Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1874-10-30
fRE LOVERS QUARREL.

we slGd sQuaffeleQ, AAllllceut Guus =,
ana 10 vas No slight lovers' quarrel TO
be easily forgotten. We had each said
things that could not be unsaid, and
done things that could not be 11ndone,
and she had given me back the letters
L had sent her, and the ring that she
had worn, and all those little presents
chat every man layishes on the woman
he loves. It was all over and We were
free again; and tried to before IL was
better so, but could not. $50 sz1st -
Poor little Millicent, her face was
very cad, and her eyes very heavy,
when / CHANGED to meet her; but she
had told me that she hated lac as much
as she once loved me, and SO tried to
look merry and uHeoncerned as L
passed her, and [ got up Irritation
with red Haired Lucy Martin, and was
seen about with her good deal.
Her father had made . great deal OF
money by certain shoad.F TRANSACTIONS
during tie war, and ste was Al heiresss,
and very much sought after. and all
that sort Of thing. Ii 1 had been the
Kind Of man who ;aa,ries for money
might have tried to win the prize, pet
hal,s. for, after reel, honest icye
affair las come to al untlmeiy end,
either man or woman is just ripe tor
SO hing wronS in thai line; and OF
ali the wrongs thai are, though many
have worse names, there isn't one ths,t
is really worse than foveless or n.er-
scenary marriage.
wasn't bad enough for that, but I
was bad enough to hiTt abomnlal,ly
with very decent young WON III, who
fancied that meant everything, and
was pleasantly frank with mo in con
sequence, and report even arose that
was engaged to her. liked it; fof l
knew that Miiiicent must hear it.
OF course, when / beard that she
was not engaged to Tom Brown was
not pleased. You never can be suffi-
GENTLY off with the old love to hear
such news without a pang. [ had not
sworn myself to celibacy, but it seem
ed to me in a measure, Millicents duty
to do so. At least it would be better
taste I thought, remembering how
fond she had once seemed to me.
Going into a convent or something of
that sort-at least no more loTe-mak-
ing-I had supposed would be her
course. And here abe was at the opera
with fan, opera-glasg, bouquet and at
tendant adorer, as if nothing had hap
pened.
sat in the next row with Miss Mar
tin, and 7 looked into her eyes, and
whispered compliments in a terrible
sort Of way, considering that [ had no
intentions whatever. All, well she
was a very practical girl, not romantic.
7 knew she had a budding fancy for
me, but [ don't think she would ever
let
"Cor cea'rnent, ike a worm i the bud
Feed On her ,mask check
am sure that she married the re-
tired grocer, who proved to be her
fate, with light heart; and knew her
appetite did not fail h,r, for / sat op-
posite her at the table one day not
long since, and she took kindly to
roast beef and gravy and must have
weighed at least 100 pounds; but if she
had been the most spirituelle creature,
whoever broke her heart, I doubt if
7 should have remembered anything
but ny cwn selfish self that night; and
all the while [ was thinking, just as
we remember snatches of some familiar
song while We were busy with some
thing very different from music, of
the pleasant hours my little blackeyed
love ana Ihadhad together-of the soft
ness of the velvet palm that lay I'M
restingiy in mine as we walked in the
moonlight by the river bank the
| summer before, when twenty Of US
stopped ct the same gay hotel at;
| Of the kisses she used To let me take,
ana the bushes they brought TO her
! cheehs-and [ wanted to kill Brown.
| He WAS a harmless young man, with q
| lisp and an eye-glass, but I longed to
assassinate him.
This sort of thing happened more
than once during the season, and I felt
glad when it was gone and summer
cent @s'Society" flying to woods and
| giens and waterfalls. I did not seek
| tho usual resort. 1 went to wild, out
OF the way place and fshed persist
entity. did some shooting too, and l
| formed a friendship with certain
hlr. Briggs, who was fond OF sport, SO
he said, though 1 never knew hin to
| catch fish, or shoot anything what
! ever.
No one knew where I was. I knew
nothing of the Whereabouts of any of
my acquaintance. There were few
ladies at the hotel, principally invalids,
for there were springs thereabouts
| that had q great medicinal reputation;
but 1t was not the sort of place to tempt
| four set"
| ioipatel no unpleasant meeting
| with people who would want to
know why Milly and had parted
And fancy my establishment and hor-
ror when, one evening, as I took my
seat at the table, I saw straight oppo-
| site me little, pale shadow, which [
recognized as all that was left of Mill
cent Hood. Her portly grandmother
was with her, and the way that old
| lady didn't look ct me was more
dreadful than the most awful looks
could have been.
1 made short meal thai day. sud I
resolved to leave the place by the
morning train. Unfortunately over
slept myself. Wait minute-was it
unfortunate? 1t seemed so to me for
good while. I missed the stage at
| all events. There was an evening
stage also. I intended to go down on
| that.
Out in the woods, and having pur-
| posely lost sight of my companion for
a little while, Shutdown at the foot of
tree and fell to thinking of Millicent.
Poor little girl! how worn she was
did she? But, ro-no-she had de-
clared that she hated me. All, there
was truth in Moore's song
'There's nothing half so sweet in life as loves
young DREAM
ard I had awakened from it. ! sighed
and rested my head against the old
tree. In moment more-crack,
crack, crack Aterrible pain through
my head. A cry of ooh, Lord, I
thought you were squirrel" and I
was dimly conscious that Bri ggs had
hit something at last.
He had hit me.
I came to myself after weeks fever
and delirium quite blind. My seyes
were untouched, but the nerves had
been somehow injured. There was
something horrible in the surgeons
vague promises of improvement in
time; and all I could say to the peni-
tent Briggs was, why didn't you hit
q vital spot while you were about it ?"
It was horrible time. I don't like
to think about it even now. I was not
sure how time passed. There was no