The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1874-06-18

all her longings for the bright and beauti-
1 ful, and be altogether resigned, when see
ing nothing but the bare, bleak sketch of
/ poverty before her.
/ But Joe was not one long given TO re-
/ pining. a passing regret, little bitter
outcry against the hard necessities of life,
and she Was ready 10 take up her burden
again. and go cheerfuliy on her way.
"Well." she reclaimed. after a moments
| thoughtful silence, ''time's up, and must
be on my way to the store. I'm pretty
sure that we can get through the winter,
mother, and if we do we are all right"
! Bending down she gave her mother a
comforting kiss, that brought the words,
''GOd bless you, child. How could live
without yOu?''
/ An instant later, and Joe was in the
street. Putting her hand into her pocket
| for her gloves, she encountered the note
which she had placed there some time be-
fore.
'Bless me. AS true as you live, Joe
Stillman, you had forgotten all about it."
A little pink blush tinged her cheek as
she fingered moment over the seal, but it
crept higher and higher as she read, un-
I til her whole face was suffused with hap
/ py glow, and happy eyes were shining
! through mist of unshed tears. Had any
| inquisitive passer-by looked closely at the
/ plainly-dressed young lady who was read
/ ing note in the shadow of McLean's
awning, he might have seen in that irradi-
ated face problem not at all difficult of
solution. Joe's life suddenly burst into
bloom; there wasn't anything bleak or
bare about it now, and all the way down
/ the dingy street, with one hand clasping
/ the precious miSsive. Joe walked as one in
dream. Her thoughts ran something in
/ this wise:
''Oh, Joe Stillman, ain'tyou happy girl?
/ Who would ever have thought that, plain
as you are, you would have won the love
of such man as John Dolway? This is
/ what he meant when we parted at West
over last month in such hurry, and | had
| to come home to take care of mother. He
/ said he should write me and tell me about
| his plans, and SO it seems | was one of
them. / didn't dream of such thing
/ then, and how heavy hearted | was
because L thought he was only my
j friend, and this is what has come of
three weeks of summer sunshine at
| WcstOver. But" A sudden thought
/ struck Joe , that for moment made her
| turn pale. Il don't believe he knows
that | am shop-girl, and that we are so
poor. | was so glad to forget all about
work that don't believe ever mentioned
| it, and unless Aunt Molly did, he don't
! know. Never mind, I'll write him all
about it before | give him his answer; but
/ he is so noble | don't believe it will make
bit of difference. Anyhow, if it does,
| I'm well rid of him for if he can't love me
when | work, he can't love me at all.
This last thought did not trouble Joe
much, and all day she was as light-hearted
as bird. That night, long after the other
.-.,I i, 1n! l,af.
SweI to Dolway. From the length OF time
it took, from the number of quires of paper
that were spoiled, and the grave. pre-Occu-
pied face of the writer. the lOoker-on might
have been forgiven the suppOsition that
weighty matters of state were under con-
/ sideratiOn. And the suppOsition would
not have been far from right; for the heart
{ IS wOman's kingdom. and is it not mat
/ ter of weighty consideration when she sur
renders it into anOther's keeping? The
next morning the white-winged messenger
was sent Oh its way, and Joe, hugging her
secret close, set to work with a will to
keep up the spirits and the fortunes of the
Stillman family.
1t was no easy task to prepare trOus-
seau out of the limited allowance; but Joe
worked with nimble fingers far into the
night. and made up for scant quantity by
superior neatness and taste. Only those
who have been placed in similar positions
can tell how much can be made out of al
most nothing, with the addition of little
patience and ingenuity. Old dresses tn It
had been dispatched to the garret as be-
yond all presentability once more saw the
/ light of day, TO be. by some sort of legcr-
demain, suddenly developed into marvels
of prettiness: and one old silk that Ade-
laide had worn for 9 secOnd-best" for
three winters was spOnged, pressed and
recOnverted by Miss Stillman and Joe into
a first-beSt for Laura, and out of eight
really handsome dresses that composed
Laura's wardrobe, only two were new.
Laura told Ralph of this one day when he
was inspecting the array, with something
of pride in her voice But when Ralph
asked who had been the maker, she was
obliged to confess to simple superintend-
ence. THAT is" she explained, with a
laugh, Il looked on while mother and Joe
worked. Joe says engaged people don't
amount to anything, anyway"
Which assertion Ralph, of course, dis
puted.
At last everything was ready, and Laura,
arraved in the coveted travelling dress. felt
at ease about the legality of the marriage.
A wedding is always a solemn thing, let
there be ever so much happiness in it, and
no one noticed except the mother how eX-
tremely pale and weary-eyed Joe was
looking. And even the anxious mother
only saw Overwork in the pale face and
diStrait manner. Not one among them
guessed the true reason why Joe burst
into tears as the ceremony was being said,
nor why, when it was all over, she rushed
away without a word ofcongratulatiOn for
bride or groom. Poor Joe crep off to her
room to stay until the good-byes were
said, and then she heard Laura and
Ralph asking for her. She went down to
be kissed by both, and told to rest a
whole month, for she was looking shock
ingly.
"When come back, Joe, shall expect
to find you your old rosy SELF" were Lau-
ra's parting words.
But somehow Joe did not grow back
into her old self again. Even when she
had put away all hope, and knew that
henceforth John DOlway must be to her as
enc dead, she did not regain her old light
heartedness. Instead of her former frank
credulity, which led her TO believe in
every ones honesty, came doubt and dis
trust of even those whom she loved. 1t
came at last to be a subject of remark
among her sisters that Joe was a skeptic.
But it was in this alone that she was
changed; in all else, in her kindness, pa
tience and industry, she was still the old
Joe, and though they all marveled. none
dared to ask what had brought about the
change. JOe's WestOver experience had
never been mentioned by her, and foI
this reason no one knew of John Dolway
nor of the letter that had never been an
swered.
The truth is, John Dolway was a COW.
ard. He had become infatuated with Joe'S
freshness and intelligence, but the feel
ing that he dignitied by the name of pride
would not admit of his marrying a shop
girl, and so. somewhat regretfHlly, to dc
him Justice, he let the letter remain unan
swered, while all the beauty died out o
JOe's life.
With many privations the winter wor,
away, Joe and Adelaide working late anC
; early, and the mother and Annie using al
their ingenuity to "make both ends meet.
- But the spring brought more work. Mrs
Stillman took a school again, and having
reinstated Hallelujah, Annie found time Il
earn quite little sum by stitching for ;
ladies' furnishing house. By June tn
Stillman fortunes were looking up littl'