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

= trepldation that he rung the bell at Mr.
: GOve's front door, and followed the SER
: want through the hall to the brilliantly
: lighted parlOr, where the guests had as
sembled for the evening.
D Near the door stood Isabel. She was
e clad in dress of white tuIIe with fourteen
: tounces and a short overskirt, set off with
cherry ribbons, but to Andy she seemed
clad in the garb of the angels, and that was
$ all he knew about it.
She smiled and extended her hand.
{ Had this happened in Europe in the six
teenth century, he would have knelt and
kissed it reverently, but happening in
I America in the nineteenth century, he
gave her his with an answering smile,
: and to her remark that it was a pleasant
2 evening, replied that it was. He also vol
unteered the information that the moon
: had risen and the wind was west. He
then retired to corner and amused him
self watching the arrival of the guests,
many of whom were unknown to him
even by sight. His young hostess took
care, however, that he should not remain
! in his corner too long, and by little unOb-
trusive, and apparently unprecedented,
| attentions, kept him, on the one hand.
from feeling neglected, and on the other,
from feeling that she considered him i'm
danger of being neglected. In short, by
delicate tact, taught her by her own kind
heart, she managed to put him quite at his
t, ease. Two or three times in the course of
the evening he heard the word =. There's
Swallow-tail," ;" from some of the students,
accompanied by a smile and a quizzical
glance in his direction, and once he heard
the response from young girl,
Where in the world did Belle pick him
up?''
This wac foIlo,Uad b1 n oroo1 1ooI 90
whispering and giggling, of which he
knew he was the subject but he was dis
Greet enough to keep his knowledge to
himself.
By-and-by Isabel was asked to sing. He
was at the stereoscope, and was at that
moment attentively regarding the sphinx,
at least he seemed to be; but it must have
been with one eye only, for he saw Isabel
go to the piano and heard her say:
Il must light that burner first''
"Letme light it for you," said Philip
Owen. He touched the gas with burn
ing match, and then in the confusion or
through carelessness, dropped the match.
| He did not see that it lodged among the
rutfies of Isabel's dress. But ANDY saw
it, and crossed the room with flying leap
little Susy Reid said he jumped over her
! head. tie scattered like a flock OF white
doves the girls who had gathered about
the piano, and on his passage he pulled
| OF his coat, none too soon, for, rapid as
his movements had been, by the time he
reached Isabel the flames from her light
! gOSSamer dress were streaming over her |
head and had caught the lace curtain be- |
hind her. He wrapped his coat around |
her and fought for her life.
For few moments there was a scene of |
wild cOmmOdon. Some of the guests, as |
| 10. in al, @-,:II
screamed, some pulled down the curtain |
and trampled it under foot. Others made a |
rush at the vases and threw the water |
about indiscriminately, and one excited |
young person ran out into the street cry
ing fire. In the midst of it all. Mr.. and |
Mrs. Cove came into the room. and were,
as you may suppose, a good deal dismaved |
at the sad plight of their daughter. but when |
Andy, having smothered the flames, had |
laid her on the sofa, they were relieved of
their worst fears, for although smoky. be-
grimed, nearly senseless and terribly
frightened, Isabel was still alive.
When she began to recover her faculties,
she did not ask in a bewildered way.
Where am |? What has happenedr'
and then fixing her lonely eyes on Andy.
eXclaim, "Behold my deliverer!" which,
according to the story papers, would have
been the proper thing to do, but she
stretched out her little burned hands.
saying, so papa, mamma - and began to
cry.
They stood soothing her as if she had
been six instead of sixteen. while Andy |
stood leaning anXiously over the back of
the sofa, looking like the hero of volun-
teer fire company. When Isabel'S ner-
vous fit had passed away, and it was fOuI.l
that she was not seriously injured, the
haaran 10 |
was quietly Withdrawing with them, but
Isabel said
Don't go, Mr.. Truman. Papa, don't
let him gO.''
"Stay at least till we have thanked you
for this great service, this brave deed,'
said MIR. Cove, holding out his hand.
Andy's arms were folded over his chest:
he opened them then, and for the first
time it was seen that both hands and arms
were fearfully burned.
so how dreadful Andyou were going
to leave us without letting us know" said
Isabel, and Mr.. and Mrs. Cove insisted that
he should not go home that night; but
when Andy affirmed that he must, they
sent him home in their carriage and en-
gagged their physician TO attend him.
One evening, a day or two after the
party, as Mrs. Truman was in the yard
her strange gentleman, a rather portly,
middle-aged gentleman, dressed in the
finest broadclOth, with shiny hat on his
head and shiny boots on his feet. He car
ried in his hand an ebony cane with a gold
head, PLAN gold studs fastened his immacu-
late shirt-bosom, and gold chain PLAYED
hide-and-seek between his coat-collar and
his satin vest. There was nothing sham.
nothing tawdry, nothing flashy about this
gentleman; all was rich, harmonious, I'M
Obrusive and eminently respectable.
Raising his shiny beaver slightly, he
said
"Good.evening, madam. If l have not
been misinfOrmed, Mrs. Truman resides
here? 20
''She does, sir. l am Mrs. Truman"
said she.
"Ah, happy to see you, Mrs. Truman.
on have son, named Andrew, | be-
lieve? Don't let me disturb you,n for Mrs.
Truman had risen from her milking-stool
- 1t is he l came to see.''
You want him to help you about your
haying or something, | s'pOse. and he
would be glad to; he was calculating to get ,
work come vacation, to kind o. help him
self along, but the poor boy has met with !
dreadful accident, if you can call it an ac-
cident when he done it o. purpose.
gu HdluI H6dIu ABOUT IL. nave We!
He was at party one night at Mr.. Gove's, L
the member of Congress, Mrs. Truman ]
bridled a little when she said this and
his daughter was sOt all afire, and my son
run and put her out. He spilled his best i
coat and got burnt awful but l couldn't ;
help feeling kind o. proud of him, after {
ALL
"And with reason, madam. 1t was
noble thing TO do. No one appreciates that ,
more highly than do, for L am the father
of the young lady whose life he saved" I
''You be, sir!'' interjected Mrs. Truman.
"And | have come to visit him, and
make some little acknowledgment of the
service he rendered u.s." continued Mr..
Cove.
"Walk in, do. My son will be dreadful I
pleased to see you, Mr.. Cove" said Mrs. !
Truman. leading the way to the house, {
while the COW looked round in astonish-
ment to see what it all meant; and per- I
ceiving no adequate reason for this untime-
ly desertiOn, Indignantly kicked over the
Mercy Sakes." said Mrs. Truman to
borcolf -, a. tba lyitoba, rt-bop ha !