The Indianapolis leader., 1882-01-28


little minute with you"
How long Will You wait for me, Dora%'
It'll you ccme back"
IF il were seven years, think how long it
would bep't
III YOU loved me as you make believe"
said Dora; you would not go away at all,
but would work here till you could build a
little house, and then We would rough 1t to-
gether"
mo, little Dora, that is not my kind of
love; my mother tried that, and she lived u
slaves life"
Dora Dora" cried Prudence from up
stairs; what on earth are you doing down
there"
II must go now, I must truly" said Dora,
as she felt herself locked in arms that would
not give way. IF | live without ycu for
seven years | shall be a hoinely old maid.
and YOU " i'll not thank me for waiting for
you"
He put her away then and looked at her
curiously as if he had never thought of her
prettiness before. "Do you know what
your name mea 1s?' he asked earnestly. 81
saw it in the paper that 'Theodora' means
Gift of God and you have been just that to
me. Ii bad never seen you ! should never
have had a notion but about "A days work
and nights sleep | will write whenever |
have any luck, and come home on New
Years eve, when do come and if you wear
this red dress shall know you have waited
for me-"
II think shall live to wear it when you
come hOme if il is seven times seven years,
Joe; for women are very hard TO kill. said
Dora, slowly disappearing from the kitchen.
What have you been doing all this
time?" said Prudence. serenely.
Il only giving Joe some good ad
vice"
"Well, hope he'll profit by it."
$50 do T." said Dora, heartily.
'Tis as easy to say seven years as one. and
we read of Jacobs seven years service for
Rachel, which seems but as one day for the
love that he bore her. Rachers feelings are
not thought worthy to be mentioned in
Holy Writ; but if her love was like Doras,
every day seemed seven years. And here,
in nutshell, lies the difference between
mans love and woman's.
Jacob had the sheep to mind, and he did
mind them uncommOnly WE'LL Joe went to
seek his fortune in new scenes, and only
thOughtOf Dora when he had nothing else TO
do. The poet thought he had set hard task
to men when he said
Learn to labor and to wait:
but it is immeasurably harder to be idle
than to wait.
Till her lover went away, Dora had never
cared to ask herself whether she were a
child or woman. Sunshine had been
plenty with her. and she had easily sugared
and gilded the plain things that farm life
iOrded to her.
Before the first year came to an end, she
felt that she should soon arrive at patri-
archal age If she did not do something to
kill the time which died so hard on her
hands
Teach SCHOOL, guess not" said her
father, when she broached her plan to him.
You amt starvin' yet; and if you want
some new fnrblows, just say so, and not come
at it slantin way like that"
~ don't want any thing, father; but there
is so little for me to do at home"
Nonsense, In my time, gals was always
full of business. Can't you make sheets and
pillow cases and get ready to be married?
Who knows but somebody IL ask We one of
these days?'
''Waal, waal, folks can't always have their
ID rathers in this world. | amt willin', and
that's the end ont"
But that was not the end ont and Dora
easily obtained a school. She developed
governing spirit which charmed the Com
mitteemen and the congenial labor in the
company of little children took ber out of
herself and infused new life into her hope
deferred.
Every week she walked to the postoffice,
three miles away, to ask for letter, going
in with a bright flush on either cheek and
coming out pale and dull eyed after the stab
of disappointment. | wonder that people
in the country are so anxious to be postmas-
ters; if they only knew it, they are actors in
more tragedies than any member of the
atrical stock company. Much sealed happi
ness passes through their hands; but they
have to refuse many Mariana in the
MOated Grange''-weary women who reach
hand out of their dull lives for letter and
draw it back empty.
1t was far into the second year before Joe's
first letter came. 1t was surely fanciful
and foolish thing for schoolmistress to do,
but Dora carried it to her own little room,
and put on the red dress before she read
Joe's letter.
Joe was working in the mines in Colorado.
His luck had not yet come, in nuggets at
least but hard work and sober living were
slowly giving him the advantage over the
other miners. He was never so we'll, and
he loved her better than all the world.
Dora lived on this letter for many weeks,
and she set Colorado for copy so often
to her scholars that they write that word
better than any other to their dying day.
Letters came oftener as years went on;
sometimes Joe was up in the world, some
times down. Once his carefully-hoarded
gold was stolen from him, and he had to be-
gin all over again; but this was nothing to a
long illness, in which friend wrote to Dora
as soon as Joe was out OF danger. Then
Dora envied the doves their wings.
The New Years day was the hardest of all
to bear. She could not help strong pres
sure of excitement when she put on the red
dress which grew more and more old-fash-
ioned and watch the sun go down on the
road which Joe must travel when he should
come home. The next morning she fitted
her shoulders sadly to the burden OF another
year.
One young farmer after another found his
t<,f ar.1A for
ings, and Dora pushed them down an
inclined plane of Encouragement so gently
that they scarcely knew whether they had
meant to court her or not. 1t was not the
least OF her trials to meet the entreaties of
her mother and the rough arguments of ber
father when one or two more persistent suit
ors would take nothing less than mo" for
their answer.
Dora could give no reason for repeated re-
fusals to marry, only she loved no one we'll
enough-a reason which would be all suf
ficient if parents remained Immortality
young, but it loses weight after sixty.
AS the seventh year drew TO a close Dora s
heart beat light within her. Joe had men
toned seven years, as if he had meant to
to come home then, at any rate. She wore
out the first day of the "glad New Year"
with busy cares till late in the afternoon,
when an old man. spent with much walking,
stopped to rest himself II the farm house
kitchen. Prudence Lestirred herself to give
him hearty luncheon, and when he was
warmed and fed he began to talk of his
travels. He had been to seek his fortune all
over the West, and never finding it he had
come back to die at home. He mentioned
Colorado and Denver, and when Dora found
herself alone with him for a moment she
said: "Did you ever see Joseph Raymond in
DenverY'
"Joe Raymond? Oh, yes! knew him well
liuod uith ,,rl,