The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1879-07-23

LIS particular Cuuius Acutchou
Phil Ross, was standing by. This
gentleman was q cormorant of facts
"a trait which the thoughtless are
apt to confound with curiosity but ]
contenfed that there is difference be
tween inquisitiveness and acquisitive
ness. Mr.. Ross stretched out biz
hand for the paper.
old Green? Hum! alb, yes-Dr
Green! By Jovel 'Philbrick Green
formerly of GreeHbrier, New York.
knew the man. ! hail from Green
brier myself. so be has turned ~
again. has he? Woodbridge, Rock
land County. Pennsylvania An ex
cellent place to be buried alive in
Been 10 Woodbridge. eh Whatevel
took you there?'
Il studied medicine in DR.. Green's
Office. There was an excellent open
ing for a country practice
Let me see: be had two daoghtrs
Rosie and Posie,
Three
The third was only an adopted
daughter. She accounts for my To-
terest in him. Her mother was Q
distant cousin of mine. Left a wild
ow with three children utterly desti-
; tute. Sewed for a living. The
Greens took fancy to her little lilly,
and offered to take her off her hands.
She agreed. rather than let the child
~starye. The Greens moved away
shortly afterwsrd. The last time
was in Greenbrier Il U up there
every summer to see my mother) 1
found that my cousin had married.
a very well-to-do man too. Her 9th
err children had died meanwhile, and
she had set her heart on retaining
lilly. Her husband had made in
quiIies for DR.. Green, but to no pur-
pose. He had made two or three
moves since leaving Greenbrier, and
no one knew where be had moved
last. Ny cousin was fretting herself
sick. / can't say that | pitied Der
as much as though she had not given
up her child of her own free-will, to
begin with. It always seemed an
unmotherly thing to me. And here
| have suddenly unesrthed the girl
I'll write to her mo.her this very
day.
And III write to Tilly,' John add
ed.
He wrote to the mother too be
seemed so anxious, as Phil said, TO
have his fingers in every corner of
the pie that Phil waived bis rights
of precious acquaintanceship, and
permitted his friend to make the dis.
closures to Mrs. Eaton, Phil content
ed himself with enclosing q few lines
to bis cousin-indorsing Johns mor
al eharacter-in that young mans
own words.
Speedily came the answer. A We
ry incoherent, ~agitated, short little
note from lilly, 50 badly penned and
expressed as TO be almost illegible
and unintelligible. But John made
cut from it that she was very unhap-
Ply, and would hail any change with
jov. Mrs. Eaton's missive was
blotted with tears.
Not long afterward arrived the
news that lilly had gone to her moth.
er in Greenbrier. John breathed a
sigh Of relief. He had learned that
Or. Green had died intestate. His
property had gone to his legal heirs.
1t would have been hard lines for Til
ly, shaving all the rest of her days
for those hard task-mistresses, the
wicked sisters The lifelong bond
age seemed inevitable to Johns ex-
cited Imagination.
So several months passed. Then
John applied for leave, on bis doctors
advice, who said be needed rest. 1t
was a problem where to spend il.
He would have gone 10 Woodbridge
as being the nearest approach to
home, had DR.. Green and lilly been
there She bad cried when he bid
her goodbye. He did not think that
any one else had shed tears for bis
sake since. Poor little rilly! Pretty
little Tillyl. He had a great notion
to 90 to Gr~eenbrier and look her up
He wanted to find out whether she
would be glad to see him.
He went to Greenbrier. He found
the decent, tidy little brick-house
where the Eatons lived. He was
shown into the parlor.
1t was impossible not to see that
lilly was extremely agitated when
she came down to meet him. The
hand she gave to John vas like ice,
and trembled at his touch. He al
most seated her, still holding her
hand, and she looked up at him with
the old wistful look in her eyes.
John was touched. He always had
liked Tilly. And, poor little soul how
thin she wasl Was it possible that
she had only exchanged one kind Of
bondage for another?
She went out to the front door with
him wien be left, aud as he saw then
in the daylight how pale she had
grown. The little wild rose had
lost its bloom. He asked her to take
a drive with him for the sake of old
times. You look as though you
needed the fresh air.
Yes, / do not get out often moth
er is so ailing.'
On the evening of the last day in
Greenbrier be made up his mind that
be would ask her to marry him. He
had very little doubt Of her answer,
poor foolish child for his own part
be fancied he was in love with her.
At all events be ought to be in love
with some n by this time. lilly
was almost the only girl be had eve
known well.
But fate interfered with his iaten-
ton. Mrs Eaton was so i'll that Til
ly could not be spared for five min
utes. She ran down just to say good
bye. John resolved that be would
write instead. He told lilly he
would write. And take care of
YOURSELF be added. She did not
cry this time. Persons who take an
extreme view of human malad es
would perhaps have said that she
looked simply broksn-hearted.
When John did write ii was a DIFF
ferent sort of letter from the ore be
had planned. On his return to camp