The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1875-07-22

that we were frying doughnuts in Il hot
kitchen. What mid-summer's dream
| am afraid have a vulgar mind.
October T. How little | guessed when
| wrote such foolish words what was
going to happen. Papa is dead. 1t was
the 18th Of September | can't write
about it yet. Oh, papa
"Christmas again - such a sad day
We three have been sitting over the reg
lister all the afternoon, and making oul
plans. Papa's life insurance is all we
have-to live on now Tom must give up
being doctor, and take a clerks place
MIR. Squlres has found one for him He
is very brave, and does not say one word
to show how disappointed he is; but we
all know. | have written to ask Mrs
Morris to find me a place to teach chill
dren. Alice says | am too young. bat |
feel old, and if the children are not too
big l think | can manage. Anything is
better than letting Alice work so hard
If no place opens as teacher, | shall try
Tor something else, for do something
must
''January IL. Nothing yet, and dear,
dear Alice has been i'll for three weeks
She is little better, or | don't know
what | should do.
March l8 | have heard of i place in
a shop"
Here the writing broke OFF abruptly
John hastily turned over the remaining
pages, Not another word, except. in
pencil near the end, '.Black ribbon, 81
cents; boy at crossing, ) cents oranges
tor Alice, cents; ? and underneath a
single line: 'Patience isn't always pleas
ant, but she leads to pleasant things"
''Here's a pretty business" p" he solilo-
quized, slowing the little book in his
breast pocket As well search for 4
needle in a hay stack as for this girl out
of all New York city. Why can't women
write their names and addresses in full
while they are about it ~
He took up q newspaper, but the let
ters danced before his eyes, and before
long he had pulled the green book out
again and was re-rcading the Journal An
odd excitement stirred his pulses For a
good many years-in fact, since the age
of nineteen, when his first love Tilted him
he had counted himself i determined
old bachelor, and having no mother or
sister, had drittcd out of the way of
Womankind and their interests. "Flos-
sy's" simple record seemed to bring him
p.tSh W tiliS lOI SOlltll NOl H. IL w lS as
if u girl had sat down by his side and
whispered her secrets in his ear Visions
of a sweet, tired face behind q counter,
OF appealing blue eyes (he was certain
they must be blue,) of Il veil of soft light
hair Chair to match the eyes swept over
him. and all his knighthood was reused.
Find her he must, and help her; but
how? Never did search seem SO un-
promisingly devoid of clue.
Found, a small green pocket-book, Y
appeared next day among the personals"
in the Herald and WAS reiterated so many
| times thereafter as to become, as is were,
a permanent feature Of the paper. A sin
gularrage for shopping seized upon John.
Every afternoon. leaving his office early
he betook himself to this amusement,
choosin2 always those shops where wo-
men were employed. No bride elect, with
a trousseau to buy, ever went into the
business more determinedly. Long stairs
daunted him not; he penetrated to third
stories, to fourth, even to those mysteri-
Gus topmost regions where '.lalies' out
fitting" is attended to. Everywhere he
questioned, ''IIave you among your en-
| ployes Il young lady named Florence? |
have accidentally come into possession OF
an article belonging to her which | am
anxious to return
But no one answered the advertisement ,
and though more than one Florence turn
ed up in the shops they were not the one,
they had no connection with the little
green pocket-buok
SO May passed, and June and July and
when August drew on, and the city be
came 4 great focus Of baking walls and
evil savOrs, our friend, tough and active
as he was, began to feel the need OF
change. ''Elossy's" words haunted him ::
The long, cool roll and the swash, the
gulls diving and plunging in the spray !"
they filled him with longing for the sea.
He resolved on a vacation; and one sui
try evening, after an hours humping on
the railway, and Il further Jolt in a cOun-
try wagon, he found himself at "Oriental
Point" on the Long Island shore a spot
which had rejoiced in the name Of Clam
Cove, until a recent rechristening at the
hands Of local spectators, whose magin-
ations, fired by the completion of the
Branch Railroad, had jumped forward to
anticipated hotels and crowd Of metro
politan ''boarders" Both hotels and
crowd We're happily non-existcnt so far.
| ttHti lIlC lNtll 'ittiCp W 1l'tHI N0Nt 9IlII
brooded over Oriental Point The red
tarm-houses scattered along the beach
sutficed for the few strangers who had
found out the place, and in one Of these
Mr. Singleton and his knapsack were re-
ceived and welcomed with Il hearty coun-
try hospitality, which, it was to he feared
would disappear with the nearer approach
Of the ubiquitous steam-Whlstle.
Two days of basking in sun and salt,
two nights of cool freshness. made him a
new man Utterly content and utterly
lazy, he felt indisposed for everything but
to lie under the shade of rocks, watch the
water come and 90, and nap and dream
1t was the fourth day of this oyster like
existence that he reused from Il DOING
reverie at the sound of voices speaking
near. Some ladies had seated themselves
lust beloW him One, dressed in mourn
ing and wrapped in q shawl, seemed an
invalid The other had dark, red-brown
hair streaming down over a cool looking
white and black dress. She was reading
aloud Lowelfs little poem, Sea Weed. =
John caught the words distinctly.
Il wonder what that means exactly, >
she said as she finished.
"lt is very graceful"
"Yes, but it's puzzling, too-a lascinat-
ing puzzle. I'm always wondering il Mr.
Lowell, when he wrote it, meant the same
thing which fancy he meant. 1t quite
leases me-"
"And.yet you like it SO much
"Oh. that's the very reason. | like to
be teased and set to thinking Alice, are
you warm enough?'
John pricked up his ears. But this girl
has dark hair.
g Thanks-yes, | am almost warm
enough. Still, you might fetch the gray
shawl, Marion, if you don't mind"
John caught a glimpse of the girls
face as she came back with the shawl, a
fresh. pleasant face, with eyes of the same
red-brown as the hair. She saw him, too,
and the sisters lowered their voices. lie
did not hear another word after that.
Two days later his landlady met him
with troubled countenance