The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1875-04-08

over the cold waters of eternity. Tn,
very first stroke of the bell aroused hel
wandering, already half-escaped senses
She even counted the strokes-one, two
three, and so on.
"Sixty, sixty-five. seventy, one, two
three. four, fUs-seUenty-fUe ~ screamed
the old woman. She raised her head ant
shoulders desperately. "Seventy-five
Heaven above me! it's John Clougf
they're tolling for. Ha, ha / told hin
to his face I'd outlive him. They said
was going to die, did they? 1 will no
die! will not die J"
The people who hnd been listening
with momentarily chilled solemn hearts tC
the bell which tolled for the departing SOU
of old John Clough had returned to Their
buying and selling, their gossiping and
dressing, their marrying and giving in
marriage, and their poor little tricks to
| keep the breath of life within their bodies
say they had returned to all this just the
| same, for il had been half an hour-nay,
had it not struck three-quarters ?-since
the bell ceased tolling for old John Clough.
What would you have? Must one think
about dead people forever? Must-Hark!
what's that?
The great deep bell had begun to toll
again. People ceased their poor little
tricks, and listened again with solemn
hearts. One, two, three. chanted the
great bell-thirty, forty, sixty.
8 1t is an old person-real old" said the
younger ones.
Sixty-on sixty-four, sixty-five, serenity,
called the deep-mouthed bell.
Miss Patience Hopkins struck her hands
together.
Heaven help us, it's widow Heather
elough I" she exclaimed. "Them two old
creeturs has gone into t'other world side
an side. God be nerciful to US all, miser-
able sinners! | wonder if they'll ever
squabble any where they're gone? It's
wicked to question Gods mercy. but it
does appear as if heaven was hardly big
enough to hold them two both at once"
And so it was. These two who had
hated each other and hurt each other and
abused each other forty years, had passed
over together, quietly enough at last, to
the shore whence the serene "pilgrim of
eternity" looking backward, sees that
all the strifes, worryings and torments of
this world are inexpressibly meas, small
and pitiful.
Ay! quietly, quietly enough, God
knowsi
They died within the same hour; they
were buried in the same graveyard; and
her funeral procession went in through
the gate as his came out.
81 bequeath all my earthly possessions
TO my granddaughter, Mariana ClOugh," :"
said the old mans will. 81 also bequeath
to her, as sacred legacy, my Heatherton
Park lawsuit. request her to fight for
that property till she 6ies or gains posses
sion of it. lfshe gives it up while she is
alive, hope she may die in the aims
house."
"Land o. libertyl" said Miss Patience.
"To think how two poor worms o. the
dust can hate each other even with one
foot in the gravel"
Iwonderwhat'llb become ofthe Bone
now?" said the gossips.
Mariana bought some black dresses, and
staid at home in the old Clough house.
She was handsome, clear-headed, high
spirited young woman of three-and-twen-
ty. Meanti ne the opposing lawyer ad-
vertised for the legal heirs of the late
Babylonia HeatherclOugh.
i have told you of the hate of two old
people. 1t is left me now to speak of the
love of two young people.
1t was late in November. The two old
enemies had been sleeping quietly in their
graves for three months. The lawyer had
at length found an heir to the estates of
Babylonia Heatherclough. The said heir
was nephew of the deceased lady. His
mother had been her youngest sister. His
father had been a cousin of the deceased
lady's husband, and his name was Heath
erclough too. He was coming in person
to take possession, he wrote. The news
had been formally announced TO Mariana.
Mariana took it quietly enough. In the
afternoon-the pale November afternoon
she walked out to the tiny lake in the mid
die of the Bone" She had not been
there before since the time her grandfather
and Dame Heatherclough had quarreled
so furiously. Ii was chilly, and Mariana
forgot she was in mourning so far as to
wrap a scarlet shawl about her firm,
plump shoulders. She was always for
getting the most important matters in
life-like the improperly of putting on a
scarlet shawl over mourning, for instance.
She was melancholy on the whole. She
really did not know whether she meant to
fight for her rights or not. She carried in
her hand newspaper, in which she had
just been reading soul-discouraging story
iron workers in Wales That made her
blue too. 1t did not sound much like the
universal progress of all humanity, really.
This cynical young lady sage was so
wrapped in her contemplation of the de-
praVity of the human species that she did
not at all notice the tall specimen of the
masculine human species which was ap-
preaching her with the long, free, inde-
pendent stride of one that owned at least
half the world. The masculine specimen
saw her, though, and marked even the
brilliant scarlet shawl.
Humph! :" said he, in his odd, blunt
way. "Red light danger ahead"
He went nearer. "My enemy reads
thenl Sensible girl!r said
he gain.
Still the cynical young lady did not see
him, but went incoming on with her dole
full wisdom so far as t. remark, aloud,
g Pity that mortal man can't see outside
OF his stomach ="
fright you are, miss" answered a
deep, hearty voice at her very ear.
She looked up instantly, and saw-what?
A tall, solid, strong man, with check as
red-brown as an autumn leaf, bold black
eye, which looked at her clear and straight,
just as the man would have looked at an
eQudl anu one vi Ills OWH IcdTleSS, merry
He didn't understand carpet
knight politeness, you see. He touched
his cap, though, as she looked up.
"My name is Wolf Heatherelough,
MISS" he said.
Then two pair of eyes, one black, the
other blue, looked at each other and meas
ured each other, and one glance was just
as firm, fearless. and decided as the other
"rm civil engineer, anda civil sort of
fellow generally, hope. I've been sur
veying Northern railroads, and I've hard
ly seen lady fer ten years. Consequent
ly," continued the hearty, solid, strong
young man, "I don't know very well
how TO behave to a lady. The lawyer
tells me that you and l are deadly enc
mics, though we never heard OF each other
before in our lives. We've each had
grudge bequeathed us by will. and we are
to set to and scalp each other like Crow
and Blackfoot. 1t seems odd to thrash
fellow when he never did you any HARM"
said the solid young man, musingly.
Yes, MIR. Heatherclough."
81 don't know who's in the right of it,
I'm sure" said Wolf. "But when fel-
low has spent ten years surveying rail-
=