The star of Pascagoula. [volume] (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1873-1878, 1877-02-09
MY FILTRATION.

L had plenty OF bedux when j was
young, and liked that very well. How
ever, ] had heart enough at bottom, and
when Stephen Lashley asked me to
marry him, in the end | consented,
though kept him in suspense along at
first.
Neither Steve nor | were rich. My
father had sufficient income to keep The
family in a good style of living; but he
saved nothing, and | could expect moth
ing from him when | married. Steve
had just begun to practice medicine, and
was struggling as young doctors must.
There was a pretty house Just outside
the town that Steve and | had our eye
on for a long time, and | had promised to
become his wife Is soon as he could call
ii his own.
BY dint of such struggling and econ
omy as | never could have guessed, he
had put by enough for the first payment,
and was Flooding patiently on toward
the second and last.
| can see now what a selfish creature
| was, what a wretch, indeed, to please
myself with the batteries of others while
Steve was working so faithfully for me.
That sounds as though | wasn't going
TO marry Steve for love, but | was.
Our town was something of a fash
ionable resort for summer boarders; and
many of the people were in the habit of
taking boarders then. Father had al
ways objected to our doing so but this
summer of which | speak he fell in with
q stranger, as he was returning from a
long ride in the country, who having
shared his phmton with him during the
homeward drive, succeeded in so in
gratiating himself with my father that
he allowed him to board with us.
The stranger was very much in my
line-distinguished looking, possessing
an eloquent pair OF eyes, nearly the
color ofmy own, and having a propen-
sity to saying "pritty things" that was
Just delicious to a girl of my turn. 1t
was such fun to draw him out, and then
laugh at him; to pretend pleasure then
shvness; to invite and repulse in the
same breath. 1t was a genuine Irritation,
as much so to him as to Inc.
Steve came often to see me, but he
did not see me alone, and he never stayed
late.
Steve's sister Marian and | were init
mate, and spent much time together.
Poor Steve enjoyed my visits to Marian
much better than he did seeing me any
where else, and | liked it too, as much
because of seeing him as Marian. 1t was
then a miserable piece of heartlessness
for me to permit Mr.. Fordyce, the
stranger" to accompany me thither,
thus p~arading, as it were, my conquest,
and the accomplishments and attractions
of Steve's new rival, in the most dis
agreeable manner possible.
Steve was good-natured, and kept this
disappointment tohimself, but he did not
like Mr.. Fordyce, and he wa quite alone
in that. Everybody liked Mr.. Fordyce
but Steve. He was an immensely popu-
lar man in our small community, enter.
ing as he did with such genuine zeal
into all our interests, and bearing himself
genially towards all.
When Pars1 Hammond, who lived
nearest to us, lost a valuable horse from
his stable. and came over 10 our house
to see about pursuing the thief, Mr..
Fordyce, though he had just got home
from a jaunt with some friends which
kept him almost of the night, insisted on
being one of the pursuing party, and
indeed, quite led it. 1t was the SAINT
when Mr.. Dudevant's shop was broken
open and robbed. Mr.. Fordyce went
over aud over the ground, and gave
shrewder guesses as to how the robbery
had been managed than anyone else
When other thefts of a similar nature
and also of lesser degree, continued tC
vex and puzzle us from stime to time, II
was Mr.. Fordyce who insisted on severe
measures, prevailed on the authorities
to offer large rewards for the apprehen
sion of the offenders, and made himsel
so active in the matter as to win the
gratitude of the whole town.
He often Joined our social gathering
and be came the life of them. / wa
quite envied in having his escort Sc
frequently, and the rumor was very
soon circulated that we were engaged
Steve and | had some words on the sub
ject several times; and because it wa
so unusual for him to insist in such
matter, | resented it when he did anC
the more | suspected my elf to be wrong
the more | resolved l would not Owl 1t
/ detected Steye's dislike of Mr. For
dyce, and taxed him with it. Stew,
said nothing, but he only,shook his hea,
and looked gravely at me when | praise,
him. He never said worse about MI
Fordyce than that he did o believe il
him. Steve objected to my intimac,
with him on rather general grounds, an
l answered in such an illtempered mar
ner that Steve, not being ice, and flint
struch fire and retorted angrily for tn
first time in all our acquaintance. III
result was n serious GOODNESS. Stew
apelogized for his part the next day, bu