The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-08-20
BEWARE OF THE DOG.

nv ndu Oeiahen nimsclf 10 the woods to /
mediate, and his mediiahons, though alb /
sorbing, were unpleasant.
Ii will not be necessary to record Mr.. \
Arthur Seton's soliloquy during this brief
period OF retirement from the haunts Of
men. Sundry of his muttered expressions |
saVored OF naughtiness, and might preiu- |
dice some of my lady readers against him. /
whereas there was no finer fellow at 1
Springside that summer than he. if proper /
allowance be made for those fralties which 4
ne inherited in common with the rest of
the race. On this particular occasion his
emotions Were rendered more than usually |
poignant by the fact that there was really 4
nothing under the sun he had any right to
be angry about. Possibly you and | can
recall instances of a similar nature in our
own experience.
What though Madeline Gregory had
danced three successive times with that /
young BostOnian, Halliday? Ii was no
more than any of the ladies would have
been glad TO do, had opportunity offered,
for he waltzed eXquisitely. He might be
empty-headed and a fop. What of it ?
There was undcniable genius in his light
fantastic toe, If nowhere else. And was
Halliday TO blame? BY no means. He
found partner exactly suited to his taste
"a desideratum rarely enough attained at
Springside-and there was no reason why
he should not monopOliZe her society as
much as she saw fit to let him. Moreover,
Seton must have remembered that the mo-
ment he approached and inquired whether
there was a vacancy on her list for him,
Madeline held ont blank card and babe |
him inscribe his name wherever he pleased;
further, that he availed himself of the
privilege right royalty, and seized upon
two galopS and two waltZes-all the round |
dances that remained. and one more than
the BOstOnian had taken ;,still further, that
she not only danced those four times with
him, but actually asked why he had not .
applied earlier in the evening.
Nevertheless, despite these circumStan-
ces, Arthur Seton was unhappy, and-yes,
let us confess it at Once-desperatelv jeal
Gus. Desperately Jealous is usually sy-
nOnymous with unreasonable jealousy.
II was i'm this instance. Had our hero
possessed the shadow of a claim upon Ell
ther the person, the society, or the time of
Miss Gregory, the case might have been
different. But he did not. During the
four weeks he had spent under the same
roof. he had paid her marked attentions,
all Of which she had accepted without a
suspicion of coquetry, but in a spirit oi
the utmost candOr and delicacy; and yet
this irrational creature was casting about
him i'm disgust for some external object,
the burden of his discontinue. Verify,
''ro be wroih with oze we love
Doth work like madness in the brain"
However. lest | should be accused of in
justice, | will narrate the events of the
previous evening, and allow the reader to
pronounce upon them for himself.
The proprietOrs of the Abingdon House
had made every preparation for a hop,
which was to be, in many respects, the
..ff..v ,fF
such affairs aS somewhat of a bore, Seton
had stayed in his room smoking and read
ing till the evening was almost over. and
then strOllod into the parlOrs TO witness
the Odious Halliday's enjoyment of three
successive dances with her of whose pre-
ference he had till then felt so secure.
For the first time he awole TO the fact that
that preference was all-impOrtant TO his
happiness. although the real state of his
affections did not even then impress itself
upon him. Jealousy began its sway, and
his subsequent triumph failed TO appease
his rufilcd sensibilities. For the rest of
that evening and all the next day he was
very unlike himself. Whatever he un-
dertOOk seemed TO 60 awry, and insteaC OF
feeling the least anxiety to set it right
again, he experienced a grim comfort i'm
dscharging the vials of wrath upon each
annoyance in its order. He took particu-
lar satisfaction in spending as much time
as possible in the society of Miss Gregory. /
and treating her with the most cool and
distant politeneSs. All her efforts to sOothe
or rally him were vain. His icineSs re-
fused to thaw; and she, poor thing,
though feeling that it must be in some
way "A visitation upon her, was utterly I'M
conscious of having done anything to
provoke it, and relinquished her eXer-
lions at last in sheer dspair.
A headache followed, which compelled
her to take tea alone i'm her own room;
and then Seton's jealousy gave way to re-
morse. He fought long and hard against
this new sensation, chatted with the la
dies i'm the parlOr with forced liVeliness.
till he felt like picture of death with its
stereotyped grin, and finally excused him
selfand fled to the woods. Here he had
been sitting fully an hour on the base of an
old mOss-covered log when the reader
looked in on him.
"Nes-po-yes," he muttered. "By
JOvel my resolution sways from side to
side like pendulum. viii it never set
tie i'm one place and stay there? | know
its foolish, weak, absurd, but can't help
it,
He laughed involuntarily at his own
lack OfdeciSion.
IF | only attempt to explain, it will
only make matters worse, and Heaven
knows they're bad enough already! Yet
it's very hard to have acted like a bear all
day, and given the poor girl headache,
and then not to have the manliness to own
it and apologize. Suppose | write her a
nOteg"
He deliberated again.
but if | should. what explanation can
| make2 | can't very well say that | was
angry because she danced with Halliday
she has right to dance with whom she
pleases. | can't complain that she gave
him three dances, for lput nv name down
for four the next minute: and | surely
can't quarrel with her for finding that rat
tle-pate an agreeable partner: that would
be uneXampled arrogance. Who made me
a ruler or judge over her? BY what
authority am | 10 establish my self a censor
of her movements or cempaniOnship?
Pshaw it were much better as it is ~
Having thus seriously argued himself
around TO this conclusion. he followed the
second impulse of morbid spirit, veered
about. and agitated the opposite side of the
que ton. Men under the influence of
wine will sometimes, by strong effort.
stand perfectly still. almost ceasing TO
breathe, and wait for the door TO swing in
TO its proper position before starting for IT,
Arthur Seton, intoxicated with mingled
self-coGtempt and Obstinacv, but conscious
all the ume OF what duty demanded, walt
ed few seconds till his good resolve came
again into focus, and then, dreading the
effect of longer solitude and inactivity,
sped like the wind in the direction of the
hotel. Not stopping to speak to anyone.
he dashed up stairs, locked his door. and
inditcd the following note:
Ifnpy rude conduct has contributed in auv de-
gree. my dear Miss Gregory, to the distress you
are now suffering, uust it has not raised up an
insurinOuntable barrier between US | cannot I
bear that a friendship which has been fraught
with so much pleasure to myself should be cut
of in the very bud of its existence because of q
few hours unwonted cOolness. nor can believe
that vou will treat disdainfnlly my suit for par
don and reconciliation. 1 have been victim |
all day 10 an attack of nervousness and depi es-
sicn, and, while aware OF a change IN my d.
meanor toward you, seemed 10 feel little or no 4
disposition 70 amend il. Can yoa Ind II IN your 4
heart 70 forget the wrong and forgive the wrong /
doer? ARTHUR SETON.
a