Osage Valley banner., 1880-04-22

that his smile was simply onchAntment.
/ was rather late 10 make these dise0v-
eries.
lie did not leave us at once it seemed
as If he staid just long enough for iue
10 know all had lost Since then be bad
been with us once again for whole
month but little Walter was IN with q
spinal affection that kept him on lis
back, and me by his side; and though
Cedric used to relieve meolten by day
aud ly night, Q,suld see fspr1 Hay esii-
dow. Att fr0dl OCCASIONAL giimpses into
the drawing room, that the balance Of
his time was spent in Suse,te's company.
"Aunt Susette's beau is going 10
make me kite,n Teddy conllded TO
Walter one day.
"Who's he?" asked Walter from his
bed.
"Why, Cedric, Of course Cedric
Browne. Bridget says so herself, as
il that put the matter beyond dispute.
The next day, when Cedric came up
20 amusc Walter with the affairs down
stairs, that youth demanded Il say,
are You weauy Aunt Susette's beau,
Cedric? Adrienne's ever SO nicer
When I'm man shall marry Adri-
cnne."
"Then YOU be luckior that /, . said
Cedric, winding upa top, and spinning
/ it on his palm.
1t was year since then. no longer
went out; | was fairly pdSsee. Aunt
I Browne had abandoned all hopes Of me.
\ | was good nursery-maid, cheap
( governess, an inexpensive companion,
in the family. la the meantime / could
( have married any day, il | had chosen
10 accept the Rev. Abel Amherst, and
4 transfer my lab0rs to the parsonage.
/ 10 be sure, this would not have proved
I the brilliant marriage my aunt had eX-
pected of me, nor the romantic one
! had dreamed Of myself, and il was not
I till came into possession Of certain
family secret that ] began TO revolve the
/ possibility in my mind. II seems that
when my aunt married her second hus-
baud, Mr.. Browne Susotte and Anne
were both l4owells--they had subsisted
upon the patrimony left TO Cedric by
his own mother, and that after his
fathers death, Cedric had turned in the
same family income from the estate for
- t,s.,'''s- - si'e, '-''', = q
man whom | had refused, and who had
forgotten me. Earning my own liveli-
hood was out of the question, drudgery
was my only vocation, and that was too
badly paid to be encouraging. looked
at the Rev. Abel Amherst often at this
period, with view 10 installing him in
Codric's place, II Cedric would only va
cate. Oddly enough, Mr.. Amherst
renewed his suit at this time, and pressed
1t with the eagerness OF lover, and for
the first time | began to hesitate. The
\ woman who hesitatos is lost" said Su.
settle.
had been out ON the hills one day
trying to make up my mind 20 forget
Cedric, and marry Mr. Amherst but
whenever / began 10 think with some
interest Of going TO parish meetings,
becoming the president of Dakota
Leagues and sewing circles, visiting the
poor, and drinking tea opposite the Rev
Mr.. Amherst all the rest Of my days,
somehow or other Cedric's face would
slip into the picture uninyited, and blot
out his rivals, as strong slnlight fades
a negative photograph.
"There is letter for you, Adrienne, !"
said Aunt Browne, when entered the
house, Sin tho music-rOom, on the top
Of the dado, under Mozart's picture.n v
! went into the musio-room, but there
was no letter 10 be seen.
" Perhaps one of the girls has re-
moved II, she suggested. But no one
had meddled with IL.
"Grandma cooked letter over the
toa,kettle,' said little Teddy, reflect
lively.
Eyes" said grandma, 81 wrote a
letter TO your pa, child, l hadn't any
blotting-paper, but the fire answers the
| purpose quite as wen. !"
Az that time l bad never heard of
opening letters by steam. Wen, we
ransaoked the house for that truant
letter, but In vain.
"Who was il from, auntPn l asked.
"How should Iknow, child2'
"But the postmark7"
"The postmark was blurred ["
"Had 1t foreign stamp2' | asked,
with sudden oagorness. Cedric had
gone abroad some months before, and 1
had not heard OF his return.
"a foreign stamp! No. Were you
expecting foreign letterPn
NN-o; but il is the unexpected that
always happens, you know"
" It's awfully provoking" said SUI
settle. "Perhaps itwas only The recipes
1 Mrs Clark was going to send you" Z
81 Nothing more likely; bat what has
become OF it9 It's prolonged game
of hunt the thimble.n
"And supposiAg It's aletter notifying
/ You Of the existence Of a first Mrs. Am
herst," put in Anne, "or legacy left
by your forty-iifth cousin in Australia
! Al sIas, 10 .,ari Ia1l ..u.,s.
I Wen, after that suppose 1 must have
accepted Mr. Amherst Every body be-
haYed as il / had. Ireceived congratu-