The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1877-11-18
Do you know to whom she il engaged.

long enough you can see. :,
Roger Grey didn't wait, though, not a bit
of 1t. He just jumped up In mighty big
hurry, and put Nelly down and kissed her.
"Good.by, my little maid"
Then he was going off. but Nelly ran after
him. "Oh, Rogerl dear Rogerr' she called
row."
Roger turned at that, but he only waited to
maybe" and he was gone.
He must have met Frank Gresham at the
door, for the bell didn't ring at all, and Frank
Gresham was In the parlor before knew 1t.
outside, and had sent him In for Ethel Then n
Ethel came down. all wrapped In her white
cloak, trimmed with soft white fur that look
ed like fresh snow. She had holly berries and
leaves In her hair and at her throat, and she
In our story books, only Ethel hasn't got
beard like he has. Her cheeks were as pink
as a rose, and her eyes looked oil kind Of soft
and shiny as she looked around the room.
Hes gone, e said Nelly Nelly III HE s" said he
either"
Somehow the light seemed to go out of
and sorry and little bit frightened, but she
didn't say any thing only kissed Nelly and
me, and put her hand on Frank Gresham's
arm and went out of the room with him.
| thought 1t was all sort Of queer, and /
asked Nelly about it after, they were gone;
but she Just stuck to it that she had said
exactly what Ethel told her to- so thought
II must be all right. Anyhow / was glad |
had found out which of them 1t was Ethel
was in love with; for it had puzzled me no
end, and don't like to be puzzled one bit.
Well, Of course Frank Gresham came to
| the house more than ever after that; but
| Roger Grey never came at all Somehow,
just about this time, Ethel grew SO queer
hlf we w Tn m Tf hnr
| Nelly and l. 1t didn't come all at once, you
know, but just little at time. First she
didn't seem to care SO much about playing
with, us-used to tire her, she said, as Il
she told us stories, they weren't nice, jolly
ones any more, but about little mermaidens
| that loved kings sons SO hard that they died
of it down among their coral groves; and
fathers would bring in and set be-
| fore the fire till they melted all away; and
mixes that sat on the water and cried because
people told them they had no souls; and all
crying as hard as any nix Of them all. |
didn't cry because I'm q boy, and boys don't
cry, you know; but I don't mind telling you
l had mighty hard work to keep from 1t
dark and deep looking, and The pretty pink
all went Out, of her cheeks, and the corners
of her eyebrows gathered themselves UP
into a little frown that wasn't cross,
you know, but Just sorrowful, why,
tell you, | had to take hold Of my throat
with, both hands, and hold my breath till
my heart most stopped beating. II I'd let
up for once, for ever such little bit should
have been goner, and how'd that look, I'd
bubbering away Ike little Nelly there, that's
only seven, and girl at that! II Ethel had
been cross, | wouldn't have minded it SO
much. I could have stood up to her then,
and II things got very bad, l could have
But just to see anybody. grow pale and
| thin, and peaked, like they were melt
ing away before. your eyes, why, it's no fun,
| can tell you She was lively, enough when
ever, as far as could see. It was only
when she was alone with us that she let
herself look like she felt I suppose she
thought we wouldn't notice; but, tell you,
you'd better not reckon too much on that
Children see heap more than you think
Well, now, you see, this is what puzzled
me. What on earth should Ethel be look
ing 90 ( sad about, when she was engaged to
house all the time, bringing her flowers and
music and boabons, and all sorts of lovely
things too? She liked EN-, l reckon, all
but the bonbons. She used to give them all
cause she was too old to care about candy.
I'm glad / amt. The flowers she always
put In the .parlor, and she wouldn't have
done that Ii she hadn't liked them. Roger
Grey never gave her any thing, as far as l
know, except a stupid little bunch of pink
flowers trailing drbutus, he called them.
Ethel thought it was q mean present; know
she did, for she turned as red as fire when he
gave them to her; and after he was gone she
took them right straight up to her own room.
and nobody saw any more of them. OF course
that must have been because she was ashamed
| of them.
never knew whether she liked the music
| or not till one day was in the parlor when
Frank Gresham was there He asked Ethel
| to sing him one OF the songs he had brought
her. 1t was an awful spooney sort of thing.
1t began,
Absent from theel what deeper woe?'
Then 1t went on all about fellow that had
| to come back to girl and sneak round her,
when he knew she didn't care a bit for him.
| It ended:
Il must return, though doubly curst;
Though all thy lightnings seattle my BRAIN
heed them not: I've known the worst.
For absence knows no master pain"
| don't wonder Ethel didn't like it; but as
| long as Frank Gresham had given 1t to her,
| she needn't have let him know it, / think
First she said she hadn't practiced it; then
she said the piano was out of tune; but
knew better, SO said:
''Oh no, Ethel. Didn't you know the man
came to tune it only yesterday
She didn't take any notice of that, but just
| turned to Frank Gresham, when he kept on
teasing her, and said, "Mr Gresham, that
style of music doesn suit my voice."
OF course he looked mad; who wouldn't :?
but he just said, mot when l bring it, you
mean p
And Ethel she turned red, and she said,
Interpret it as you please; but since you
insist, | will sing you very old song which
does suit me precisely, and which hope you
will appreciate"
And then she went straight to the piano
and sang something that began,
| Why so pale and wan fond lover,
| prithee why so pale?"
1t ended,
| Quit quit; for shame this will not move
This cannot take her;
| If of herself she will not love
| Nothing can make her.
That's all right, know, for got the songs
and looked. There was another line to that
last verse, but don't like to put it. It wasn't
a very nice one for a lady to sing think, and
I know Frank Gresham thought so too, for he
| ,uas co shocked he inst took In his hat and