The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1882-01-12

with great surprise by Nelly's young
friends in the choir, which was in
creased by the fact of my joining in,
brave and strong, in the music which
Nelly accompanied and led. She
praised my singing very highly after
ward, and said my voice furnished just
the support hers needed. What hap
py day that was, and what never-to-
be-forgotten thing was our ride home.
l went over and spent that evening
with Nelly, and she took me into her
confidence and friendship in the sweet
est way in the world. OF course she
introduced me to her people, and had
to be inspected by them, but soon
found that they were all her willing
slaves and her approval of me was the
only guarantee they required. Indeed
they were, one and all, so unconvention-
al and unworldly that felt little I'M
easy at the thought of my dear little
Nelly's being without a more capable
protector, and not averse to assuming
the position myself. / wrote to my
friends and made some convenient ex-
cuse for not joining them and spent all
my holiday in Fordville.
At my own request one evening Nelly
brought out the familiar manuscript and
we read it over together. | managed
to keep down my irreverant laughter at
its reiterated sighings and sobbings and
complainings. Only once, in the prin-
cipal love-scene, in which was reached
the acme of its dismalness, looked up
at her, shyly, and said:
els this really your idea of love? Do
you believe when two people are in love
with each other that they go through all
these dreadful fortunes and suffer all
these agonizing pangs?'
To my utter amazement, she replied
by snatching the pages out of my hands
and throwing them into the fire. AS l
sprang up in the vain endeavor to check
her, caught her two hands in mine,
and having caught them, Iheld them.
"Let it burn" she said, turning her
flushing face toward me; g never knew
how utterly silly and absurd it was be-
fore.''
"And have you learned since?' I
asked, still holding her hands and now
forcing her to look at me. "Tell me,
Nelly, who has taught you? You must
not forget that you have chosen me for
your critic and instructor, and if you'll
let me teach you this one lesson, and
will try to learn it faithfully, you will
have reached such a state of mature de-
velopment that you will need no more
culture. Only learn what it is to love
truly, and allow your teacher to select
the object, and you will possess all the
knowledge and cultivation he will ever
require Of YOU ...s u.
1t came upon her very suddenly and
a few preliminary exercises were neces-
sary before she quite satisfied me as a
pupil. but the giving those lessons was
the greatest JOY l had ever known, as
the result of them was what / consider
the finest success of my life. Uncle
Davy was much surprised at the turn of
affairs and good deal puzzled at the
preliminaries, or rather the lack of any
such.
"Lor, never dreamed of his being
Miss Nelly's young man. he said to his
wife.
81 wonder why he's never been to
Fordville BEFORE returned the good
woman, meditatively.
II asked him about that said Uncle
Davy, "but he kinder smiled and said
that, though he had never been to Ford
vile before, he had for some time been
in correspondence with the place, and
that Miss Nelly was far from being
stranger. suppose she met him when
she was off on that visit last year and
has been corresponding with him ever
SINCE
This explanation was circulated
throughout the town, as / intended it
should be, and seemed to be entirely
satisfactory. 1 had bold plan Of hur-
rying up the wedding when once had
secured Nelly's consent, and so success
full did this prove that two months after
that day on which I first made &C
quaintance with Fordville, Nelly and
were married there.
And to think that all this came about
through that dismal story that Nelly and
l have such laughs over now!
Well, let those who may, climb to the
Hottest heights of literary eminence, 1
shall not grudge them their success.
Being a rather overworked and under
paid reader for magazine may not be
considered the pinnacle of literary glory,
but it has been the means of winning
me treasure which l would not ex-
change for the fame of Shakespeare
Detroit Free Press.