Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1879-05-23

ed So anxious, rs Phil said. to have his
finger in every corner Of the pie, that
Phil waved his rights of previous &C.
spontaneously, and permitted his
friend 70 make the disclosures &c Mrs.
Eaton, Phil contenting himself with in
closing few lines 70 his couSln--in-
dorsing Johns moral character-in
that young mans own words.
Speedily came the answer \ very
incoherent, agitated, short little note
from lilly. SO badly penned and tx.
pressed As to hc almost illeginle and I'M
ineligible. But John made out from
it that she was very unhappy, and
would hail any change with joy, Mrs.
Eaton'S missive was hloued with tears.
She had evidently Il talent for letter.
writing, that is, for the writing OF letters
considered rs essays. This enc invoked
blessings upon Johns head Il referred
70 the writer's past sorruwtul life. Ii
was a dirge.
"She always had that whining way
about her, Mr., Ross commented,
after pertlsing il. Goodies her miser-
les, YOU know
Not long atterward arrived the news
that lilly had gone on to her mother iii
Greenbrier. John hreathed Il sigh Of
relief He had learned that nr. Green
had died intestate. ltwould have been
hard lines for lilly, shaving Nil the rest
Of her days for those hard task-mis-
tresses, the wicked sisters The hfr-
long bondage seemed inevitable 10
Johns excited imagination.
So several months passed. Then
John applied for leave, ON his doctors
advice, who said he needed rest. lie
had no mother or sisters To hasten TO
who would receive him with open
arms, and make each day he was at
home holiday. He had distant rela-
tions in England, none III this country
He would have gone 10 Woodbridge, ms
being the nearest approach TO home,
had DR.. Green and lilly still been there
He would like TO see lilly. She had
cried when he had hidden her good.hy,
He did not think that any one else had
shed tears for his sake since. Poor
little lilly! Pretty little lilly, He had
a great notion 70 go to Gteenhrier and
look her up. lie wanted to find out
whether she would be glad to see him.
He went 10 Greenhrier. He fo9nd
the decent, tidy, little brick house whore
the Eatons lived. He was shown into II
dark little parlor. The woman who ad-
mitted hlm went up stairs to tell Miss
lilly SO nois6lessly that John thought
she must be i'll her stoeking-feet. And
when lilly came down to him She ap.
peared to have on list shoes. Every
thing about the house was mulled,
Mother has Il dreadful headache"
lilly explained; " she suffers terribly
! with neuralgia"
1t was impossible not to see that lilly
was extremely agitated. The hand she
gave 10 John was like ice, and tremhled
to his touch He almost seated her,
still holding her hand, and she looking
up at him with the old wistful look iii
her eyes. John was touched. He al.
ways had liked lilly. And, poor little
soul, how thin she wasl Was il pos
sible that she had only exchanged one
kind of bondage for another
She went out the front door with him
when he left, and he saw them in the
daylight how pale she had grown. The
little wild rose had lost her bloom. He
asked her to take drive with him for
the sake Of old times. You look MS
though you needed the fresh mir"
Yes, do not get out often; mother
is 80 alling."
On the evening Of his last day in
Greenhrier he made up his mind that
he would ask her to marry him. He
had very little doubt of her answer, poor
foolish child; for his own part, he fan
cied he was in love with her. AT all
events, he ought to be in love with some
one by this time. lilly was almost the
only girl lie had ever known well.
But fate interfered with his intention,
Mrs. Eaton was so i'll that lilly could
not be spared from her side for more
than five minutes. She ran down just
to say good-by. John resolved that he
would write instead. lie told lilly he
would write. "And take care Of your
sell" he added. She did not cry this
time. Persons who take an extreme
view of human maladies would perhaps
have said that she looked simply brok-
en-hearted.
When John did write, it was differ
ent sort Of letter from the one he had
planned. On his return TO camp he was
confronted by crisis in his life. A
gay party from Washington came down
to dance and flirt in the tented field in
lieu Of the conventional ball room. OF
its number was Maud Gale, who if ex-
perience goes for any thing, should have
been an adept in both dancing and ilirt-
ing. A society girl par excellence, but the
first Of the type who had crossed John
Leonard's path. She had cultivated
fascination TO the full extent Of her pow
ers, and John fell an cas- victim TO her
practiced wiles. He was bewitchcd.
What if her hair were blondined, and
her skin were whitened and REDEEMED,
and her eyebrows darkened? John was
as innocent as a babe about these mat
tiers. To him Maud was radiant in all
the fresh beauty Of young womanhood.
Tilly? She faded in his thought BY con-
trast into such mere dull little coun-
try girl.
Still bewtched, he became engaged
to Maud. She reasoned that she might
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