Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1881-10-13

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wretched man, and Marion Laurie went
up stairs, cast off her gay clothing, and
sobbed in passionate abandon the whole
night through.
This circumstance--though the world
knew it nOt-shortened the period of
Marion's social triumph in New York.
She suddenly announced her intention of
going abroad. She said she was sick,
and going to die, and Mr.. Laurie left all
his business in Johns charge, and said
ne was ready to go wherever Marion
wished. Yet if she had desired, she
might have made her journey a bridal
tour; but lovers had become a bore to
her; she would none of them.
So they went abroad, and remained a
year, travelling here and travelling there,
but finding happiness nowhere; for hap
piness was with John Monteith, and they
and he were thousands of miles asunder.
AT last Marion longed for her Jersey
home again. The truth was that in this
hard struggle between pride and love,
love had conquered. She wished to 60
back within the reach of reconciliation.
Even if John no longer loved her, she
could show him that she was sorry for
the suffering she had caused, and that
she loved no one else, at any rate. She
had dreams of settling down quiet lit
tie old maid of nineteen years. Perhaps
John and she might even come to be
very dear friends to each other, and if
he should marry any other girl, she
could try and love her too. Then she
tried to imagine Ella Doremus or Min
ME BOgart as John Monteith's wife, and
she felt that learning to love them in
that capacity would be a lesson likely to
give her employment and discipline for
a very long time.
Marion's condition grievously puzzled
her father, and also certain grave and
learned doctors whom he paid literally
to unravel the mystery. But it did not
puzzle Janet. Just as you set a thief to
catch thief, you may set woman to
find out woman. But then there was
in Janet's nature great deal of that
fatalism which is the legitimate
gy. "What had to be, would
be; and it was name o. her business
to sort threads some wiser hand than
hers had tangled" Not that she was
unwilling to do so; she only waited for
her appointed opportunity.
1t came one dreary evening in Lon
uOh Ddtlu uUIcTlJ Ut
pressed and anxious both about his bus
mess and his daughter, had gone to his
room early to write letters, and Janet
and Marion kept gloomy state in a
drearily magnificent apartment big
There was slow, dismal rain falling
outside, and the muddy, miserable
looking streets filed Marion, who was
watching them through dripping
window-panes, with a kind of terror.
Suddenly she turned to Janet, and with
something of her old impetuosity, said:
81 want to 60 home; 1 am sick to see
New York again"
"'Deed, child, I am glad you have
come to your right mind once more"
81 wonder if papa will be willing to
60 directly?"
elm thinking nothing will please
him better. He had letters to-day that
neither of us free from anxiety about
John. John is my only kith or kim
"John Monteith? What of him,
Janet? Is anything wrong with Johnp"
"There is nothing right, it seems.
The hands are on strike, and behav-
ing very ugly, and John is not just the
man to manage them safely; besides
which, he is quite worn out with doing
your fathers as we'll as his own share of
thinking"
"I wonder if he ever thinks of me,
Janetp'
"What for not? He liked you weel
enough"
"Oh, Janet, Janet, he did more than
that; he loved me with all his heart
for hettar than T deserved -
"That is clean impossible, honey.
And who's to blame you for not loving
him back again?'
"Oh, but did love him! 1 did in
deed, only
"You made a mistake and said NO,
instead of Yes Ell, dearp"
81 said foolish things 1 did not mean,
Janet; and I wanted to say YES and
he would not make me-"
81 know, dear. / am Janet Monteith
to-day because l once wanted to say
Yes and somebody would not make
me. Men have mostly good conceit O.
themselves; when they have not they
make deal O. trouble, for the world is
sorted for that condition"
Three weeks after this conversation
the weary little party smiled into each
others face as they turned into Broad
way again. "There is not city in the
world like New York; said Marion. en-
Enthusiastically, as she looked almost low
ingly up the long, picturesqe vista. Da-
vid nodded pleasant assent, and Miss
Janet made no other reservation than a
slight one in favor of Edinburgh.
After nights rest at his daughter
Julia's, David Laurie set out at once for
his mills and his home, and Janet in
sisted on going with him; but Marion
was to stay few days in New York, I'M
til the whole house had been thoroughly
warmed and made comfortable. Per-
haps she was not sorry to do this now
that she was within two hours travel of
John. She wanted time to consider
what she ought to do and say in every
possible contingency likely to occur; and
so, after Janet's and her fathers de-
parture, she spent the whole day in ar
ranging programmes OF her unavoidable
meetings with John.
Whon tho ovoninc arrived she ad do. |