Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1879-04-10
VOL. 81, NOS.
KITTY.

| WIN you, nifty! Come, tell me-
And the stalwart young farmer stopped
trying to catch glimpse OF the pretty
face under the ugly sunbonnet, which
a little brown hand held closely under
the chin. His face was very serious
| hers full Of fun and mischief, but very
fresh and pretty, with deep blue eyes.
hair OF the color of ripe chestnut, and
cheeks that dimpled and flushed with
every passing emotion.
ooh, have you seen Ned Somers's
new horse and carriage, John p she
exclaimed, as if she had not heard
him, and assuming an air of great en-
thusiasm. oh, they are perfectly
| splendid!
Never mind that now, Kitty. /
want an answer to my question first
well, you are polite, truly Ladies
always come first, sir
so they do aud as my one lady
of ali the world, my little Kitty, comes
fir; with me, must insist on her an.
swer'
| Your Kitty, indeed, sir I blushing,
and bridling, and dimpling most be-
witchingly as she looked up.
| Il hope so. Is it-shall it be so p
and he possessed himself of the other
little hand but 1t was pulled awey,
and the owner began to sing saucily.
1.-the frog he would wooing co."
The young mans eyes flashed, his
cheeks crimsoned, he Strengthened his
tall form resolutely, and broke in on
her music with very determined,
Miss Kitty! will you listen, and an.
swer me once for all p
'Oh, dear me! Yes, 1 suppose so.
Now what is it, Mr.. John 2
| You know what it is well enough.
Once more, Kitty Payne, will you
marry me ?
| Bless me, John, how abrupt you
are Now, Ned Somers would never
Hang Ned Somers !!
why, John! What for? II is very
wicked of you to be SO JEALOUS of that
elegant young gentleman y
Young puppy, you mean! Jealous
OF nam indeed-a mere tailor's show
figure! Now, Kitty, will be trifled
with no longer Choose now between
me and that-that fellow. There he
comes now, confound him !!
And indeed the person spoken of
was just coming in sight with his
handsome horse and carriage.
Kitty's cheeks grew crimson, and
she pouted. Was this really John
Holmes, her lifelong vassal and at.
tendant, growing so masterful all at
once? She was not at all sure that
she cared so very much TOR him, after
all Ned Somers was very handsome,
rich and stylish, and very attentive to
her; she meant to take little time to
consider. But before she could say
even so much, the carriage and it's oc.
cupant were beside them 1t stopped,
and Mr.. Somers, with a courteous
bow to Kitty, and slighter one to
her companion, invited her to step in,
if she was going his way. John
stepped aside, with cool nod, as if
to leave her free to choose; and Miss
Kitty, in sudden pique and passion,
sprang into the carriage, and rode
away, while John, very grave and
rather pale, pursued his course in the
opposite direction.
Kitty, seated beside the young city
gentleman, felt uncomfortably con-
scious that her sunbonnet and simple
calico were considerably out OF place
on the elegant cushions Of the new
carriage. And, could she have known
it, her companion was mentally pass-
ing the same criticism, and blaming
himself for taking up the 'little couR-
try girl, pretty as she was What,
he asked himself, would his own asso
ciates think of his companion should
he meet any of them? So the talk
was rather constrained during their
short ride; for Kitty, between embar-
rassment and certain weight at her
heart at thought of John Flooding on
alone, angry and hurt, land undeniably
with cause to feel so, was not so lively
as usual; and Mr.. Somers's uneasy
dread of meeting somebody made
him rather dull and distract Neither
was sorry when Kitty's destination
was reached; and Mr.. Somers, in his
relief, assisted Kitty to alight, and
took leave with so much empresSmen',
that she was fattered into a moment
airy cordiality of answer.
!, Scarcely had he driven out of sight
before he met carriage load of ac-
quaintances from his own hotel, and
!, was devoutly thankful they had not
seen him with the little country girl.
And Kitty, unconscious of this, trip.
ped up her friends door-steps with
feeling of relief
, Neither knew that John Holmes,
as soon as they drove out of sight,
had taken "cross cut" through the
fields to a point where he could see
their parting (knowing, as he did,
where she was going), and that their
very cordial manner seemed confr-
nation sure to his jealous belief that
she had indeed chosen Somers rather
than himself Poor fellowi he never
doubted that Somers was infatuated
as himself; aud he would have chosen
Kitty and her sunbonnet in the face
A vi dii u mn hNSuNC-lSey duQ Occu
, married to her 10 it, at the altar Of
, Grace Church, if need were.
Kitty made but short call on her
friends, and was rather pet,ish with
them for rallying her on her oompan-
ion; so much so that they dropped the
subject.
On her way home, she was met by
, frightened, excited boy, the son OF
/. a near neighbor, coming in hot haste
to summon her home. Her father had
fallen in fit, aud her mother, fee-
BILE, semi-invalid, had been completely
/, overcome by the sudden shock. Her
sisters and the doctor had been sent
for; meantime she must hurry.
The poor girl, stunned by the sud-
/, den calamity, listened with ears that
scarcely heard, and mind that hardly
understood, while she almost few
) along the road she had trod so lightly
but three hours before. Amid it all
there was a vague expectation that
John would come to her help, and all
would then be we'll. He had always