The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-04-16

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tail ,''-an announcement which was re
ceived with laughter by the bystanders.
From that time the name adhered Il
him, as such names will, and every day h,
was made the subject of jests, some mere
ly thOughtless and absurd, and some heart
less and cruel. Once, going into the hal
for his hat, he beheld one of the students
marching up and down with it on his head
He did not stop when he saw Andy. bu
remarked, with an odd grimace:
Grandfather's hat
Give it him" said one of the girls, in
low voice.
Certainly, if you say so,'' said he, toss
| ing it TO Andy. Grandfather shall have
his bell-crown.'
For shame, Philip Owen,' cried the
same girl, when Andy had left the hall.
81 thought you called yourself a gentle
man.
80 do, Miss Isabel,r said he.
"Then act like one" said she. "It's nc
mark of gentleman to wound the feelings
of another, eUer. Pm mortified at the way
you've all treated this young man, you
fellows; and if | were Mr.. Briggs, I'd put
a stop to it, or I'd turn you all out OF
| school,"
Why, the fellows fool,' said Philip.
a perfect Sheep" said Seth Strong.
. L don't believe it; he doesn't look like
it." said Isabel.
80 my, that coatl"
"That stOck!"
"ThOse trOwsers -
"Very queer and old-fashiOned. | ad-
mit,'' said Isabel: "but that doesn't prove
him a fool. Maybe he has some other use
for his brains than attending to the cut of
his clothes. Some don't, hoa0eCer:;" and
with this parting fling the indignant little
lady walked away, her nose in the air.
Who'd have thought of her taking up
for Swallow-tail! !! a" said Philip.
Andy, meantime, was vending his way
h0meward in very discOnsolate frame OF
mind, and quite unconscious, of course, OF
the scene enacting in the hall. These
words of his mothers came floating back
to him:
"How do We think 'twould be if he
should 60 into the pulpit with a green
baiZe jacket and pair of cOwhide boots 2"
Was 1t, then, money that made the diff
ference? Was the outside so much more
important than the inside? He had seen
that he did not look like the other stu
dents. Most Of them wore roundabout
jackets or short sacks; but was that a
sufficient reason for casting him out of
their fellowship entirely? Not wishing to
face his mother just then, lest she should
ask him some inconvenient questions. he
threw himself down on a mossy loo by
the edge of the wood and thought over his
trials, obliviOuS of every thing around
him. By-and-by he heard the sound OF
horses hOofS. 1t was Isabel Cove canter-
ing by on her pretty pony. He had never
spoken to her, but he recognized her as
the same young girl who had hidden
Philip Owen return him his hat. She
drew up when she saw him, and with
little nod and apleasant smile, said:
So you are out enjoying this charming
evening, Mr.. Truman?'
Il have not been home vet. / must
have sat here longer than | intended" he
said, with sudden recollection of the cow,
the poultry and other domestic response
bilities.
Lost in your own thoughts" said she.
''NO wonder; it is just the spot for wax
ing Dreams"
1t might have been five minutes. it
might have been ten, that she stayed talk
ing to him, and then the vision vanished:
but in that brief space the burden was
lifted from Andy's soul. Not that she
had said anything worth noting, or al
luded in any way to the treatment he had
received. Her talk had been of the OriOle
singing in the tree, of the fringed gentian
growing by the waySide, and of other
things as simple as these. but her whole
manner had said, "Whatsoever others may
think of you, I consider you worthy of
respect" As Isabel cantered away she
said To herself, ''They call him a fool. but
there's a soul behind those eyes, and |
wonder Mr.. Briggs doesn't see it,
A pretty girl was isabel Cove. tall and
well-grown of her age, which was sweet
sixteen, and very popular among her
They sometimes COM
planned that she was too Independent, but
rs she seldom made it manifest save where |
right principle was concerned, it could |
hardly be considered a fault. There |
were those who called her proud, !
too, and attributed it to the fact that |
her father was member of Congress, |
but whether her pride was Of the right |
kind, or could have sprung from so petty |
a motive, you shall judge for yourself. A |
few kind words to Andy, sitting on the |
messy log sOrrowful and depressed, had |
lifted his burden and sent him home with |
a heart lighter than he had known for |
many weeks. Nor did the influence OF |
these kind words cease with the occasion /; |
he felt that there was one ready to do him |
confidence. He ceased to blush and Stam-
mer over his recitations, and soon regained |
his rightful position in the advanced |
classes. All noticed the change in him,
but none guessed the cause. Even Isabel |
did not know the good she had done, and
was still doing, by simply following the |
benevolent impulses of her heart, and |
showing courtesy TO one who had done
nothing to forfeit it. Once she made him |
happy by asking his aid in a
Latin translation, and at another time by
ldmiring a sPrig of mOuntain-laurel he
lad plucked on his way to school. Of
course he Immediately presented it to her,
lnd she put it in glass bottle on her desk
md kept it till the last petal had faded.
1t was near the close of the term that
Isabel invited some of her schOOlmates to
visit her one evening-among them. Andy
Truman. Now here was dilemma. His
Inclination to go was very strong. He had
heard the boys say that Mr.. GOve's house
vas full of pictures, books and foreign
while to crown all, there was
inc stereOscOpe, by means of which one
night be introduced to all the wonders OF
he world. Of course it would be very de-
ightful to see all these things, nor was
Andy insenSible to the advantages of good
1
way down in his heart he was moved with
desire to see Isabel i'm her own home.
5ut. per contra, there was that everlasting
Wedding suit, which he had sometimes felt
empted to wish had gone to the bottom OF
he ocean with Uncle Eben that stormy
light so many years ago. He had this,
nd he had no other which would be in
ny wise admissible, nor would the finan-
ial condition of Truman & Son warrant
he purchase of another at this juncture.
borrower he had refrained from telling his
mother the trials he had endured from this
ource, from desire to spare her pain, and
lie would not spoil it all by consulting her
low. No. he must decide the matter for
himself. And here you see that nOtwith-
tanding the downtrOdden condition OF
he female sex, it finds now and then a
for had Andy been
young woman, his dilemma would
nave been no dilemma at all: he would
lave sent for some fashion magazine and
With his own def fingers have remodeled
his garments in the latest Paris stvlei
But being onlya poor, helpless, bungling
nale creature, no such alternative was
,pen to him; he must either foregO
] ,