The Van Buren press., 1878-06-11
MI SCELLANY
A Postal Gard.

- -

GOOD morning, Miss Laura" sale
Mrs, Bender, stopping at the gate
How are the folks today"
"All well, thank you, Mrs. Bender
81 didn't see any light in the best par
lor last night, Miss Laura; how's that
Any unpleasantness I"
"None in the weather, surely laugh
ed Laura.
"Ah I'm going down to the post
office shall look in your box? | sup
pose you want your letters early, ant
one likes TO be neighborly."
"Yes, thank you, Mrs. Bender
shall be in school till noon, and | love
to find letter under my dinner plate
and there'll be no one to go TO the office
as Miss Frill is here, cutting and bast
ing, Yes, would be glad to have yol
look in our box, not that expect mucl
of any thing"
ANY thing in Box 297 p she asked
having reached the Office and secured
her own mail "A postal card well,
never as the clerk surrendered it
Miss Laura Vaughn" she read, a,
she trudged homeward. d" Gracious
who's writing to her on postal card
| wouldn't thank my folks to write il
that public way. Everybody reads them
OF course, just as much common proper
ty US a poster Ahem! You can hardly
help reading one; he who runs ma,
real---you see every word before yot
know it, Don't fail to be at the Stu
do Building by ii A, NJ on w ednesday
| NJ ui1's the word Jack. - Jaoh.. Pho's
Jack, | should like to know? Pretty
work, Miss Laura, for deacon daugh
ter! What next? An elopement, may
be. And there's poor Devens, too! lii
ought to be told of these goings on, anC
put on his guard, It's a duty not tt
allow the young man to remain in thu
dark | shall have to manage it some
4oW"
Mrs Bender left the postal card Will
the servant at Lauras door, and pro
ceeded homeward. Mr.. Devens, as fat
had ordered it, boarded with Mrs. Ben
der, and had been making himself tot
agreeable to her young neighbor, whel
she had other views for hm-whei
there was Prudence Bender sitting a
home at the piano, in her black silk an(
clicked stockings, waiting for something
to happen. Mrs. Bender had somewhere
read that the fate of future generations
had been decided by the toss OF a curl o.
the waving of ribbon, and she was de
termined that neither curl nor ribbon
should be spared to favor her case.
"Have you seen anything Of our neigh
bors lately 2" she asked MIR. Devens a
dinner.
~ met Miss Nell Newcomb this morn
ing and walked to the mail with her" h'
answered, evasvcly.
"Oh, | mean those on the other side
of the house Miss Nell was engaged
and man might safely walk to jericho
with her. Miss Vaughn and you don
see so much of each other as you did
ch p
"Oh, don't we? May | trouble yo,
for thepepper, Miss Prue =
Law, no trouble, Mr. Devens. l
yon are going into to the city to morrow
would you mind matching some firing
for me?'
~ wouldn't mind matching anything
for you, Miss Prue; but I've no more
idea of going into the city to- morrow
than of going to the MOON
"Oh, | understood that Miss Laurf
was going, and l supposed-I didn't
know but -
Miss Vaughn hasn't mentioned the
excursion to me. Arcn'tyou mistaken 2
off his guard. $50
Would she be likely 10 mention it il
she were going to meet somebody in par
ticuar p but in Mrs. Bender.
claw, ma, don't worry Mr.. Devens >
81 only said 'supposing.' 1t is vel
to be prepared fol the worst, isn't it, Mr.
! Devens r.
al am not in the least anxious, as
sure YOU" averred that gentlema; but
it struck him little oddly that he
should have heared nothing OF the pro
iected Journey, since a trip to Boston
was holiday affair to Laura, which she
openly discussed for weeks before ano
after. TO be sure, there had been a lit
tie GOODNESS between them, dating from
the time when he brought her letter
from the mail, directed in fine mascu
line hand, and she had refused to grallN
his curiosity about it. He had spen
the next evening playing euchre witt
Miss King, and Laura had seen him &c
in for the purpose, One trlhe after an
other had helped to widen the rift within
the Lutte, aud he had not been near Laura
door for three whole days Hadn't h'
better step over this evening and SCI
how she was enduring it? he asked him
self. And about this trip to Boston
How could she leave her district school
1t was only some nonsense of Mrs Ben
der's, no doubt But delaying IN tn
hall on Wednesday evening to brush hi
Lat. be overheard Miss Prue saying t.