Connecticut western news., 1882-03-29

and straw-colored hair, had chosen to tell fibs about him. And shaking the tears from her lashes, she began seold- ing herself as hard as she had scolded poor Rick. "The idea, Lefty Louns- berry, of your believing that girl before him! What possessed you? He did fiirt little with her, that is true but all men fiirt little with girls who per. sist in admiring them and hattering them. But he never gave her the little gold pig-your Christmas gift to him never How she got It can't imagine, but he would have explained if you had given him chance" And then the absent mother, gone to Aunt Emory's for two days visit, came in for share of reproach. elf she had only let our engagement be known, instead of insist ing upon our waiting until Rick was twenty one, and had not been obliged to carry my engagement ring in my back hair, the only place where it is safe from Baby's.-Goodness gracious! Baby!" And Lefty suddenly remem- bered that ever since Rick came in to make morning call, knowing Mrs. Lounsberry was absent-poor fellow! he'd have staid away if he could have foreseen his reception-Baby had been sitting alone in the dining-room in the middle of the big dining table, sur rounded by all the pickle and marma- Jade jars and fruit cans and catsup bot ties and jam pots out of the store-room. For it was the monthly house cleaning day, and the store-room fell to Letty's share, the foreign help being gifted with too great a talent for smashing and breaking, to say nothing of an equally great talent for abstracting and devour- ing both sweets and sours. Lefty sprang from the lounge, thrust her feet into her slippers, and hastened where duty had been calling her for some time. Baby sat, as good as gold, nursing bottle of tomato sauce, snugly wrapped in dish towel, in the very spot where she had been when Kicks ring summoned her sister to the door. Only one small flask lay broken on the floor, filling the air with the subtle fragrance of garlic. ''That won't be missed," said Lefty. '"Thank fortune, there is no worse mis- chief done" But the "thank" was scarcely uttered when her eyes fell ulo on the last jar of the famous peach mar malade, the secret of the making of which died with grandmamma, and which was being carefully kept for Aunt Emory's (Aunt Emory was an old maid worth thirty thousand dollars) birthday. There it stood directly in front of Baby, with more than half of its thick paper hat torn of, and yawning cavity made in its precious contents by little scoop. ing fingers.
 "Oh, Baby, why couldn't you have taken any jar but that ?' asked Lefty, responsibility and dramatically.
 But Baby evidently had no excuse to offer for not doing so, for she kept on crooning to her bottle-doll, while hel sister hastily fashioned another paper
 hat and tied it securely over what re-
 mained of the original covering.
 Then said Baby:
 'Rick tiss I--nice Rick
 Oh, that is what he was doing wher
 she foolishly imagined he was waiting
 for her to come and implore his forgive
 ness-bidding good-by to Baby. Sht
 might have known it, for he had always
 loved Baby dearly.
 "Yes, Baby; nice Rick, good Rick
 dear Rick but, for all that, the ring h.
 gave me goes back to him tomorrow
 unless hear from him tonight. Hov dare he wish that we had never met ?
 But she did not hear from him tha night, and the next day the little bant , of gold was released from it's hiding , place in her thick brown hair, and to, faithful messenger placed it in Rick [ hands as he left his place of business , But, ah what a silent, sorrowfu ? maiden wandered about the Lounsberr, , dwelling thereafter what listless 3 weary voice repeated the nurser, t rhymes that Baby demanded fifty time . day
 8 "No nice--no more," said Baby
 missing the merry tones and the happ
 laugh.
 But Mrs. Lounsberry was not at a
 displeased with the turn affairs ha t taken. Brougharn Brown suited he - much better as prospective son-in-la . than Richard Creighton. One was r wealthy young brewer, the other DOC tt clerk in counting-house.
 "Letty will soon get over it." st J. said to Letty's father, whose hea 't ached at the sight of his daughters sa @ face. "A first-love disappointment is always hard to bear for a while. t. thought should have died when St " phen Ford married my cousin but 3. didn't I lived to marry you, and I ha1 l a sealskin cloak, and Mrs. Ford hasn g. even a jacket"
 IS And so Brougham Brown, who W, 'r really manly, generous, good-hearte Il fellow in spite of his beer and wealtl
 encouraged by the maternal head of u n house, began devoting himself in u
 most ardent fashion to Lefty; and sh |" seeing her mothers pleasure therea E. and hearing no word from Rick, r 7, ceived his attentions in a passive, u
 responsible way.
 m Three months went by, and it W, 1t Aunt Emory's birthday, and that e 10 centric old lady had decided to divit I. 1t among the family, lunchinp with q,