Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1882-02-10

her wardrobe, and wondering II she
could not mako this thing and
that thing do. She half thought she
could, although the blow was bitter
TO the pretty creature that loved pretty
things. and loved to surround herself
with them, and although she dimly felt
it was doing injustice to her father again
to let his daughter make her first formal
appearance in the world in other than
fresh new splendor. "Although don't
believe anybody will ever know in all
the world" she said; 81 have such a
khack." ."Frt
But when she had decided on her
course of action, she still realized that
| that hundred-dollar bill was her fathers
property, and must be restored TO him.
"Well," " she reasoned, "papa has just
given me the new horse for my coupe
but walking is good for me, and can
use the landau horses all want. And
| If lend him for three months TO Miss
Humphreys, whose own horse has fallen
lame, l shall save his board in our urstable,
and that will be the same as paying papa
fifty dollars and saying nothing about
it And if d miss Ann, and get Mar
tina TO take her work for q while, that
will make up the rest in time.n Still,
If her father chose that his daughter
should have her own little private car
riage, was not this, in reality, way of
cheating himp the under-currcnt of
thought would come. And when he
had numbered and arranged his serv-
ants, what right had she to come and
make his state lessp And then the de-
ceit Of it all! No, it was more than she
could bear; and she came near breaking
down into another headache "I will
do the best can with what / have"
she said; and then will tell-papa
may be-" 1t was well she added the
may be, for it made her heart beat like
a little trip-hammer to think of the pos
sibility.
1t was her own birthday party for
which this particular dress was to have
been provided, and a garniture of differ
ent flowers and ribbons was to make
another dress of it for Mrs. Moumjoy's
German given to her on the following
night. She had come into the world
little Valentine, and perhaps that was
the reason they had called her Yalentia,
rs the nearest way in which they could
approach the name for her. And she
had thought of such a pretty dress for
that st. Valentines night of hers: the
whole front Il broad wreath of cmbroid-
cry in yellow pearls, and the nest flow
of creamy Spanish lace, with no other
color than that of the broken wreath of
great red roses falling from the cluster
at her heart; and the next night the
pearls and the lace were to 90 over her
old gold silk that she had worn at her
fathers little dinners to gentlemen,
where she had been presiding, almost as
if she were not present, in the two weeks |
since her return. Hra' |
Well, she had blonde lace shawl of |
her mothers, sufficiently creamy with |
age, she was sure; that would goa good |
way; and she had n half-dozen scarfs |
and tichus of the same sort of lace that |
could be made to go the rest of the |
way. She must forego that gorgeous
front of pearl embroidery; but she had
some money left that would buy illu-
sion enough to shirr up and down the
front in its place, and garlands of long
green shining grasses to hide the joins
and cover shortcomings. And would |
not Arthur Mountjoy be Just rs likely |
to bring her those great roses as he had
been beforep And the. one dress must |
do for both parties. .a
So there was week of seclusion, of |
puckering and pinning and trying on,
of cutting and ripping and basting and
stitching; she grew quite pale over it.
and her little pink tinger-nail was worn
away by the needle. But she had
learned how to do all such things in the |
fancy parties at school, and when she
rested from her labors-only on the |
very morning of the birthday party, st.
Valentines Day itself-the dress was
quite a charming one. "Yes," she said
to herself, sit is really. perfect in its
way. And now, if had not lost the
bill, there would be hundred dollars
toward taking the cataract from Mar
tha's mothers eye," it never occurring
to her impractical mind at the moment
that it would have made no difference to
Martha's mother whether she had lost
that bill or not. ..r-
Z" So your task is over. But had no
idea, Val, that you were to make your
self little wreck over it, said her
father, looking at the pricked fore
finger, when she came down that morn
ing after breakfast to read him the tee-
graphic news in the advertiser. 81 |
thought | gave you money enough to
have the whole thing done to your
mind out of the house;' and at the
words the color rushed back to her
cheeks, SO that no one could say that |
Val was pale any longer.
"Will you let me try it on, and look
at me, papaP" she asked, between three
and four rapid breaths; "and see if you
are entirely satisfied And then, per-
haps-" And she looked up at him
with her wistful brown eyes. l |
''As if there could be much doubt of |
that!'' he replied, smilingly. But she
had danced away without finishing, her
heart half filled with courage by that
smile, which, if it had not been given
to her oftener, was merely because of |
preoccupation; and in an incredibly
short space of time she had reap
peared in the splendor of her tarnished |
gold, half yelled in the sheen of the |
silken lace. SON
"Your little Valentine" she said,
with n sweeping courtesy. And then,
wondering ut herself, and changing
tone and color, she added: "You know !
it will be far lovelier in the evening
light; and L am to have red roses here"
and she kept her hands clasped over
her heart, as if TO indicate where
here" was, but really to repress its
beating, SO that she could go ON and
tell her story and confess her fault;
when, all at once, her father had
clasped her in his arms, regardless of
crushed lace or ribbons, so much to her
amazement, so much to her passionate
delight, so much to her CONSERVATION
and contrition, that the cry came tear
ing out of her mouth; "Oh, papa, / !
don't deserve it! II meant to tell
you'll
But he was not listening "Her
mother-her mother over againp' he
was saying; and he had led her into the
curtained alcove of his library, where
she had not penetrated before, and had
drawn back the curtain from the long