The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1875-01-02
THE LOVERS QUARREL.

We had n quarrel, Milliccnt ana |, ana II
was no slirht lovers 10 be easily loEg"l'ciI'
We had each said things that couid not be IN
SAID. and done things that c"uid h"l nc uh,
done and she had given me Ohck thc lcltcle !
had sent her, and the ring SHE had worn, ~
MI the little presents that every man IaVlshcs
on the woman he loves II was All over ana
we were free again; ana trlou 10 DtIIcNc II
was better So but could not.
Poor little Milliccnt, her iacrswas sad,
and her eyes were heavy when | CHANGED to
NEE, her: but she had told me that she hated
me ms much as she once loved ne, and 50
tried to look merry and unconccrned when !
passed her, and got up IA Irritation with red
haired Lucy Martin, and was seen about with
her a good deal.
Her father had made Il good deal of money
by certain shoddy transactions during the
war and she was an hclress, and very mucA
sought after, and ~ that sort of thing II /
had been the kind ot Il man who mnr!icS Tor
money | might have tried 10 win The prl|e,
perhaps, for, after a real, honest love aHhI
has come to an untmcly end, either man or
waman is Just ripe for something wrong IN
that line; aud Of all the wrongs that are,
though many have worse names, there ISM
one that is really worse jhon a Io'tI''' OF
mcrcenay marriage q,
| wasn't bad enough for that, but ~ bad
enough 10 nrt abominably with Il decent
young woman, who iancicd that meant
everything, and was pleasantly frank WIN mo
III consequence, Il report even arose mat was
Engaged 10 her ! liked %; ioi h'-" Una,
IMillicent must hear IT,
Orcour,c. when heard that she VA. en-.
carcd 10 Tom Brown, | was not pleased
You never can be sufficiently oil with Jhc old
love TO hear such good new, without ptDg
| had not sworn myself TO cclibacy but 10
seemed 10 nae IN q measure, MilIicunts uuN
Ito do so At least il would be better taste,
IIbouaht, remembering how fond she mad once
seemed to me Going into a convent, or
something of that sOrt--at least no more love
Imakinc-I had supposed would behcr course
And here she was at the opera with fan,
opera glass, boquet and attendant adorcras il
nothing had happened.
| sat in the next row with Miss Martin, and
looked into her eyes, and whispered com
pimcn,s in a terrible way, considering that
had no intention whatever. All, well, She
was Il very practical girl, not romantic. /
knew she had Il budding fancy for me, but /
don't think she would ever lei
"Conccslmcut, like a worra T. lhe bud.
Fed on the danask other cheek"
| am sure that she married the retired gro.
Ger, who proved TO be her fate, with light
heart and knew her appetite did not fail
her, for ! sat opposite her at the table one day
not long since, and she took kindly to roast
beef and gravy, and must have weighed al
least 100 pounds; but ifshc had been the most
spirituclle creature, whoever broke her heart
doubt if should have remembered any
thing but my own selfish self that night; and
all the while | was thinking, just AS we re
mcmbcred 81 atches Of some familiar song
while We were busy with something very diff
lcrcnt from music, OF the pleasant hour my i
little black. eyed love and had had together
OF the softncss of the velvet palm that layI
INTERESTINGLY in mine as we walked IN the
moonlight by the river bank the summer
before, when twenty of US stopped at the gay
hotel at-----; of the kisses she used to let
me take, and the bushes they brought tC her
chccks-and | wanted to kill Brown. He
was harmless young man, with a lisp and
an eycglass, but longed to assassnate him
This sort Of thing happened more than
once during the season, and | felt glad when
II was gone and summer sent society flying
to the woods and glens and waterfalls. / did
not seek the usual resort. | went TO wild
oul.oi.the.way place and fshed persistently.
| did some shooting too, and | formed a
with certain Mr.. Briggs, who
was fond Of sport, so he said, though never
knew HIM TO catch a fish, or shoot anything
whatever
No one knew where was knew nothing
Of the whereabouts Of any of my aCquaint-
lnccs There were few ladies at the hotels,
principally inyaids, for the springs there
about that had great medicinal reputation ;
but 1t was not the place TO tempt our set
| anticipated no unpleasant meeting with
people who would want to know why Mllly
and had parted And fancy my astonish-
mcnt and horror when. one evening, rs took
my seat at the table, | saw straight opposite
me little, pale shadow, which | recognized
as all that was left of Alillicent iIsod, Her
portly grandmother was with her, and the
way that old lady didn't look at me was more
dreadful than the most awful looks could
have been.
| made short meal that day, and resolv-
ed to leave the place by the morning train
Unfortunately, | oversight myself Wait a
ituntortpnae? II seemed so to
me for good while. missed the stage at all
events. There was NO other way of reaching
the cars, aud went ONT to spend the whole
September day with Briggs and our guns.
There was an evening stage also intended
10 90 out on that
ont IN the woods, and purpoScly lost sight
Of my companion for a litlc while, | sat =,
Town at the foot of tree and fell 10 thinking
Of Mllllccnt Poor little girl, how worn she
was--did she Bat no -no-shc had declared
hat she hated me All, there WAS truth in ,
MOorc's song
There's nothing hall sweet Ia NE 'ove's young
dream"
ana | was awakened from it, | sighed and
rested my head against the old tree. In a
moment mOre-crack, crack, crack, A ter.
rible pain through my head. \ cry OF Oh,
Lord, | thought you were SQUIRREL and I L
was dimly conscious that Briggs had hit
at last.
He had hit me.
came to myself after a weeks lever and
delirium quite blind. My eyes were un-
touched, but the nerves Had been injured.
There was something horrible in the sur
geons vague promises of improvement in
time; and all | could say to the penitent
Briggs was: Why didn't you hi vital
part while you were about IT,
1t was horrible time. don't like to
think about it even now. | was not sure
how time DaSSpi rEhprn ,yaS mn Hav N