Daily Kennebec journal., 1875-07-01
NO. 155.
Calls and Skftehes.
OLD FLAMES.

| AZ wv 81 IL Is. lJtitl
| wish l never forgot anything
| "No, no . for mercys sake don't wish
that. child. Don't wish you never forgot
anything. for then you'd always have to
remember all the disagreeable things that
lieve me, it's vastly better as it is. If we
have to carry down to our graves the viv-
or pain we ever suffered of all the times
we've been snubbed by people, of all the
hateful things folks have said to US and
about us. and above all of every time in
our lives when we've made fools of our
selves. You will find that it much to be
| thankful for if you can forget the occa-
sions on which you've made a fool of
yourself, when you come to be an old
maid like your aunt Lptitia."
Alice Kildare laughed.
mot much like being an old maid. ii
is, seventeen, and already engaged six
months ?"
"Well, | was engaged at sixteen, and
have been engaged three times in my
life, and yet here | am. an old maid in
eyeglasses. and intend to die the same,
please God. Think now, what a budget
of heart breaking recollections I'd be
obliged to carry about with me the rest Of
my life if | had to remember it all. Don't
wish you never forgot anything, Alice.
On the contrary, thank heaven we do for
get things
Again Alice Kildare laughed. 'Sue
and are going to have our fortunes told,
Aunt LTtie. Go with us, venerable
mother, and see that it's done right"
81 can tell yours without looking into
| globe of mesmerized water. You'll be an
old maid, mark the prediction. You have
the elements of an old maid in your soul
one sort of old maid, that is.
"What are the elements OF an old
maid Aunt Lat ?"
"Oh of your sort of old maid-a high
spirit, bright mind, a sharp tongue. and
an uncomfortable love OF flirt ing. You'll
be the sort of old maid that takes to
woman's rights and things-not the sort
that takes to cats and religion. Once
more mark the prophecy, Alice Esmerel-
da Kildare "
For the third time Alice laughed, her
| bright, spunky, ringing laugh, and then
clapped on her gypsy hat and went with
her friend Sue to see Madame Min
chausk, the great clairyoyant sibyl. who
| could miraculously see the shadow of COM
| ing events in a globe of mesmerized water
at so much head.
| Alice was betrothcd to sim hand
some, long haired college student, who
wrote poetry and had an Eolian harp in
one window and a rose geranium in the
other, and meant TO go into the literary
! line as soon as he was done with college
He was very much in love, and Alice was
oh dreadfully in love, but that didn't
at all prevent this truthful young lady
from flirting with half a dozen other young
men all at once. and telling no end OF
| white lies about her engagement. She
was exceedingly attractive, but not so
pretty rs she was bright, piquant and
| spirited.
| At this very time, when she lay awake
| nights thinking of her betrothed, and
never went to bed without tenderly kiss
ing his photographs: at this time she was
flirting desperately with Tom Creighton.
her lovers classmate. rich mans son,
who was AT home on three months leave
of absence which had been recommend
ed by the college faculty. Worst of
all, she had allowed Tom Creighton. in
the presence of Il third person, to tell her
a slanderous story about her lover, one
which she knew must be false; and there
she sat and listened without the faintest
attempt to fight for her lovers good name,
just for tear Tom Creighton would think
she was engaged if she said anything.
don't defend her, mind you think such
conduct was simply scandalous. and such
young lady didn't deserve to have any
body fall in love with her; no, not if she
lived to be thousand years old.
"Well, what does the sibyl say" asked
Aunt LHtie.
"She S humbug" said Alice. sayagely.
I'm sorry | went. It's real silly and
wrong TO encourage such wicked impos-
ture besides"
This time Sue laughed. "The sibyl
didn't say Alice was to be married, and so
she thinks the sibyl is humbug," said
Sue. 1--WE went into darkened room,
room, and IN one corner there sat a little
ghostly, waxy looking old woman, with
great, hollow black eyes. She had glass
globe OF water before her on a little stand.
The water had been magnetized, she said.
and She, being clairvoyant, was able, by
her second sight, to see in the water beau
tiful pictures and visions Of events to come.
Then she took Alice's hand and pressed it
against her forehead, and began to wink
and roll up her great, hollow ewes in an
o"Aui IL was lcdl SCdEtN AUNT
Late. By-and-by she bobbed her head
about and mumbled something, and
| still; with her eyes rolled back and half
shut, she began looking into the globe of
magnetized water. Then presently she
opened her ghostly looking lips, and in "A
sort Of singson said: My child see
pictures of your future spread out here
before my inward eye like moving pan
Drama. | see lovers, you will have plenty
of lovers, but see no picture of we'd
ding. Strange! There is no wedding
ring in The circle Mt the bottom of the
globe. How is this, my chid2 see one
dim picture. a long way of in the future,
it must be, because it is SO dim. and ia it
you stand up surrounded by people--ah
let me see, they are children around you,
and you are greatly changed, taller, paler,
and thinner, but there is no wedding.
The water is not clear to-day; you must
come again. Mercy what is this? Here
is a great crowd. they are making noise,
and looking at two men--young lady, the
two men are fighting, and Heaven the