The Milan exchange. (Milan, Gibson County, Tenn.) 1874-1978, 1876-05-18

fterest;-he OnRushOok his etff-y b
way of negative, and glanced askanc
at a light, fitting figure, and a certai
4 bright face which had q deal 20 40 VIZ
His DECISION. wE wwW
II The daily sight of Chris Sic, aud tn
chance of winning her love, 4ffore-tha
made up to him whatever loss he Nigh
sustain in the matter of wages. Their
was another powerful reason for Tom
obstinacy. He had reflected that if h
changed his place of work he would b
1 leaving the ground clear for Phil ItIr
wood, who was constantly coming afte
Chrissie, bringing her flowers and book
lin fact, doing all he could to win he
for himself, andTTom began to fear h,
I would succeed. So the young watch
maker plade-sup his mind to remain
4 Chrssie was his. guiding star-the onl,
Treasure belonging to Daniel Benshav
that he coveted. I When he was frs
apprenticed She was q curly haired cir
in short froeks. 1t was then that lie
lreign began, and Tom was enlisted he
! Wiling Slave. He loved her from boy
hood TO manhood and the cherished
dream of his life was to win her in re
turn. She accepted his devotion, bu
she was tantalizing and wayward, aftel
I the manner of courted bellies in town o.
country, and often left poor Tom il
doubt and despair, for She smiled very
graci0usly upon hissrival, Philip Har
wood, and seemed TO- take great pleas
IIre IN his visits. lie had certainly The
advantsge over poor Tom in point
OF worldly position, hold ng a good sit
l.uaties in a bank, with the prospect Of
fufue. adElncement. He was good.
llocld1e., always Well-dressed, and had
fessy, self-confdant manners. No won.
der the young Matchmaker grew de.
spondent. The contrast between them
was so strongly marked, and it was
natural for youHg girls to be caught by
SpaTkles on the surface Both were
suitOrs for her hand, and one of them
would be her husband Uncle Dan
knew that as well as Chrissie herself.
The old man had watched the progress
of affairs with great anxiety, and often
prayed thai his darling might me guild
ed to make the right choice. He knew
.that her LIES happiness lay between
those two, either to be made or marred.
His own verdict was decidedly in favor
of Ton Allison, who had grown up un-
der his eyes, and to whom (for many
reasons) he gave the preference over his
gentle manly rival. His strongest OBJ
jection to Philip Harwood was on the
SCORE of religion. In Dan Renshaw's S
creed, the great regulating law of man S
life was religion--not merely profession
of faith before the world, but the re-
ligion-of the inner life, influencing
motives and controlling passions. He
had,fno fear.of Toms simple, genuine
pietv, but Philip Harwoord gave him
uneasy doubts, He hadswatehed him
keenly, snll the resultswas a conviction
dat the Young man was deficient in all
Llat he held TO be essential Ing good
husband ~
Thus Chrissie and her lovers were a
Source of trOubleto, old Dan RenShaw
He turned the matter over in his miBd,
viewingit in every possible, light, but
arriving at no satisfactory decision eX-
his darling must notbe suf-
feredto threw, herself away
"A fair outside was as little to be
trusted in q aiman as it was in watch
They took the eye, those cheap,
SNOWY articles, all shine and glitter, but
Oftener they were worthless. Give me
Tom! he's like a steady-going. lever,
withza plain case; no matter if it is only
silver. the metal is feal.''
= Ii was about this time. that Tom Alli-
son met with an accident which kept
him from work for several weeks,
thereby causing him much grief and
disappointment, for he could not help
frettiIig uyslsthe thought that Phil Har-
Wood would be a gamer ~ his misfor-
tune. and would not fail to make good
his opportunity with regard to Chrissie.
Dan Rehsliaw was of the same opinion,
and somewhat anxiously watched the
pfogress of affairs in the interest of his
faSOrite. He made up his mind to take
Advantage of Toms illness
tos try and find out what
chance he had with Chrissie.
But the willful sprite seemed to have di-
vined his purpose, and made up her
mind to defeat it. She managed in the
prettieSt way to evade all his ingenious
questioning, and finally led him into the
belief that she cared most for Philip.
Even when unfavorable news came to
them that Tom was worse-news which,
of course, gained in the telling-he
could detect nothing in Chrissie's man
ner, no tell-tale change in her face.
While the worthy Matchmaker was
striving to make the best of his disap-
poiutment, chance enlightened him on
the subject of Philip Harwood's matTi-
monial views. The ice was first broken
in Conversation with Chrissie one Fri
day morning. She always devoted Fri
day morning TO setting out the window
and a general busting of the shop-work
which she would not trust to the little
servant girl The old man had just put
on his working apron; in which task he
had been laughingly helped by Chrissie,
In spite ola feeble remonstrance, she
transferred her attention to Uncle Dams
toilet, brushing his coat, and re-arrang-
ed the ponderous silk kerchief,s which
he preferred to all fashionable innova-
tons in the form of ties and cravats,
His tormentor insisted that, as he be-
D6lolgeO 10 Tie eutfis clC- ua.u Il IlS III
to make him look nice 'sjust as much as
the counter or the window and glass
c,Ises. = ~
!" There, now, you'll do, Uncle Dan,"
turning him playfuIly round ,fpr fnspec-
tion, ahd adding, with srEnery laugh,
sand you ought to feel very much oblig-
ed to neil .arE~ur 20 yrf7 y-s- - .
assBfd I, iittie torment Well, if l
was q young fellow like Tom Allison, L
| should lose my head under
she hensraef theuobiisasisns@
vChriss:e looked a little seif-conscious,
aiie blnshaa<st the unexpected turn
which he was giving the conversation.
She picked up her duster, and turned
heET ettentiCn 5eJ polishing one of the
glass cases, as she asked him if he was
--sz.ssua-zs'zzsrs'sas--szs-us
"Yes, for 1 have some of Toms
work todo: Ieonld not trust it tovanY
one elses Hes 4 rare workman, Chris
sic, ieyer had one 10 equal him, and
he's lust the sort of younO man 10 nush