Sharp County record., 1879-11-27

Women love romance. They conjectured
a romance here to account for the indlt-
ference of a handsome man, still in the
"midday and flourish" of his years
There was nothing of the Lara type' un,
fortunately, about Philips Saxon goo.at
looks and open face. The mystery II
mystery there were about him. coulu
not be dark one.
In the course of time Philip made
money enough to create for himself a
lovely home. His secret heart still cher
ished an ideal, and in every detail OF his
home he consciously or unconSclou1Sly
studied Henlen Gray'S tastes. tie looked
forward to meeting her again. ne
must. They belonged together; He did
not LONG to do more, hope to 90 more'
than lust to touch her hand, to look into
her eyes. In spite of spiritual atlinitleS,
she was the wife of another man.
The meeting decreed by the gods was
deferred, not denied. One day tram
carrying party of excursioniSts to the
Western coast was wrecked within a
mile of Mountain City-Philip's home
Among those on the train were Helen
GRAY and her sister. Helen was also
among the injured. As she was beng
carried into the town, Philip recognized
her. He stopped short. Yes, and Amy
too-changed, however, from the girl OF
II into mature and thoughtful woman.
Helen was little altered-perhapS would
have been altered not at all except for
the widows cap she wore.
Philip Immediately rendered his serv-
ices. His instinct had been to do so on
the plea of old acquaintance, but he saw
in flash that he was not recognized,
and in the same flash he decided that he
would not revive the painful associations
of the past. He remembered what he
had been. The old familiar look of
pride on .Helen's face was still there.
1t was weakness, but he nevertheless
decided that if his present self did not
recall to Helen the convict Of the ten
years he had spent in prison, he would
not refresh her memory at that time.
He made his offer of assistance as a
stranger, to be sure, but then there is
an unceremOniousneSs Of gOOd-telloW-
ship about the West with which we OF
the East are unfamiliar. The sisters
only protector on the excursion, the
husband Of a cousin who was also Of the
party, had been dangerously wounded.
Philip had it in his power to befriend
them greatly, and he did not fail to do
so. He established them in comtOrta-
BILE quarters, telegraphed back and
forth for them-in word, tided over
the emergency. Helen and Amy were
penetrated with gratitude, which Helen
expressed all the more volubly because
she felt it the less sensibly.
Perhaps no more striking proof could
have been furnished of the slight i'm
preston made upon Helen's life by this
man, who had thrown away his own fu-
ture for the sake of saving her from pc
cuniary embarrassment, than the fact
that she now totally failed to recognize
him.
"There is something about Mr.. Philip
which puzzles me-" she said once to
Amy. ga resemblance. But can not
trace it out. | have tried. He is a
handsome man."
GA remarkably handsome man,
Helen, am sure he likes you"
"Do you mean lOUeS me, as the phrase
goes?"
81 believe l do"
81 think 50 too, to tell the truth.
Well, | married for convenience once.
1t would be no more than fair if | were
to marry fOr-mOre romantic considera-
tions the second time"
Amy laughed half deprecatingly. 81
wish that you would fall in love, Helen,
really and truly and desperately. You
might as well have no heart at all, you
keep it under such perfect control"
Perhaps may fall in love yet. Show
me the man, and | will"
"But that's not the way"
"It's my way. Show me an eligible
match, morally, intellectually, socially,
financially, and l will"
The least bit of color struggled into
Amy's face. "Could Mr.. Philip be
made to answer?n
"I'm not quite sure. | insist upon
deliberation. Perhaps hemight answer
1 have always said, Give me the right
kind of a man, and my affections will
twine. But they shall not twine unless
/ am convinced that the man is fully up
to the mark"
"You make a merit of worldliness. -
"To be sure l do. l am a child of
this world.n
Amy was transiently wretched. She
loved her sister, and she excused and
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