The Findlay Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Hancock County, Ohio) 1870-1881, 1878-10-25

" was In her facel How hard she WI
It trying to be animated; and how l fe
IS for herl Happy thought Had bee
alone l should have cut caper.
= struck me all at once that had M
t yet told them about cur newcome
e and the tricks which we had playe
? upon him. This, il only properl
e managed. would afford food for laugl
2 ter and amusement for-days.
'Ohl by the by" began. 81 hav
: not told you about the new fellow VIII
arrived at our place the other day"
Certainly Miss Eleanor's eyes wer
| fixed on me with an interest such &
she had not hitherto accorded to an!
of my stories, and thus encouraged,
proceeded boldly, telling them, OH
with much more gusto, what / hav
just told you, about the letters ant
: advertisement, the dead mems cards
aud the false suicide. was SO mucl
taken up with my own cleverness tina
did not notice the way in which u,
story was being resolved by my hest
esss. Judge then of my astonishmen
and dismay when, as l ended with al
inane little chuckle, she suddenly
burst out.
''And you call yourselves menl Dc
you know what l call you2"
''My dear Nelliel" said her father.
was speechless. She fixed her eye:
on my face, and the position, assure
yen, was sIngularIy uncomfortable
one.
81 call you cowards," she went on,
''and-and-" evidently she was at a
loss for an expressive word.
''Miss Hartley" 1 said, deeply peni
tent ''if-"
'Pray say no more" she answered
coldly. Papa, 1 will leave yQu to
your wine"
L did not see her again during my
stay, which, as you may guess, was
not prolonged beyond the time abso.
lutely necessary. This abrupt and
mysterious interruption of an ac-
quaintanceship that had promised to
prove Interesting, cut me up more
than l can well express. 1 tried to
cast the whole matter out of my mind.
l could not. In every quiet moment 1
would fiud myself running over the
unfortunate occurrence and trying to
account for it. Had she known him
before? Was she In love with him2
The idea first made me turn hot, then
cold. But no! imposs blel Not the
most extravagant fancy could make
these two images, of Eleanor Hartley
and of our simple little newcomer,
stand side by side. Looked at from
another point of view, the thing was
equally absurd. A score of men ad-
mired Eleanor Hartley-fine, stalwart
fellows, the pick of our community,
for none other would have yentured to
lift their eyes SO high-men broad
chested and deep voiced, and well
versed in every kind of world lore.
Was it not preposterous to imagine
that this paling boy could be her
choice? How, then, was I to explain
her displeasure? 1 did explain it. 1t
would be hard for you to guess how.
But at certain times, you know, our
thoughts are peculiarly obedient to
impulses communicated to them by a
will which our desires have tampered.
l said to myself that Eleanor Hartley
was disappointed in me. Yes: this
was the meaning of it all. That l
should have Joined in infiicting annoy
ance on a helpless fellow creature
vexed her. And really, when looked
back calmly, the whole thing began to
wear an ugly aspect. WE'LL it was an
noying. But time plays havoc with
impressions. Eleanor would be sorry,
doubtless, for her hastiuess. could
easily put the matter III a differeut
light. All would be well.
Meanwhile 1 returned to my own
quarters, where. as presently found,
events of an exciting character were
under discussion. Miss Hartley, was
told, had,come to pay visit to her
married sister, who lived in our settle
ment. As we were not cheered by the
presence of any unmarried ladies, this
was Of course an occurrence of the
first magnitude. But further, large
dinner was to be given at our club,
to which all the ladies and our new
conner were invited. He had been
persuaded that tha dinner was given
in his honor, and was to be beguiled
into making a speech, from which
much fun was to be expected. threw
cold water on this scheme. l was
afraid, you see, that Miss Hartley
would see in it another malicious trick
and be further incensed against me.
But once ball of such sort is set roll
ing, it requires hand of peculiar
force to stop it. Mine was not able
for the feat, and my friends arranged
their plan of action without me. After
all, think, 1 was not sorry that he
should make fool of himself publicly
before Miss Eleanor. ItwouId be sure
to destroy any sentimental liking she
might have had for him, SO I held my
peace, and the eventful day came on.
How nervous 1 was that eveningl 1
l was obliged to call in the
assistance of one of my friends to
adjust my necktie, and he was ohlig
ing enough to tell me that / look
ed as yellow as guinea A COM
Portable assurance, truly, when 1
had wished to look my very best,
for 1 had not seen Miss Hartley since
my unlucky story, and wanted to
make my peace with her. But when,
with an apology on my lips, / drew
near the sofa where she was sitting,
found to my infinite relief, that no
apology was necessary. She was as
friendly in her manner as ever. She
was exquisitely dressed that eve
ming in--well, can't exactly say what
some dead white material, that fell
in delicious folds about her stately
figure. That girl could always dress
herself to perfection. She looked su