The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1874-09-25
TIE LOVERS QUARREL.

We had a quarrel, Millicent and /,
and it WAS 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 undone,
and she had given me back the letters I
had sent her, and the ring that she had
worn, and all these little presents that
every man lavishes on the woman ne
loves. 1t was all over and we were free
again !; and l tried to believe it was
better SO, but could not.
Poor little Millicent, her face was
sad, and her eyes very heavy when 1
Glanced TO meet her; but she had told
me that she hated me as much as she
once loved me-, and SO l tried to look
merry and unconcerned as I passed her,
and got up a Irritation with red-haired
Lucy Martin, and was seen about with
her a good deal.
Her father had made a great deal of
money by certain shoddy transactions
during the war, and she was an heiress.
aud very much sought after, and all
that sort of thing. If 1 had been the
kind of a man who marries for money,
[ might have tried to win the prize,
perhaps, for, after a real, honest love
affair has come TO an untimely end,
either man or woman is Just ripe for
something wrong in that line; and of
all the wrongs that are, though many
have worse names, there isn't one that
is really worse than q lovelesss or mer-
cenary marriage.
l wasn't bad enough for that, but I
was bad enough to firt abominably
with a decent young woman, who fan
cled that l meant everything, and was
pleasantly frank with me in conse-
quence, and a report even arose that 1
was engaged to her. i liked it; for l
knew that Millicent must hear it.
OF course, when | l heard that she was
engaged to Tom Brown, / was not
pleased. You never can be sufficiently
Off with the old love to hear such good
news without q pang. / had not sworn
myself to celibacy, but it seemed to me
in a measure, Millicent's duty to do so.
At least it would be better taste. /
thought, remembering how fond she
had once seemed to me. Going into a
convent, or something of that sort-at
least no more love-making-I had sup
posed would be her course. And here
she was at the opera with fan, opera
glass, bouquet and attendant adorer as
if nothing had happened.
[ sat in the next row with Miss Mar
tin, and L looked into her eyes, and
whispered compliments in a terrible
way, considering that 1 had no inten-
tons whatever. All, we'll she was n
very practical girl, not romantic. l
knew she had a budding fancy for me-,
but l don't think she would ever let
"Concealment, like a worm j. the bud,
Feed on the damask of her cheek"
/ am sure that she married the re-
tired grocer. who proved to be her fate,
with a light heart /; and l knew her APP
petite did not fail her, for l sat opposite
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, / doubt if 1 should have re-
membered anything but my W selfish
self that night and all the while ! was
thinking, Observation-Disclosures
of some familiar song while we were
busy with something very different
from music, OF the pleasant hour my
little black-eyed love and l had had
together-of the softness Of the velvet
palm that lay INCREASINGLY III mine a