The daily gazette., 1879-05-03
FIRST EDITION.
HER RUSTIC LOVER.
MIRA MILES.

| Dinner was over, ana all the dishes
cleared away; and the thrifty farmers
wife had sat down to her sewing, with a
pair Of silver spectacles perched on her
Roman nose. Fanny Clifford sat opposite
IA trim, pretty damsel, with q sweet
sunburnt face, and great gray eyes, with
blue black flashes coming and going In
their irises.
$50 Miles has really gone ?" said Fan.
ny, after moments silence; and there
was little quiver in her voice that the
mother fully comprehended.
eyes," said Mrs. Perry, stitching dill:
gently away at the unbleached cotton
shirt she was making for her husband,
and pretending not to see the flush ON
Fanny's cheek, che has gone; and a
great fool he Is, in my humble opin-
ion."
ssOh, Mrs. Perryl" deprecated Fanny.
| "Well, what else is 1t p" asked Mrs.
Perry, looking in an owlish fashion
through the round lenses of her spectacles.
"Here he is, with as nice farm as there
Is In the country, and him the only son,
and yet he's POSSESSED to 90 to the city
and clerk it just because he thinks It q
little genteeler than to plow and SOW and
reap, as his father and gran'ther before
him, and'-she hesitated little here
'because he fancies AntOnia Archer will
be pleased.
"I've no nopatience with him; and wish
she had never come down to the MOrrises.
turning the heads of the girls with her
city airs and fripperies, and flirting with
every young man she could entice into
her tolls" i
"She-she is very attractive, +" said poor
Fanny. t.,s
"Yes, to them as likes gliding better
than true gold, and is caught by red
cheeks and dashing ways. Well"-after
minutes pause, during which she stab
bed her needle vindictively into the un-
| offending cloth-"there's some as can
learn by experience only, and our Miles
is one of the sort. He'll be back, l ex-
pect, when he's found out he isn't the
only poor moth whose wings have been
| scorched in the flame of cOquette's wick
| ed eyes,"
ooh, Mrs. Perry, Miss Archer never
would refuse Miles ?" cried Fanny breath
lessly.
"If l thought she wouldn't, l should
give up" said Mrs. Perry energetically.
"To think of this kitchen, as I've cleaned
myself every Saturday morning, and kept
as sweet and fresh as a rose, being left
to a miserable hired girl, while my lady
idles in the best roomi ! do believe it
would drive me crazy.
"But you're not going, Fanny? Stay
to tea, there's dear, and Pll mix a pan
o. light biscuit, and gather some o. them
Strawberries, as would make a fit supper
for a princess. Stay, Fanny it's sort
| N, aonxx,any IN, have vn,, Iara =,
And Fanny Clifford stays, her poor,
sore heart somewhat relieved by the
sympathy unspoken yet expressed, by
Miles Perry's mother.
The June sunset, fading in such ten
der tints of rose and opal and gold over
the old farm, was full of glow and sultri-
ness in London.
The season was dull.
1t was Saturday afternoon, and the
Messrs. Scratch Il Staylace, after getting
all they could out of their much-endur-
ing clerks, had at last reluctantly closed
their firm and put up their wooden shut
tiers. ...- Ns
And Miles Perry, tired and weary, had
at last the opportunity to hurry home to
his garret room in third-rate house.
But tonight he would call on Miss
Archer and with eager restlessness he
tried on collar after collar, and finally
adjusted scarlet silk necktie, for which
he had paid the, to him, ,extravagant sum
of five shillings, securing it with gaudy
pin, borrowed from one of his compan-
ions at Messrs. Scratch & Staylace's and
brushed diligently away until every speck
of dust was removed from his coat and
trowsers, pausing at the last to give his
boots an extra ''shine."
81 don't suppose" he said to himself,
when, all these preliminaries completed,
he took farewell survey of himself In
the glass, '.that anyone would know me
for a country fellow now"
And, to complete the illusion, our
young aspirant lighted cigar, and made
himself uncomfortable with it as he
walked along the streets, now bright
with the gleam of many gaslights.
Miss Antonia Archer lived In an aris-
tocratic and pretentious locality with a
good deal Of polished glass and plated
door hinges, and at No. - street, Mr..
Miles Perry presented himself, with
blushing countenance and throbbing
heart. H-1.1
The servant, young damsel in blue
ribbons and smart alpaca dress, looked
at our hero as if she rather suspected
that he had mistaken this for the ser
wants bell.
"She's at home," she admitted, rather
grudgingly. "Cant you leave your er-
rand with me young manw
81 wish to see Miss Archer" Miles,
said, lofty; and the maid showed him
into the library, an apartment divided
from the drawing-rooms by drapery of
blue silk curtains hung between fluted
pillars of variegated marble, and there
left him.
Through disarranged fold in the silk
Miles Perry could catch glimpse of the
splendors of the two rooms beyond.
The middle one was tenanted only by
the grand piano and half dozen blue
silk chairs. tr,.
But in the front apartment, where Ak
minister carpets and buhl and gliding
elittered under full-lighted chandelier
sat the fair Antonia, in dress of
lemon-colored Grape, trimmed with rich
black lace, and topaz ornaments swing
ing like miniature suns from her ears.
And close beside her on the sofa sat
bald, elderly gentleman, with diamond
studs flashing in his linen, and double
chin.
Miles could see the blue-ribboned lass
advance to her mistress and deliver some
message.