The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1877-11-08
IT'S An iii Wind That Blows Nobody
Good,


IT'S An Ill Wind That Blows Nobody
Good.
"A midsummer day-the air heavy and
sultry-the leaves of the trees, which
have hung heavy and motionless 70,
hours, beginning to rustic and tremble-
the birds flying with shrill notes of warn
ing to their nests-cattle vending their
way homeward in search of shelter-the
tall corn bending lightly and gracefully
toward the earth-a low storm murmur
telling the bee and butterfly to leave the
honey feast and hide-the skies growing
dark with threatening clouds-tangled
skeins Of lightning in the east-distant
sounds Of thunder-a young woman, with
pretty, fair hair, small, feline mouth, and
bright, shrewd, green-blue eyes, writing
ata desk beside the open window of a
handsome country-house-one sheet of
paper closely covered lies before her
she finishes a second and third, chances
over them, places them in an envelope.
reaches out her hand for the one upon
the desk; pauses a moment to lean from
the window and watch the awful glory of
the heavens; when all its. forces gathered.
comes the wind like young hurricane
snatchcs the envelope from her grasp, and
bears it, with a shrek of triumph, far
away:
A gentleman at least quarter of a
mile distant from the handsome house
toward which he is fastening tall, broad
shouldered, with scholarly stoop-mild
gray, truthful eyes-gentle, refined
mouth. honest, serious face-hair and
beard slightly silvered and hands filed
with treasures gathered in the woods.
The fierce wind meets him-battles
with him moment-then suddenly dies
away, and dying drops an unaddressed
envelope at his feet. He bends and picks
it up-regards it moment abstractedlv
"Opens it-takes out fragment of a
lotter-in another moment lets the for
est treasures slip from his grasp-steps
backward a pace or two, leans against
the sturdy trunk Of an old chestnut tree
and with puzzled look and knitted brow
reads what the wind has brought him
slowly and carefully through from be-
ginning to end and this is what he reads:
Not introduced you to Uncle Maurice
until six months are past l want him
to believe that l have been thoroughly
devoted to him, for the last two wears.
sver since he took me from the convent
school where l became pupil teacher
when my father died.
At the end Of the six months, on nv
twenty-frst birthday, he has half-prom-
Used to make over to me this house and
grounds and all they contain, and the
probability of the half-promise becom-
ing whole one and being fulfilled is
very much stronger if he be kept in hap
py ignorance of our love- affair than it
would he it he even suspected my years
engagement to you. So you see, my dear
boy, S1t lsa gil; nonsense-romantic non
sense-your urging me to confess to nv
uncle in hopes of fastening our mar
rage.
1twould be consummate follv to RIM
such risk, for there's no telling what
these very good people will do when all
their lifelong prejudiccs receive sudden
shock.
Uncle Maurice finding that 1 had de-
cetved him might Danish me to the o.
security frem which he took me!
Then We could nessr marry. for Won
have but small income, scarcely suffi-
Gent to procure the comforts and luxn.
ries absolutely necessary to. man of 90
ciety, and have nothing but a love for
comfort and luxury Commensurate with
your own.
Be patient, trust to me, and YOUR na-
thence shall soon be rewarded. And real
~, when one comes to consider, you have
much less to complain of than I. You
have no disagreeable uncle to find fault
VIII Yen.. Tor, - Ifhavo told YOU be-
ton, Uncae Maurice, though great fay-
orlte with most people, is extremely dis
agreeable to me. We haven't a taste, a
leellng, In common, and were it not for
the benefits accruing I would not remain
beneath the same roof with him another
week.
In the first place he is unpleasantly
truh1daid thereby getting one constant
~ INTO awkward scrapes; in the next he
looks with:p6lfect horror on round dances
believing them inventions of His Satanic
Majesty and l, who dote upon them, have
20 ten our guests-how you would laugh
70 near me-+that I do not allow them.
Uo you remember our first galop9
AS tor our jolly, rollicking French ope-
I i ne his made an a,.ta ia fe OF nv
"arend Duchesse" and "Barbe Bleu0 mn
&c, and he would have added all the rest
OF ny Ohenbach collection to the bile had
! not hidden them away and declared in
in tae and with ! face that would have
indicated "the Father of his Country, that
I had NO more.
Then he insists upon entertaining every
montn, some fifty dreadful children whom
ne gathers from the neighboring villages
an. anu 20 fonPelled TO assume thepart Of
tne lovely charitable young mistress Of
the mansion, in white, decorated with
0iue ribbons, and preside over the feast.
the ne money expended on which / can't helm
tn'ekaee al the time would have added