Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-11-11
MABEL'S RIVAL.

Hush up,''
Cant do it, old fellow; anything to
obiige you but that. Must tell somebody,
or III burst"
"Well, what about her%'
''What about heri
Why man. she is mine own.
And as.rich in having such jewel
A. twenty seas If all their sands We're pearl
Their water nectar, and the rocks pure gold"
40 dear!'
"Sorry you don't like Shakespeare.
s!And they no sooner looked but they loved: no
sooner loved but they sighed: sooner sighed
but they asked one another the reason; no soon
er knew the reason bat they sought the remedy.
and in these des rees have they made pair Of
stairs to marriage.
And now, my sweetly sympathetic friend,
you know all about it."
"What fool you are, Harryw
81 say, Joe, if there is any medal
awarded for politeness at that university
of yours, you'll be sure to get it. She's
lust the sweetest, dearest"
off there's any more OF that TO come,
would you mind retiring to your own
room?"
"Joe, you're beast. You never saw
such darling little"
"What will you take to clear out?"
Il don't know. Will you give me a
lock of your hair if I'll gos"
If you open your mouth again I'll
pitch you out of the Window and Joe
got up from his chair with an impatient
Jerk, and look of positive annoyance
came over his ugly but good-natured
countenance.
Don't be cross, Joe; didn't mean to
bother you, old fellow said Harry, peni-
tenty "I'll go now;" and the handsome
l. r-n Iol ,A,,.o
be had been lying, and made his way
downstairs to his own room.
Joe crossed over to the mantel piece
when he was gone, and leaning his elbow
against it, gazed long and earnestly at the
sweet face of picture that hung there.
Sweet little Mabel, should | have
made such a fool Of myself If you had
loved me? What weary world this Is,
my poor little girl You are far away
in the country, with your soft eyes dim
with tears and your warm little heart
worn with fretting for that handsome
scamp | have Just sent downstairs; and
/, who know your tender little secret, and
would have shielded you from all sorrow
at the sacrifice of my own life, must sit
still and listen to his raptures over another
woman. BY the way, who is shes All
that rev, and he never told me her name.
Well, what matters it Ii she be called
Smith or Jones or Montmorenci? You
will suffer all the same, my gentle little
darling, and / cannot help you"
Joe turned modify away and sat down
4 at his desk, and, drawing toward him
ponderous-looking volume, proceeded to
immerse himself in the difficult mathe-
NAUTICAL problems that Harry's rapture
had interrupted. But the chain Of thought
haI hrnkan (falanlna aI N
have lost all power to engross his atten-
ton, and differentials and infinitesimals
had suddenly grown as uninteresting and
unimportant as they are small.
After half an hour he gave ii up, and,
lighting cigar, let his thoughts wander
whittier they would. Finally they lit
upon Harry. :" / wonder if i was I'M
kind to the boy tonight" he asked
himself 81 was busy, and he irritated
me, and he did make such fool of him
self Then all the time he was raving so
absurdly Mabel's eyes seemed TO be look
ing down SO sorrowfully. Suppose /
imagined il, but it made me rude to him,
and | fancy | managed TO hurt his feel
ings. l think I'll go down to his room
and see what he is about. After all, i
am fond Of the youngster, though he does
make such nuisance of himself"
Joe knocked twice at Harry's door, and
then, receiving no answer, opened IL and
entered the room. The gas was burning
dimly, and there were no signs of occupa-
ton. "Gone out, / suppose. Does the
idiot leave all his letters open for the in
spection Of his landladyy'' said Joe to
himself, as he saw an open note and a
photograph lying on the bureau. "Won-
der If this is the fair object of his adora-
tiony' and Joe turned up the gas and
proceeded to examine the imperial type.
Suddenly he started, and the bushy eye
brows contracted fiercely above the deep
set eyes. With a steady, searching look
he examined every feature of the express
i've face before him, and then turned the
picture about in search Of a name. There
it was, just as he had expected 10 find it.
IN the firm, flowing characters which he
knew 80 perfectly well -" Sincerely yours,
Alice Remson.
Good Godi' muttered Joe, "what
does that woman know about sincerity"