The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-12-29


sideboard-all the consciousness of
ease and comfort and delight of the
senses about the place made visiting
Miss Barnes a very pleasant way Of
passing time ; and then, moreover, MS
her father was prominent man of
affairs among the politicians of the
country, one met there people who en-
larged the mental horizon and made a
man think for himself and think more
of himself.
Tonight, however, as he went along,
his mothers words gave him little
thought, and it did occur to him that it
was unwise to let himself become so
used to all this splendor and luxury on
a venture; for, after all, girl of such
wealth and fascination as Miss Barnes
had her choice from a crowd of lovers,
of whom he was but one and the least
conspicuous.
Just as these salutary reflections stole
through his mind his ear was caught by
the crying of child, and he paused to
look into the window of the cottage
that he was passing, and to see woman
hushing little child, whose face was
now hidden in her neck-a slender,
darkly.clad woman, who moved here
and there, with the baby on her arm,
and attended to the wants of a number
of other children, while a man sat at
the table, with his arms thrust out
straight before him and his head fallen
between them, in an attitude of abject
despair. The woman's back was to-
ward him all the time but something
about her reminded him of Nina Prem
tice.
pretty much what I might expect,
1 suppose" groaned Harold, "if l
obeyed my mother. By Georgep' as
the woman half turned, a sweet, fair,
sad face, and delicate profile of figure,
II believe it is NinaP
But its absurdity destroy the fancy,
and he went on his way, whistling bar
or two of the "Wanderer," and would
have been very shortly with Miss
Barnes, had he not been detained by a
discussion with a chance friend at q
corner and had not then stepped into
pool OF water, and been obliged to
hunt up a bootblack, the little wretch
afterward keeping him waiting for his
change.
"I declare" said he to Nina, when
at last he reached Miss Barnes par
lors, "I thought I saw you married tc
drunken laborer, as l came along to-
night, with gang OF babies Chamber.
ing round"-
What made you think him drunk
emp asked Nina, with her sweet serious.
ness.
ooh! the looks of him-tho arms on
the table, the fallen head, unkempt,
unshorn, you know, and all the rest"
81 suppose" said Nina, "that poor
man, whose wife lay dead in the othel
room, might look much that way"
81 believe it was you'll" cried Harold.
"Do l look like it," she asked, light.
ly. "And have l dual existence, to
be here and there too?" And then,
as Harold glanced her over, in her airy
muslins and forget-me.nots, he smiled
at tho idea; and she seemed all at once
as different from that woman, and from
all other women, as il she had stepped
out OF another star. Yet, for all that, a
man does not care to marry a woman
who is different from all other women
simply to oblige his mother.
"What are you two talking about =
asked Miss Barnes, standing before
them Just then, the picture of Bac-
chante, with her head bound with cur.
rant leaves and her clustering curls like
grape punches about her dark and
laughing face. care you promising
Nina that you will come to Washing
ton this winter? Nina is to be with me
there for the holidays, you know. If
you should, swell my list on New
Years" And then she went dancing
down the room, for the misty night
had driven everybody within doors; and
waiter was just bringing in tray OF
iuleps.
"When ! was a little confirmed
drunkard of the age of ten signed the
pledge" said Miss Barnes, conveying the
waiter to Harold "But l didn't ow
how nice juleps were. Now 1 am totally
depraved. Here, Mr.. Hartley. Nina
It's quite as immoral to drink lemonade
with straws as mint juleps. The sin
lies altogether in the straws!"
"It depends on the individual
whether there is any sin about it, ]
think" said Nina. "But l love lem.
onade. A lemon seems to carry cool
ness into the tropics"
"And you don't know why you
should burn your throat that long,
white throat-out with the other? Get
thee to nunnery" AS the gay girl
lifted her glowing glass to the wax,
lights, Harold whispered to Nina,
don't believe the Bacchantes used
straws," and was astonished that Nina
did not laugh. But that night the faces
of the two girls kept shining upon him
out of the darkness, as he walked
home. The one the self-indulgent.
laughing beauty; the other, if moi
beautiful, yet certainly lovely face in
its fairness and perfect calm. And the
girl lifting her glass to the glow of the
wax lights did not seem to him SC
charming as before.
"Do you know" said Mr.. Hartley's
mother, one twilight, some time after.
ward, "Tm afraid have been doing ar
injustice to Miss Barnes? She really
has a heart. Those poor McNultys
When Mrs. McNulty died she used tc
go down there every evening, and carry
supper, aud hear the children'f
prayers, and put them to bed, and
leave breakfast set out for the father
in the morning. Just think of thai
girl doing such things" I"
"Did she tell you that she did
mother ?" asked Harold.
"Well, no. That is, not exactly. ]
heard that one of the Hill ladies was
down at the McNulty's doing these
tninos and smoke of Il incidentally II