The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1875-04-08

fastened hiswristbands to the turquoise
pin in his crayat, every thing that
be wore was alike elegant and costly.
His dressing-case seemed to Mary the
most beautiful thing in creation. when
she peeped shyly into his room, and
saw the bright confusion Of bis, table,
where there here wereivory-backed brushes
and gltterings bottles of perfume.
kShe asked him once how he could be
poor, when he had 50 many beautiful
| things belonging to him.
| ! He laughed at her innocence.
| my dear Miss Baxter" he said,
q man keeps such things as those to
the last. I have money enough to
rub on a little longer, and my credi-
ftors must wait. The question is, What
am to do IN the future ? Choose a
new profession, as my friends oblig-
1ingly suggest? Rather 4 difficult
fthing g to do when a man has passed
his thirtieth birthday. Or emigrate,
and turn sheep-faarrmer Something
must be done. I came down here
sick and tired Of London life, and in
hopes that some brilliant inspiration
might seize ME in the quiet Of the
country; but I have been here a good
many weeks, and the inspiration has
not arrived. No, Mary, upon my
soul, T do not know what is to become
of mel" 81
He called her Mary" sometimes,
in a careless absent-minded way; and
the sound Of her name, SO spoken, al
ways sent q faint thrill through her
heart-a treemuiouis Kind Of sensation,
half pleasure, Half pain.
So they dawdled on until the sum-
mer was quite gone, and Captain Her:
riston 1 gave no: sign Of departure. He
had I d paid his way regularly. enough
for F,he the first first few weeks but after that
had fallen into arrear. g The miller was
an So easy-jgq}eg jsql} sort Of man, and liked
bis lodger; so when, the Captain" as
sured him that the money would be
paid early in October, at which date
he expected remittances, Mr.. Baxter
consented to wait. The: Captain re-
mained. He wasted a good deal of
his time in the meadows, fishing for
something or other, though all chance
of trout was over and he contrived
somehow to meet Mary Baxter very Of:
ten in these lonely rambles. Whether
they met by concert, no one knew but
themselves. The miller was busy all
day long, and 'Harriet's household
duties completely absorbed her time
and thoughts so Mary was tolerably
free to 60 where she pleased.
! To her those long rambles through
the lanes and meadows, and over the
grassy hills that made a kind Of am
Ephitheatre round Lowminster, we're
like wanderings in some new garden
of Eden. 1t seemed to her as If i
new and wonderful life had opened
before her footsteps since she first saw
James Herristen's ace: They had
been blighted lovers for some time
past. He. had not been able to resist
the shy glances of. those tender eyes,
which told him SO innocently that he
was beloved; and one day, when the
two were alone together in the garden,
the words which sealed Mary Baxter's
fate were spoken.
MARY" he said to her suddenly
upon my life, + believe you love
me-"
| He looked down at her blushine
face with halfamused smile upon
his own:
"such a worthless, purposeless fel
low as l am, too-undeserving any
good woman's regard" be; went on, in
his slow, listless way.
! Mary famed up Indignantly at this
| He was not worthless. He deserved
| the love Of a much better. woman
than: herself-of any lady in the land
my dearest girrl,"' he said, still
smiling down upon her as if she been
i pretty child, "what can give tc
any woman? what hope in the fu'
ture, what position in the present
/ You are the sweetest and loveliest girl
| ever knew in my life; and if l WERE
! not the man 1 am, would ask you te
marry me: tomorrow"
| IF Ithought you loved me-" shs
faltered, "that is all ID the world
| should care for."
I II do love you, Mary !; it is impos
| aible to know you as I do and moi
love you. If ever am in position
to marry, you shall be my wife; bu,
! Heaven only knows if that. day will
ever come"
It was after this that they met sc
often in the lanes and meadows. Mary
was unspeakably happy in the knowl.
edge that James Herriston loved her.
She looked forward very vaguely te
that remote future in which she might
be his wife. Itwas enough for her tc
know she was beloved by this man
who seemed to her as high above he,
as if be had been some exiled prince
They never: talked of the future
James Herriston accepted Mary.
homage with alazy kind Of satisfac
tion. He was happier than be hae
been for some time in this girls socie
tty. He felt himself, in. manner, re