Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1880-12-23

wanted. They were very happy till June
came, with its balmy air and fragrant bios
fellow up from the city down by the sea to
while away his time among the hills and
trout brooks of Connyvflle. Now he found
Kitty out and made her acquaintance; and a
brilliant, weil-mannered fellow such as he
was just the sort to turn the head OF = sim.
pie hearted girl like Kitty, who knew but
little of the life beyond her native village, OF
OF the articles Of handsome, reckless men,.
Ezra noticed the change In her With panied
anxiety, but he held his tongue, hoping the
that Kitty would as soon forget him.
Ephrairn was madly jealous of such ardent
devotion to his betrothed, and one evening
when he had come down from his farm on
the hill to call on Kitty he said, in his blunt
way, Kitty, this young man from the city
| is growing too familiar with you. Unjust in
sist on having it stopped"
/ ''What silly, nonsensical boy you are,
laughed Kitty in the gayest manner posi-
BILE, IS though it was the very funniest thing
maybe am" he said with sorfowful
sigh. But you are not treating me as
ought to be treated, as you would want to be
'How do you want to be treated" she
asked, coaxingly.
"yust as you would want me to treat
you" he replied. s.Now suppose" and he
fixed himself as IL he was about making 9
great and valid point, 81 should run hall
RS ' mon With 1o sHs H Phelps Sally Brown
How would I like thatT' she cried,
laughing in the heartiest and most provoking
manner. "Oh, should enjoy that so much
And it would be such fun! And-oh, dear
Ephraim Bates and Susie Phelps. But,
Eph-" she was very sober and very ironical
-''you couldn't do such thing were you to
try lifetime. I am the only pretty GIRL
and she tossed her head and looked very
vain, ''who ever had particle Of sympathy
for overgrown Ephraim Bates"
for they were cruel words for her to speak.
Besides, he, like other men, had some con-
ceit, and he believed he could have wooed
and won old Squire Phelps's daughter as
successfully as he had wooed and won Kitty
Potts. S. N
''Kitty," he said, harshly, ssafter engag-
ing yourself to me am sure you have no
right to allow any gentleman to be so de-
voted to you as this strange fellow is. Again
must insist on its being stopped"
right, and it CALLED her to be told of it,
especially by Ephraim. But for the world
she wouldn't let him know it CALLED her.
"Oh, what queer boy you are, Eph" she
answered, pleasantly, and then added, with
keen touch of sarcasm, E'DOn't you know,
Sonnie, that if were confined exclusively to
you for male society should get SO sick and
SO tired OF you I should never, never want
to see you again as long as live"
Had Ephraim been a shrewd observer Of
would not have allowed himself to be greatly
aggravated, for he would have known that it
pleased Kitty best to have him SO.
Kitty" he said, sharply, 'syou don't
love me- meEy :, can't love me if you speak as
.'Oh, dear" cried Kitty, bursting into an
other fit Of laughing, ''what silly, silly boy !!
Did 1 ever tell you, did I ever tell anybody.
1 loved you? Now be honest, Eph, did ]? 2"
'.Didn't you promise you would marry
"No, Ididn't, :" she retorted, sharply.
may have told you something's presume
did-that led you to believe might, some
time, do such foolish thing, but never in
my life have told you l loved you. But
what has that to do with it, anyway"
"What has that to do with it?'' he cried,
fiercely. "Does not that promise imply you
love mel"
ooh, dear, mol" she retorted, with a Ian
guild unconcern. "It don't imply anything,
only that promised silly fellow something
I hadn't ought to. That's all.
care you in earnest?" he cried.
"Never was more so," she answered.
s'Then we will break our engagement, and
y you, Kitty iafts' will rue the day it was
'sSuit YOURSELF" she said, carelessly, and
tossing their engagement ring to the floor,
Ephraim picked it up and left the house.
Poor Kitty burst into tears when he had
gone, for she never supposed their quarrel
would result in such manner. She thought,
however, like all previous quarrels, it would
end happily; so she soon cheered up and
gave herself no further trouble, but fiirted
more boldly with her wild and handsome
suitor.k : 4
In the past Ephraim had been in the habit
of walking with her to church on the pleas
ant Sabbath evenings; and ever before they
had reconciled their little difficulties on that
day. Sunday came, but Ephralm came not
with it, and the scalding tears started from
her eyes, and she reproached herself bitterly
for her cruel words, and would have fallen
at his feet and pleaded for his forgiveness,
for she loved him with all her sorrowing
heart.
She walked to church alone that night,
where she saw Ephraim with Squire
Phelps's pretty daughter Susie, and, poor
foolish girl! she swore revenge on Ephraim
Bates, and the next night it was executed.
In the morning it was noised abroad that
Kitty Potts had gone away with the wild,
handsome fellow, and was married to him
in the city out by the sea.
days and weeks he fingered between life and
death with a raging fever in his head. But
he mended slowly, and when he could go
about his work again he seemed almost as
sunny as he was in other days, but his heart
-ah, no! the great wound was not healed
yet. From that terrible day he never spoke
her name, and every villager forbore to
mention it in his presence. She had written
him for forgiveness; bat some things there
are men are not divine enough to forgive,
and Ezra set his heart hard against forgiv-
ing the cruel wrong Kitty had done her fam
lily and her betrothed. She never wrote him
after that; but more than a year afterward
he heard that her reckless husband, firing of
her charms and beauty, had abandoned her
and left her alone and friendless in the great
unm erciful city down by the sea.
But Father Potts cheered himself up and
wendell his way up the hill, and opened the
great door of st. Johns, and climbed the
belfry stairs, and chimed the fine musical
bells that sounded merrier and more music
al than ever, for it seemed to Ezra and it
seemed to all the villagers, that the bells
rang sweeter in the Christmas times. But
hearts are gayer then, and life is brighter
then, and the star glimmers in the East
again and makes Heaven seem nearer and
dearer.
Presently Father Potts put on his coat,
shut the belfry door, came down the stairs
and opened the great door to go out into the
street; but just as he was about stepping
~ Hborl ;srI,t = I, lo,,