Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1881-10-27

Like q good many Of her more favored
sisters, her heart was guarded by an out
work-no mean ono-of fancy and fastid-
iousness, a slight bat impenetratable veil
between her and the coarse rustics about
her. She looked sullen and downcast on
this bright summer morning as she turned
slowly TO the work Of clearing away the
breakfast things. A lodger-that meant
more work and harder, and, worse than
that, II msant a stranger who would think
himself better than her, better than her
father; who would make her feel as she
had felt once, when she had been strolling
on the shore, whittier she loved 10 go when
the days work was done, for she had a gen.
uine though unconscious love of nature,
and party Of fine ladies and gentlemen
came ashore from a little tug.boat yacht
her father called II, anchored off the cliff.
She had watched them, quite near too-so
near that the sound of their voices and
laughter reached her-and once or twice
she heard their words plainly.
They were so different from the country
people she lived among-looked and moved
and spoke differently. They had not no
ticed her; she looked like the rest of the
people they had seen that day, poor and
plain, and she had no beauty or grace to
shine through her ugly clothes and lift her
above the need of style OF ornament And
yet she had felt that day, for the first time
in her life, clearly, that she was not really
different from those young girls; that she
could have learned to speak and move as
they did. AS she listened to their voices
she heard one of them say, looking up at
the little cottage, "I suppose some one lives
there who has always lived there and always
will. 1t would be like being buried alive
to me-" And then the gentleman to whom
it was said had answered, "Oh yes, of
course, to you; but, my dear Miss Willough-
by, the people who live there are not like
you" That was all she had heard, but it
had made her bitter then, and now when
she remembered it her heart hardened
against this stranger, who was one of their
kind and would feel as that man had done.
Well, she must go to work, and SO she did
soon, and there was enough to do to take
her all day. The sun was sinking in the
West, and she had not yet carried up the
pail of water that would put the last touch
to the lodger's room. There was a CON-
mon pitcher and basin in the room, and
she had filled the pitcher, and then some
notion came to her that he would want
more water than one pitcher full. "These
fine folks are so particular" she said to
herself, and ran down with the pail TO the
pump again. She soon pumped it full, and
stopped to lift it; as she did so, her hair,
which had loosened during the days work
and was now held up but by single pin,
tumbled down over her shoulders in heavy
mass of golden-brown ripple and curl. 1t
was her only beauty, and she did not even
know that it was beautiful. She uttered
an impatient exclamation, tried to toss it
back off her face as she held the bucket in
both hands, and then was constrained to set
the pail down again while she gathered her
unruly tresses hurriedly together and bound
them, with a sigh of real WEAKNESS. She
had worked hard all day. AS she did so
shadow fell across the path and voice be-
side her said, "Let me carry that in for you; (;
it's heavy and you are tired" She started
and grew deep red when she saw who it
was that had spoken - beyond doubt the
lodger, young man of eight and twenty,
selfpossessed, handsome, and with a sweet,
cultivated voice.
Her answer came at once, "Its not heavy,
thank you, and I'm used to it," ungracious
and brusque; then she lifted the pail with
steady hand, and carried it quickly into
the house and up stairs. All the fatigue
seemed gone; she was strung up at once.
How she hated him, as she had felt sure
she would do! In q moment down she
came, saying
"You are the lodger, I suppose?"
eyes," he said, smiling, land my name
is Arthur Middleton"
"I will show you your room," she said,
in her usual cold, dry way. He followed
her, and was shown his room. When he
came down, little while after, he found
Jake Anderson smoking pipe on the door.
step, the table set for tea within, and in a
few moments more was hidden by Ander.
son "to sit down and have his supper
There was no use waiting for the girl; she'd
gone to the shore with Bill Foster, to see
him off on a trip"
Middleton obeyed orders, inferring from
Anderson's tone that it was good.by tete-
d-tete with lover, and said as much in a
pleasant way to the man, as they sat to-
gether over the table.
He was answered by grim SMILE and
swell, | don't know about love or lovers.
The girl hasn't heerd much about that sort
of thing, nor won't. Bill wants to marry
her, and she'll have him, in course. What's
to hinder? call her uncommon lucky"
"Queer people," thought Middleton.
"The father thinks it quite natural to cross
the word love- out of his daughters voca-
bulary, and the daughter treats common
courtesy as if it were an uncommon imper-
tinence. Well, l didn't come here to study
human nature, but the ocean," And with
I, n ,N1o IN
bed, and was soon asleep. Would he have
laughed or wondered most had he heard
what the girl was saying to her companion
as they passed up and down the sand, in
the moonlight? What allied her tonight?
Bill thought, as he looked at her, that she
was CROWN pretty, after all" Her cheeks
were flushed, and her eyes glittered
"Yes, l will marry you," she had just
said in answer to the question which he
had put at last; land when will you be
back from this trip?" ,
"Well, don't know" said Bill; "may
be month or six weeks; but I'll be back
all right. I'm not the fellow to go back
on a girl, Meg" and he smiled in com.
placent way, for he attributed her excite
ment to delight at his declaration, and the
thought tickled his rough hide amazingly.
You see, Meg" he said, after minutes
pause, II thought I'd better speak to-
night, for somehow it came to my mind
that this strange chap your fathers brought
home might" He hesitated, for she had
stopped dead short in her walk, and was
looking at him, both her eyes blazing.
Don't look that way I didn't mean any
Aarm, but he's good.looking fellow, and
five heard that these gentlemen are very
taking with girls, and thought if I didn't
speak, perhaps you'd take fancy to him,
and like him better than me-"
"See here, Bill" said the girl, II don't
suppose you could know, but / hate that
man, and all of his class. You're worth a
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