had Il
strange effect. lust what we did not expect
Sue is very much like her brother, and YOU
can never tell precisely how anything will
appear to their eyes, or what they will dc
next
Much as | love them both, must say that
they are at times exceedingly tiresome be
! inGs like persons to be consistent, to have
their views and opinions settled, and not be
taking up notions day after day, Sue says
my opinions are fixed upon every subject,
and labeled and laid away in alphabetical
order; but she processes perfect willingness
to change her mind every day, so she change
| il for the better
But that's not my way, nor the way of the
family.
Well, as | said, after | told Sue of her
brothers attentions to Miss Graves, what did
she do but pick up her hat and announce her
intention of going over to see about it.
For" said she, "if Hugh could spend
three hours day in her company there must
be something about her worth the while and
say we've been a set Of stupids not to find
it out So here goes for Miss Graves"
She was always careless about her Ian
guage; but it panied me to see that she had
grown more so since she had been away from
the refining influences of the home circle
She made a long call; said they didn't
seem in the least shocked because she didn't
have ten rutfies and an overskirt' to her dress,
for she went in dress made with neither.
She has Just now fancy for blouse waists
and plain skirts; calls them artistic" But
then Sue looks well in anything
After that, she and Miss Graves grew quite
intimate; and by this means the rest of us
became better acquainted with her, and Sue
professed herself delighted with her. But
Hugh's name was never mentioned; and she
preserved the same reticence in regard to her
self and her pursuits that had so puzzled us
We knew there was some mystery connected
with her: she was either more or less than
she appeared and we occasionally worked
ourselves into rage at Sues intatuation with
person who was evidently nobody-which
that misguided young person was pleased to
consider vastly amusing
At last one day, down came letter from
Hugh. When | took it in my hand | felt
that it contained news of importance; and |
may as well confess that belief in present.
ments is one of my weakness. 1t was adj
dressed in Hugh's bold hand to mother, and
was certainly a cheerful enough looking at.
fair outwardly. Nevertheless, it was with
good deal of inward quaking that gave 1t TO
mother to open. 1t commenced:
"Dearly 5elored HOTTER and most Gracious
SiSterS:-l am going to be married soon
There, that may be something of a shower
bath to your feelings; but you'll find, to fol-
low out the figure, that you'll feel better when
the first shock is over, and after little really
enjoy it, can't give you particulars, only
to say, that in my eye she is perfection; and I
ask for her a portion of the love always so
lavishly bestowed upon me. For fear you
may be too uneasy on the score of respecta
biity, &c, | will say that she is a writer of
wide reputation, and the author of the charm
ing book of poems we read together when
was down.
mo doubt, at this, vision of dsorderly |
house, unmended stockings, and buttonless |
shirts and a slatternly woman at the head, !
will rise before you; but that idea is exploded |
| have never yet seen her with an k-spot on
her fingers l am coming down soon; so be |
ready with your congratulations.
Your loving son and brother,
"HUGH."
As might be expected that set us in fut-
ter. That settled the question about Miss
Graves, and made our prophesy that such a
thing could never happen true at last Then
to think that he was going to bring literary
woman INTO the family! 1t was delightful!
Not tina. We any of us cared much for litera.
lure, excepting Hugh and Sue; they were al.
ways book.worms; but we we were, never
helcss, full of admiration for authors Our
family hdNt Dttu HOttNi DtdulN, W ",
and, at one time, for wealth; but there never
had been any one of us who could reasonably
claim any great intellectual ability.
And, of course, we lost no time in speak
ing, in causual way, as though it was the
most natural thing in the world, of brother
liugh's engagement to the famous author Of
Songs by the Sea-" We gave the book
prominent place on the centre-table and as
onished each other by our devotion TO poet
v. For We said, ut will never do to have
Ilugh's wife find us totally ignorant upon
literary topics" So we went to work and
cad up the. reviews and criticisms, with
trustworthy determination to be equal to
he occasion. All but Sue; she paid little at.
en,ion to it more than usual but spent more
ime than ever across the way, with Miss
Graves.
One day she-Miss Graves-was over with
ler work. a dainty bitf o embroidery. | said
Q her that / supposed she had heard of
liugh's engagement
She flushed to her forehead but answered
quietly: "Sue was talking with me ahout II