The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1877-06-21

excelled; In short, he was all my
fancy could have depleted MY beau
ideal. And this was Cousin Matthew
Why, even his name sounded well to
me. There was more dignified melody
\ n that Unple neDesl Matthew Bates,
az az "a ss Ssa. 3ud a s saS
altsr day, ss they paased by, prof. ed TO
j me thst Wa no Iongef the Idol u his
worship ~ ! Had b2en An past YEARS.
And yet i was not wanting In charne.
My glass proved Ia me that the world
ssaSd true when % t0ldume IL wss more
Beautiful than Ut seventeet.D flseyer
thought Of my beauty before; but now,
e! I SHs!H 4cttl.sw' syss. adorned g
sessed. But J. daily felt, dissat isfied
they attracted not Cousin Matthew's
y They tell me. Matthew, that you
are to give us an American cousin, I"
said my father one day after dinner.
after the servants had retired, and he
pushed the wine towards my cousin.
|e'I rose hastily from the table to re-
| ject Just broached 1uickened my de-
parture, for I feared I might betray
some emotion II / remained. ~
Matthew rose ikewise, to open the
door for me, and said blithely. as he
rested his hand on the lock, swell,
Uncle John, will you not treat her
kindly OH .--.----'- go ~
"To. be sure, my boyN Your wife 1
could not treat otherwfse Nan kindly"
replied my ifather, butbee1ng Matthew
about leaving the room with me, he
ssid, - Why in such v1asteY Let us
drink to the health of the American
VVnoaaisr lin, deSr uncle. J, replied
Matthew looking IT his wxtch. |" But
I hare an engagernent on important
business, and am now behind the hour
We passed from the dining-room to-
gether, and bowed In silence as he
opened for me the drawing-room door,
and bade me Good evening"" lis
tened With painful impotence until /
heard the front door close on him.
Then threw myself ON . lounge and
gave myself up to my grfef Hopes
last glittering ray had departed:
"Ah, Cousin Matthew" I exclaimed,
IN broken accents, chow things have
changed with usl When you offered
me your love, ] rejected II. Now,
when / love y0u-nay, hopelessly
adore you, I am - nothing to you."
h SAY not 80, dearest Ella" said
voice behind me. S
turned aud bsheld Cousin Matthew's
love-beaming face.
Pardon me, dearest" he murmured,
as he fondly embrPced me. :" for play
ing the part of q listeners; but the
/ ,~sOl~x nIc.oJ khA1rOr Lon In
me tn the hall. heard your sobs, and
my Wild delight when / overheard
your exclamation. I was beloved by
the only woman In the world dear to
me-"
"And the American bride?" I
Is q being Of fancy, dearest. I
never would have married any woman
but you. L imagined i had overcome
my passionate love for you, or should
never have returned But had only
to look upon you to prove the fallacy
of such imaginings. soon discovered
that you were as dear a. ever. When
was told of the repeated refusals you
had given to others, / dared to nourish
the hope Of winning YOU and have
remained on week aftef week, fearing
to speak again of my lover
More and more he said-words of
wild, passionate alteration, and ! was
so supremely happy, confessed my
former folly and my long cherished
love. The momunts flew unheeded
by, until my father surprised us by
entering through the conservatory
| door, which was ajar. -, ;.
II Thought you had an engagement,
young man ?" said. my father, vainly
endeavoring not to smile at our evident
embSfrasufient. w11 'ercfr- ~
$50 i had" replied my cousin,
laughing, /" but Ella made me forget
it." 1"s
Then, we gladdened our dear old
fathers heart by asking his blessing
on our union, which was readily and
joyfully granted.
III always wished for this" he said
'sbut1 thought Il best to let you young
folks manage IL your own way"
And we were married. became
good Mrs. Matthew Bates. Years have
passed since that happy day, and my
dark hair IL silvered. am an old
woman-but q happy one. My mar
ried life has been sunny and Joyous,
and I still wonder at the wilful blind
ness which at seventeen made me re-
ject dear Cousin Matthew.
" nv~