Connecticut western news., 1880-04-07

the family. In the mean time could have married any day, if I had chosen to accept the Rev. Abel Amherst, and transfer my labors to the parsonage. To be sure, this would not have proved the brilliant marriage my aunt had expected of me, nor the romantic one I had dreamed of myself, and it was not till l came into possession of a certain family secret that I began to revolve the possi- bility in my mind. It seems that when my aunt married her second husband, MT. Browne-Susette and Anne were both Lowells-they had srbsisted upon the patfimony left to Cedric by his own mother, and that after his fathers death, Cedric had turned in the same yearly income from the estate for the family use, and that I, Adrienne Lennox, owed my daily bread to the man whom had refused, and who had forgotten me. Earning my own livelihood was out of the question, drudgery was my only vocation, and that was too badly paid to be encouraging. I looked at the Rev. Abel Amherst often at this period, with a view to installing him in Cedric's place, if Cedric would only vacate. Oddly enough, Mr. Amherst renewed his suit at this time, and pressed it with the eager ness of lover, and for the first time began to hesitate. "The woman who l hesitates is lost," said Susette.
 I had been out on the hills one day trying to make up my mind to forget Cedric, and marry MT. Amherst but whenever began to think with some in terest of going to parish meetings, becoming the president of Dakota Leagues and sewing circles, visiting the poor, and drinking tea opposite the Rev. ! MT. Amherst all the rest of my days, ! somehow or other Cedric's face would 1 slip into the picture uninvited, and blot out his rivals, as strong sunlight fades a negative photograph.
 "There is letter for you, Adrienne, :" said Aunt Browne, when I entered the house, Gin the music-room, on the top of the dado, under Mozart's picture. , I went into the music-room, but there was no letter to be seen.
 "Perhaps one of the girls has removed it," she suggested. But no one had meddled with it.
 Grandma cooked letter over the ! tea-kettle, said little Teddy, refectively.
 "Yes," said grandma, "I wrote 8 letter to your pa, child, I hadn't any plotting paper, but the fire answers the 
 | purpose quite as we'll
 At that time I had never heard of opening letters by steam. We'll, we ! ransacked the house for that truant I letter, but in vain.
 "Who was it from, aunt?' I asked.
 "How should know, child?" "But the handwriting-the postmark? ?" "The postmark was blurred "Had it foreign stamp?" asked, with sudden eagerness. Cedric had gone abroad some months before, and had not heard of his return.
 | "A foreign stam No. Were you expecting foreign letter?"
 "N-o; but it is the unexpected that always happens, you know.'
 "It's awfully provoking" " said Susette. Perhaps it was only the recipes Mrs. Clarke was going to send you.''
 Nothing more likely; but what has become of it? It's prolonged game of hunt the thimble."
 "And supposing it's letter notifying you of the existence of a first Mrs. Am herst," put in Anne, (" or of legacy left by your forty fifth cousin in Australia-' D And then the door-bell rang.
 Well, after that suppose I must have accepted MT. Amherst. Everybody be- haved as if had received congratula- tions and ring, and the parish begun repairs upon the parsonage, before l could muster courage to tell MT. Am herst all about Cedric and my mistake, and how wasn't at all sure I could ever get over it, and care for anybody else, but that I would do my best. And he smiled in sort of absent way when I told him, but seemed. content to take me as was, for better or worse; only it did strike me sometimes that he was the most undemonstrative lover in Christendom but hadn't much experience in lovers, and perhaps they weren't as gushing in zeal life as novels pictured. He used to kiss my hand when we parted; that was all. He was very gentle, but little sad, fancied, with look which might mean that he was afraid of so much happiness, or that to marry the woman he loved
 wasn't all fancy had painted it and some
 times I thought I had perhaps done wrong to tell him everything about Cedric so
 unreservedly; yet had only meant tc be honest. But the day was appointed
 and suddenly Cedric appeared am ong us
 when I thought he was at the worlds : end, and he and the girls decorated the
 little church with white field daisies anc grasses for the occasion. You may be. lieve that avoided the sight of Cedric in the interval before the wedding as much as possible, but somehow was J always stumbling upon him he seemed to be perpetually at my elbow; he sur l prised me more than once with traces o tears upon my face; the sound of hi voice made my heart turn and quive D within me. If had dared to withdraw I at this juncture, I'm afraid I should hav . done so but it was too late and thougl e I felt like hypocrite whenever MT. Am r herst appeared, his look of sober satis
 faction, which reminded me of thos' lines of Matthew Royden on Sir Phili]
 Sidney, .-..
 c A full assurance given by looks, S Continual comfort in face,
 The lineaments of gospel books,' D might have taught me that all was wei n with him.
 "You are the .oddest sweethearts