Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1881-08-21

Idash the unshed tears from my eyes,
and with quick, impetuous movement,
raise his hand to my lips and kiss it pas
sionately.
"But dol" l cry, piteously "Only l
can't speak; give me time"
He started up so unexpectedly that l
gasp in alarm. l thought we were over
board, the pair of us. However, my fears
are groundless, for he is at my side. He
puts his dear arms around me; he holds
me close to him; and l, resting my head
against his shoulder, tell him very loving
ly that my heart was all his own.
We saunter into breakfast later; how
swiftly the time has flown! We encoun-
ter my sister Maggie tripping across the
hall. She is on her way to the breakfast
room. She stops short.
Chow awfully melancholy you two do
look!" she says, in her gay, uncermoni-
Gus fashion. "Anything the matter with
either of your"
Whereupon my lover blurts out what
has happened; and /, standing by him,
look horribly guilty.
"Good gracious!" says Maggie, laugh
ing, glancing comically from George to
me. 81 declare the suddenness of the
whole affair has completely taken away
my appetite"
CHAPTER II.
SUNSET.
In the evening, at dinner, George and /
sit next to each other, and if anything
else were wanting in the way of appear
ances, this fact is in itself, of course, suf-
ficient to confirm the rumor of our en-
gagement. Indeed, everybody in the
house knows of it by this time, and we
have been congratulated right and left.
George informs me that the men have
chaffed him numerically; and answer,
with touch of the old warmth, that |
cannot for the life of me conceive why so
really serious an affair should always be
considered fair game for senseless banter.
An engagement should be regarded in its
proper light, that of a sacred contract;
and l observe witheringly that there were
always idiots to be met with in the world,
and suppose that there always will be-.
And George puts his head down to mine,
and says tenderly:
"Little spitfre!'
l have written to my people at home,
and told them about George and myself.
and have wondered, in vaguely tri-
umphant way, what the boys themselves
would say to the news. They will never
dare to tease me any more, think, with
sigh of relief; as for the girls--why,
they will all be wanting to come and stay
with Maggie, since my sojourn here has
been attended with such delightful con-
sequences AS for dear mother, ah, I
know she will be thankful enough; for
has she not been given SIX daughters to
get rid Of in vigorous family of eleven
in all?
Engaged people, we know, are privil-
eyed community. l have even heard
them described as amiable lunatics. So,
dinner at an end, George, watching his
chance, escapes from the society Of the
men in the diningroom, and l, following
suit, according to previous arrangement,
vanish from that Of the women in Mag
gie's domain.
find George Lisle waiting for me in
the hall, with a cinnamon colored en-
velope in one hand and a slip of flimsy
paper in the other.
81 have just received this telegram %
he says, with evident embarrassment 81
must leave Ringwood tonight, Barbara,
instead of tomorrow morning"
ga telegram" 1 echo, blankly, my
heart shot through with that strange, un-
pleasant, icy sensation which is born of
acutest disappointment, and which we
have all experienced at some time or an
other in our ives-''must leave Ring
wood tonight"
Eyes" speaking hurriedly and avoid
ing my piteous eyes-''for this message,
you see, ought to have reached me two
hours or more ago, only, Ringwood being
in such an out Of the-way corner of the
world, the fellow lost his way in gettin g
here"
"Oh, Georgep l begin, clasping my
hands and lifting to him imploringly my
white troubled face as we stand there
alone with each other at the open hall
door in the blood-red glory of the sunset
light, "what is it? Tell me, my be-
loved"
But for answer he brushes both tele-
gram and envelope in his hand and thrust
them into the breast-pocket of his even
ing coat. Then he draws through his
arm my own cold, unresponsive hand and
leads me, mute and hurt, out into the
dusky garden, where the old-fashioned
flowers by the grassy walks are breathing
out their subtlest scents, and the grass
hopper, in its harsh why voice, is chirp-
ing of the coming night.
That the tidings which my lover has
Just received are about as bad as they
well can be is palpable enough from his
whole demeanor. His face is pale and
anxious; could almost swear that tears
are glistening on those thick brown lashes
of his. All the same, he does not look at
me; seems, indeed, to see nothing of what
is round him; me least of all. And who
should comfort him now, if not 1? This
state of affairs is altogether wrong.
"George!' l cry again, unspeakably
distressed
''The time is short, Barbara he says,
rousing himself with an effort, II must
be going in quarter of an hour They
will drive me over to dorchester, and I
shall 90 up to town by the mail. l will