The Russellville Democrat., 1881-05-19

and had loved the testy old man dearly. But now he thought 1t would harm no one if he should try to realize lis youth. ful dreams,
 He sighed and looked out of the win dow; walked to lhe iire-p place and stood there unreienting; frightened up and be- gan to make one oi his old fancy pictures of Fanny at the other side of the fire.
 she'll be the older, of course" he said. "Thin-perhaps fragile and worn; pale, too. No matter; ics Fanny, and she'll be beautiful to me-"
 And he wrote her letter on the spot, in which, however, he only told her he was coming to see her.
 An elderly lady was walking in green lane near Honey, with two dhil- dren. and poodle which was her own, the children her landlady's. She was very stout lady, with four chins and red face, and no waist whatever.
 As she walked, there came up the lane weary old gentleman, with large green umbrella under his arm. His nose and chin met. His head was as smooth as an egg, except at the nape of the neck, where six hairs still clung. His ears stood out on each side of his face, large, yellow and with frosty pinches on them. He had waterv-blue eyes. anG wart on his forehead. Just the kind of old man the stout lady hated. For his part, he disiiked fat women.
 "A frizzy old creature" he thought: and just then the poodle and children, all tied together with blue ribbon, tang led themselves about his legs and nearly upset him.
 Come here, my dears; don't run against the gentleman in that way" said the fat lady in faint voice. People should teach their grandchil' } dren and their dogs better manners" | said the old gentleman, testify.
 My grandchildren" panted the old lady; "what impertinence Cruelty to animals is forbidden by law, thank hea- | Ten p'
 "If this dog is mad, as he seems to be, 1 will have him shot," said the old gem tleman.
 Come here, Fido, darling" cried the elderly lady. My dears, run home to | your ma."
 l And just then out stepped the landla- l dy. To her the old gentleman addressed | himself.
 Il beg pardon, ma am. Can you tell me in which of these houses I can find a | lady of the name of Partridge-Miss Fanny Partridge?" | "Why this is the house, sir" said the landlady; land here is Miss Partridge l herself"
 "Will you hand her this?" said the 1 old gentleman, looking around eagerly | for Miss Partridee, and never thinking l of the stout lady.
 Here, ma'm," said the landlady, pre- senting the card to that individual That sir, IS Miss Partridge" 1 The name upon the card was "Hora- 1 tio Tibbets" That hi1eous little old man, like a weasel, with green cotton | umbrella, and no hair, Horatio? That overgrown woman, like lobster, Fanny?
 Neither would believe it; but it was true-as true as age is, and time, and | change. and all the rest of it. They sat 1 on the horse hair sofa, in the parlor, and 1 tried to talk; and as they did so they l discovered that Fanny and Horatio who | loved each other, were both dead-as if 1 the sods were over their poor hearts!
 Had they married years before, prob- l ably they would have been still dear to each other, still pleasant to look upon in the affection. but meeting as strangers they repulsed each other If he should presume on our old affec- tionf' thought Fanny, such very disa- greeable old maidl
 "If she should expect me to remember the past, this dreadful mountain of feshp thought Horatio, and then he 1 told her he was glad to see her looking so well and hoped they would be neigh. bors.
 She thought that unlikely, the place | did not agree with her. Each dodged the past, not guessing how glad the other was to dodge it also, and they parted forever, politely hoping 10 meet very soon. That night two pil- lows were wet with tears. Fanny wept for the youthful lover of whose death she seemed to have heard that day, and Horatio for lost Fanny, now only a memory. But there was no thought of any present liking, of any fishing up old flame. They did not even wish to meet again.
 There was certain horror in that meeting not to be forgotten. They never met more; but when Fanny | died years after, the ring with its motto of "Dinna ferget"-the ring which no power could have placed upon her fat finger-hung by it's ribbon over her heart, and Horatio has buried with him lock of hair several from Fanny's head in the long ago, when it was gol- den.
 Each heart was young and true; but forty years of comfortable, well-ts.do life had been very cruel to their bodies to their voica-to their manners,
 Do you suppose that somewhere be- yond the stars they have met and are lovers again?" l hope so; for in their own way they suffered greatly here for no fault of their own.-Selected. Animals and Earthquakes.