River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-10-16
A LITTLE FOOL.

pectability demand OF you. IL you
must marry and make fool Of your
self. why not marry Colonel Powell?'
BECAUSE / do not like Colonel Pow
ell. and because like some one else,
Aunt Ethel"
Il never heard Of such a thing. Do
you know what you are saying. Miss?
Such talk, can tell you, is highly inn
proper; and as for not liking Colonel
Powell, this is nonsense. Colonel
Powell has everything necessary to win
any woman's approbation-yery old
family, very fine manners, elegant resi-
dence, servants, calTla e, money, and
member of congress besides. Don't
you know that you would spend the
winters If Washington
declare it does not tempt me a
Bit"
"And don't believe nc is day more
than fifty"
'iHe is seventy-five if he is an hour,
together dreadful. / never, never.
never will marry him."
"May / ask who, then, is TO have the
honor Of becoming my nephew?' and
Miss Ethel sat stifiiy down, and began
TO carefully re-arrange the pink satin
bows on her white morning dress.
Eloise sat down opposite to her, and
fingered nervously the rose-buds ard
ivy leaves that trimmed her garden
hat. The two women were strangely
alike, only one face was forty years old,
white and proud; and the other was
only twenty, flushing and paling, and
answering every feeling Of the heart.
For some moments Eoise did not
speak, and Miss Ethel Bruce did not
urge her. She sat patiently looking in
her niece's face, until that young lady,
finding courage in her desperation, said
with bland defiaace, The gentleman
who is to have that honor, dear aunt
il Mr.. Henry Torrens."
"Impossiblel You would not do such
Il foolish thing"
Cob yes, | would"
"Do you know who he i>?"
"TIe is-Harry."
Ridiculous! Do you know who his
father is?"
"No, l don't want to know him par
ticularly. 'Do you know him Aunt
Ethel?'
"No. dare say it would be very inn
proper for me to know such person.
When we first met him last summer
in the North, don't remember that he
ever named his family"
"Nor -"
"That looks very bad, Eloise. If
man has respectable relations, of course
he talks about them"
81 don't see that it makes any great
difference to me. l do not intend to
marry Harry's relations. | do not
care much about them, anyway. Once
he told me that his mother was dead,
and | said mine was too; and of course
w. felt sorry for each other, and all
that. But | am afraid | am little
Jealous about Harry; | would just as
lief b. the only person in the world who
had any right to love him as not
"You make me feel hopeless about
you. Pray what do you intend to live
Upon ?"
Harry Las two thousand dollars a
year"
1.-TWO thousand dollars year! What
magnificent income!"
Don't make fun of us, aunt; can
not allow that; indeed l can not. We
love each other. and shall be very
happy"
doubtless. May [ ask where Mr..
Torrens is employed p
ain West & Green's law office"
81 thought ne lived in New York.
What brought him here -
GLOW should | known said Eoise,
blushing, and Involuntary dropping
her voice.
Her aunt watched her curiously, and
shuck her head for answer. where
have you seen him-for | hope you
nave not dared to bring him within the
precincts of Bruce Place"
"He has never touched paling of it.
/ met him ut Aunt kezia's; and | am
sure she would have let Cousin Lizzie
marry him very willingly. She thinks
n great deal of Harry"
Lizzie Bruce is different. She has
five little sisters, and my brother Jake
always spends twenty out of an income
of nineteen. You have expectations-
or at least had. l always intended, if
you remained unmarried, to leave you
the Bruce Place"
"Dear aunt, thanks for the intention;
but | would rather have Harry. l have
little bit OF money of my own, have |
not?'
"About four thousand dollars; Just
enough TO buy Your wedding things, and
marry you decently For though you
are going to make such fool of your
self, shall not show the white feather
about it. Unjust pretend to be happy
when | am wTetched, and receive con
CALCULATIONS that will nearly choke me;
but sucn trials are part and parcel Of
womaa's lot; dare say | shall get
creditahly through them"
Miss Ethel rose with a proud air, but
a piufu.ly sad face, and attempted to
leave the room, but EloiSe with gentle
force and many tender kisses, made her
SIT down again.
"Auutie.' she said. coaxiugly, you
have asked ire good many questions;
and have answered them truly now,
am going 10 ask You some, and L
know YOU will be fair with me about
them. First, were you ever in love p
Half smiling and half signing, Miss
Ethel sat thinking over the bold ques-
ton. At length she answered, slowly,
aud with a great deal of pathos in her
voice. Yes. Eioise: | once loved rs L
do not think you have the power to
love. 1t Is twenty-five years ago.
"Will you tell me about it?
Il can not. Yes-I viii try; perhaps
it may show you what a waste of life it
is Wait here few moments"
She then left the room, but soon re-
turned with Il little tortoise-sholl box in
her hand. It opened with spring, and
showed a few yellow letters, a bunch of
withered violets. and the hall of a plain
gold ring. She lifted the latter and
said
This IS part of his dead mothers
wedding ring; we broke it in two, and
swore solemnly over it to be faithful
to the promises we had made each
other. Then he sailed away from me,
and / never heard from him again. Fol-
two years I suffered all The agonles Of
hone deferred and sighted love. and at
length | had fever that left me the
colorless little ghost l have been ever
since"
Perhaps he was dead"
mo-
"Then ne was miserable creature,
and l should have put him out Of my
heart and memory"
ayes, think you would, Eloise. l
think, tao, that it is likely ven would
have lst some other man make a fool