River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1881-06-23
WINItRED'S SECRET.


chung coaxingly to her young husbands
arm; "and tnat is a cOnservatOry-a
wee conservatory to keep us in flowers
all the year round. Look here, In this
corner now, there are really three sides
of it ready built; we should only want
a roof, and that old door we took from
between the lower rooms and the
shelves inside"
"And the apparatus to warm II, ana
the plants to stock it" added Arnold,
with a smile.
"Oh, as for those, my friend, Mrs.
Wodehouse, has promised to send me
hers; she is going abroad shortly, and
doesn't care about them, she says; and
she appears anxious that | should have
them"
$3.50 you are jealous of you dear
friends conservatory, is that it You
forget, little woman, that the Wode-
houses are rich folks, while you have
been foolish enough to marry poor
young fellow in government office.
However, have your conservatory, my
Winnie, only don't be extravagant
about it."
A month later the conservatory is
finished, and Winnie is experimenting
the arrangement of cargo of fine
plants lust sent by Mrs. Wodehouse.
All have as usual a label affixed to a
little peg at the side of the pot, on
which the botanical name Of the flower
is written; but she suddenly observes
that this, in the case Of the finest plant,
is not label merely, but carefully
folded and sealed note directed to her
self.
She opens it, ami her blue eyes gr'w
first round with astOnishment, then
moist with pity as she reads. Finally
she sits down among the flower pots,
and looks at them as they stand just
where the men have left them, and
there is sort of superstitiOus awe de-
picted on her face, as if she fears lest
the arrival of these pots of flowers Is
also the arrival of great misery in her
home. All her pleasure, her almost
infantine delight over the new cOnserv-
atOry is gone; it seems to have passed
away as rapidly as the short exclama-
ton of 10Y with which she had hailed
the advent of these floral treasures.
In her hand she still holds the note
containing the cloud which, wreathing
itself about her mind, is already begin
ming to dim the clear horizon of Wini-
fred Moreton's bright young life. She
is reading it once again with much IN
tentness, when she hears her husband
open the outer door with latch-key.
She thrusts it INTO her pocket with hur-
ried eagerness, and then strives, but
rather vainly, to compose her face INTO
an appearance of credltable tranquility.
The first secret has sprung up between
her and Arnold. and the keeping of it
then and in the future will prove a
heavy tax on Winifred's candid nature.
He cannot avoid noticing that some
thing is amiss, and exclaims:
"Why, little wife, how grave you
look over your new toy You have
got your conservatory; you have some
lovely flowers to put i'll livery kind OF
Mrs. Wodehouse to send them-and
still you look as if you had some heavy
care ON your mind. What is the mat
ter, my dear Winnie?'
please, Arnold, let me send for old
Roffey, the carpenter, to put up some
shutters and bar across here, and a
couple of bolts to the door,"
"Foolish Winnie, do you think your
plants so very precious that all the
burglars in town will be after them2
However, have your way. Send for that
old carpenter with a face like q battered
halfpenny. and make your floral treas
ures quite secure. Meanwhile, perhaps
you will treat me to smile and a
kiss"
DAYS passed into weeks, and the con-
servatorv was never out of Winifred's
thoughts Her plaything had become
her bete nOrie, nor could all the care and
solicitude of her husband, whom she
loved to alteration, lay the ghost which
seemed to be wandering about her
heart
Arnold had some thoughts of sending
for physician, as he positively was be-
ginning to fear that Winifred had some
mental disease, which was developing
into phase which he was pleased to
call "plantomania," and not little de-
lighted was he to receive telegram
from his brother-in-law, who had been
for some time absent, saying that 'he
is coming home as fast as ship and rails
can bring HIM. and that he may be ex-
pected any day"
"He will perhaps be able to throw
some light, he thinks, " on this extra
ordinary infautuation of WInnle's' not
only for watching and tending her
plants, but for locking them up and
thinking about them ceaselessly."
But Captain Verschoyl is not more
able to account for his sister peculiar
mania than is her perplexed husband,
and after many conversations between
them on the subject and much confabu-
lation they agree to consult the family
doctor. Or. Jones, however, laughs at
their surmises and pooh-poohs their
fears.
HE has known Winnie since she was
a baby, he'll guarantee his reputation
that there is nothing mad about her.
SO he says; but when he comes to see
her, ut her husbands suggestion, the
pained, anxious expression of her face,
once so bright and smiling, the restraint
of her manner, once so lively and gay,
staggers even the belief of the faithful
old Hippocrates. What can it possibly
mean2
Look here, Mrs Winifred had
ALWAYS called her Mrs. Winifred since
she married-"loOk here, Mrs. Wini-
fred believe the odor of these flowers is
making You look thin and wan. | shall
tell your husband to have them all
carried away dllO tllht htAaS Ugly WI
servatorv pulled down"
mo. DIR. Jones, no. | wish TO heaven
that il had never been built, but 70
take it down would be worse than death
to me-
| do not understand" said he watch.
ing her keenly as he spoke.
mo, perhaps not; but plants are such
worry: they always uie when you
want them to flower l am very sorry
I asked for them. | was so much hap
pier before had them"
The doctor was nOnplussed and began
to think with her husband and brother
that the worry these flowers occasioned
her must be the result of a weak mind.
To his repeated suggestion, however,
that il they were tro lblesome to her
the wiser course would be to get rid of
them, she persistently offered the most
determined opposition.
Altogether, Ninifred's conservatory
was puzzle to these three mems heads,
the like of which they had never pre-
viously been called on to solve. She
was perfectly sane, perfectly coherent,
perfectly wise on every subject, except