The Highland weekly news. [volume] (Hillsborough [Hillsboro], Highland County, Ohio) 1853-1886, 1873-09-04


a step would not be forhis happiness;
but was not he the best Judge of
that? I knew him, if reflection should
bring him round to her opinion, to be
perfectly capable Of quietly sacrificing
his own wishes for my sake, who had
not the shadow of a claim on him; SO
it must be my part to prevent his
own kindness being turned against
him now. Still, it was not so easy to
see how I was to provide for myself,
in case it should become advisable.
What could do? Draw and sing
and play tolerably, but not in man
ner to compete with the hosts that
would be in the field against me.
Literature? 1 had read so many sto-
ries whose heroines, with a turn of
the pen, dashed into wealth and fame.
That would be very nice, only-I was
not the least little bit literary; had
never even kept a journal, which is
saying a great deal for girl in her
teens. The F'fne arts" then, being
out of the question for me, what re-
manned? There was some clerkship,
or place in some family, and-and
there was Will Broornleyl
That may seem like going away
from the point, but it was not. I
was matter-of-fact, but I could see
well enough what was going on right
under my eyes, and I had a pretty
clear idea what was bringing VIII to
the house so often as he had taken to
coming lately. There was a "situa-
ton, then, that would give me the
home-life I liked best, and felt myself
best suited for; but-would it answer
in other respects? I overcast the
long seam I was sewing twice over, I
was SO busy trying to make up my
mind whether I liked viii BROMLEY
well enough to pass my whole life
with him; and even then I had not
come to any decision, when I was
called down stairs to Lefty Walters.
Lefty was the prettiest, I think, of
my friends, and certainly the liveliest.
Tom called her ''the tonic" and used
to laugh heartily at her bright speech
es. I suppose it was this that made
mother fix on Lefty as his choice
When I came into the sitting room,
I found a kind of cross-examination
going on. 1t was amusing to any
body in the secret, as 1 was, to watch
mothers artful way of continually
bringing the conversation round, as
if by chance, to bear on what she
wanted to know. But it all amount
ed to nothing, either because Lefty
was too good a fencer, or rbecause she
really had nothing to betray. But
when Tom came home, mother took
care to mention that Lefty had called.
"What, the tonic?' said Tom. "Too
bad I missed her"
''But for your choice being already
made" said mother, with a covert
scrutiny of his face, 81 dare say you
might have as much of the tonic as
you liked"
''But I go on the homeopathic
principle, you know" answered Tom,
with twinkle in his eye.
After that, mothers beliefin Letty's
guiltiness wavered Her suspicious
were transferred from one to another
of our acquaintance, but always with
the same unsatisfactory result.
'1t passes my comprehension" she
said to me, despairingly one day.
Il am positive I could tell the right
one by Toms face in a minute, and
yet have mentioned everybody we
know"
Perhaps it's somebody we don't
know" I suggested; "some friend of
his we have never seen"
'What perfect stranger" said
mother sharply. 'ENever talk to me,
child; Toms not capable of hatF'
I was silent, for I did not want to
worry her; but that was my opinion
all the same.
The same evening-it was rather
more than a week since Tom had
hurled that thunder-bolt of his at us
mother began about it openly.
"When are you going to introduce
your wife to us, Tom? Isuppose you
have come to an understanding by
this time?"
ooh, there's no hurry" Tom said,
as he had said before; but this time
he did not speak quite so cheerfully.
''The fact is," he continued, with o
little hesitation, 'there-there's II
val in the case"
ga rival?" repeated mother, with
unfeeling briskness.
eyes, a young fellow-younger by
a good deal than I am, and Toms
face assumed an absurdly doleful
look. 'He is always there now. ]
confess don't see my way clear. I'm
waiting for her 10 make up her mind.
"And she's waiting, most likely, fol
you to make up yours" said mother.
forgetting, in her propensity to right
matters, that she was playing the en-
emy's game.
"There's something in that that
never occurred to me" said Tom, his
face frightening. Mother saw hel
mistake, and made a counter move al
once.
[Co'c1asded 0ert aceek.
A suit for $4,000 against New
' York dry goods importer, for fraud