The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1875-07-22
Romance of a Poor Girl.
BY DOM PIATT.

Romance Of a Poor Girl.
BY DOM PIATT.
We rode over from Washington
With the heroine. She is q lovely,
facinating woman, with quiet force
in her that is covered by charming
mOdesty, ike an iron hand hid under
a silk velvet glove.
She - nothing but q clerk under
the Government, and scarcely worth
reading about.
After all, her story Is interesting, for
il illustrates the social life o. our Ms
tioul Capital.
To this city came, in carriage, q
wealthy gentleman, accompanied BY
his family. We call him BallioD, be-
cause his name was not BalliOn, but
something else. He had retired from
business on an immense fortune. all
safely Invested in North Pacific, Erie,
and other 1irst-class securities. After
doing Europe for three years he came
10 Washington that his eldest, Maud
we say Maud, for that Is 4 beautiful
name aud reminds Us of one who
came into the garden, as our heroine
came 70 Washington. Wr. B1lliOn
had other children, but he wished his
eldest daughter to see our national
capital, that she might compare it to
those Of Europe. We felt sorry for
the capitals Of Europe when We heard
that. Taking a handsome, superbly
furnished house, he aud his excellent
lady entertained in = way to win the
hearts-we should say stOmachs, but
it means the same thing-of Wash
iugt0n.
Maud was q belle. A lovely girl,
with such an author of her being,
reigned q queen, and had bouquets
and offers of marriage every night.
Among the crowd of suitOrs one
found favor. He wss rather a hand
some gentleman, and considered
rising man. The end of the season
found the two engaged.
One fine sum mer day Jay Cook &
Co. failed. Old Bullion was not very
remote, aud one morning he walked
up to find himself knocked over.
Then came the old, old struggle,
with the old result OF bad going to
worse, and in this case aggravated by
the sudden death of the victim. Mr..
Bullion succumbed to the crash of '73
and the apoplexy. Maud found her
self with helpless mother, four help
less younger sisters and brothers, with
nothing but 6 life insurance policy
settled on her mother, amounting to
just S., 900. She collected this money,
put it in bank to her mothers ac-
count, wrote her future husband a sad
letter releasing him from his engage
ment, and then took the train for
Washington II secure place under
the Government.
Washington looked at through the
hay window of an elegant mansion Is
not the same city looked at through
the dingy panes of q cheap boarding
house. Poor Maud found the atmOs-
phere of our city strangely chilled.
The members OF the Cabinet and the
Senators, once her admirers, anxious
to Oblige, were difficult of access, and
when seen were too sympathetic and
polite. Sines she secured places so
easily for her dependents, she found
they had become strangely crowded.
Her trials, heartbreakiEgs and dis
would fill a volume.
We have not the space to tell now
her little sum of money disappeared
until she dare not even ride in the
cars. But her high courage, her in-
will kept her up and at
work. One hope disappeared in dis
appointment only to give place to an
other. From time to time she re-
ceived loving letters from her pro-
posed and accepted husband.
One morning she called, according
to appointment, on Senator Began
he will be recognized by oil under
that nSme-lnd was shown into the
parlor. Being told that the Senator
would be down soon, Miss Maud seat
ed herself in a chair.
Next to waiting in the ante-cham-
Der of q Cabinet magnate, where a
crowd of stranded humanity sit in
gloomy silence with eyes fixed on the
door that covers official greatness, the
dreariest business is to wait In the
overdone parlOr OF wealthy Senator
Maud gave twenty minutes to an in
terview of the furniture-then she
studied for twenty minutes her slen-
dor form, white face aud faded dress,
in the huge mirror that seemed to
duplicate the room. Then she went
the Senat IRIS picture gallery,
which consisted of a photograph al
bum. Afterwsrd she read the costly
books scattered over the table. Sem
ator Began being a christian states
man, the literature was OF pious
sort and very depressing.
An hour went and no Senator ap-
peared, and at last Maud softly
opened the door that led into the con-
that she might breathe the
scent OF rare flowers with their taste
of Paradise. Whilst standing thus,
drawing in great breaths, she heard
voices in earnest conversation and
was about closing the door and her
ears when she caught the sound OF
her own name. It was very improper
for Miss Maud to listen, but nine hum
dred and ninety-nine out of q thou
sand would be guilty Of like impro-
priety under like circumstances.
SAID sweet voice that Maud reeog-
nized as that of Miss Began:
"You never loved till now ?n
"Never," responded a bass voice
that made Maud start, for it was the
voice of her intended.
"And that affair of yours with Maud
Bullion ?D
Nothing, I assure you, but a fiirta-
tion," continued the bass. 80 EN-
ma, don't trifie with the earnest af-
fection my heart feels % And then
came q succession of explosive sounds
so Indicative of close quarters. Maud
threw wide the door and strobe into
the conservatory. There was an ugly
look in her large brown eyes, and
some confusion on the part Of the two
people so suddenly called upon to ex-
tricate themselves.
''I beg your pardon" cried Maui,
in low measured tone, as IL she were
reading somebody's death sentence,
'but I gathered from what | heard
that you were about engaging your.
selves. like it. l never saw two
people so fitted for each other. You
need an engagement ring. Let me
give you one," and she drew from
her slender finger a diamond. "Fate
kept me from pswning this for bread
that it might serve 50 grave pur-
pose. 1t viii bind admirably a very
heart to a very selfish one.
Good morning"
And she was gone from the as.
tOnIshed gaze of the disturbed lovers. |
They were grave words she uttered, |
but they did not keep her from cry
ing like child on her reaching her
apartment, where it seemed |
as if the world, once so fair and |
bright, had deserted her. But the |
world had nos. The next morning |
the Christian statesman, Senator Bo-
gan himself, called in his carriage and |
carried Maud to the-Well, we will |
say the State Department, for it was
not State Department-where she
was duly installed as a translator and
clerk at 81, 200 year, where she Is
yet.
To this the venerable Began was
moved solely by an Ishmaeiitish Bo-
hemian of the press, who, taking q
sudden interest in Maud, said "LOOk
here, Began it's got to be DONE" aud
it was.
This little romance, that created
some stir at the time, and is here 50
hastily told, would serve a good pur-
pose in the hands of some playwright
A.N