Omaha daily bee., 1883-12-01

litl III q Wolh Cihpi'NV' =
followed her and our eyes met she
blushed and tried unnecessarily t.
laugh.
How happily our time was passing at
"The Elms." Our rides and walks in
che crisp, cold december days added d
rich glow 10 the ladies cheeks and gavq
a keen sparkle to their eyes. Henri.
cit, was like her dear old self OF
many years ago, and L was supremacy
happy
Alas! n serpent was loon to enter our
Eden. One of Henrietta's visitors. a Mss
lowering from New York, was about re-.
turning home. and her brother was EXPECT.
ed at The Elms" to escort her. When he
arrived he proved to be a fine looking
young fellow with polished manners,
sell skilled in ali those agreeable triiles
that attrac; the attention of young giils
He was \ cultured musician and a graceful
dancer; he could play innocent games Of
cards with dexterity, while his conversa.
ton was ri;h and sparkling; to crown all
he wa the only son of a millionaire, who
allowed him to use his money as if it was
his own.
1t was no wonder that Mr.. lowering
was Immediately attracted by the beauty
and grace of Henrietta, nor that he at
.nce showered his attentions upon her.
l had never feared encounteriug a rival
before the advent of this young man, but
now I saw, with great pangs of jealousy
creeping through my heart, that Henrietta
treated Nun with marked kindness and
va, f,ttered by his devotion to her. re.
gretted tn 8 as much for her sake as my
own, for there was an indescribablesome-
thing about the young man that made me
fear he was not a pro ,sr associate for the
ladies' at "rhe Ellns
How uncertain are the events of the
morrow! The sun rose, bright and beau.
tiful, in a clnudless sky, but before noon
the day grew bitterly cold and occasional
clouds chased each other across the heav.
ems Towards evening the sky was en-
tirely obscured and light flakes of snow
began to float in the atmosphere. Mr..
Croften predicted a sever snow storm,
and befrre dawn his prediction was veri.
fed. The Coverings, instead of taking
their departure, we're likely to become
fixtures for some time. Sleet and snow
SoiibillhDu W idit uilou StbsttiOu I'll Nv
next day. IL was not until evening that
the clouds rolled away and the full moon
shone out in an azure sky, shedding its
pale light over the thick, white carpet
that covered the earth, and giving a bril-.
liant luster to the ice.clad trees and
shrubbery.
Although everything without was 30
cheerless, the drawing-room presented a
scene Of l,veliness aud gayety. The ladies
employed upon her embroidery or Gro
Chef work were exchanging repartee, Hem
rietta was playing brilliantly on the
piano, attended by Mr. lowering, who
bent over her to turn the leaves OF her
music and utter low whispers that
brought a food o bushes to her face.
He replaced her at the instrument, and
she stood by his side while he ran his
fingers over the keys and sang Iove songs
to her with his magnificent tenor voice
until the whole room was filled with the
melody.
sat beside Nanette, with a book in
my hand, full Of hatred for tho man who
had usurped my place Henrietta would
not look toward mo. l could not catch a
single glance of her eye; at last l saw her
leave the drawing-room and followed her
meeting her III the hall.
"Have | offended you, lear cousin7" ]
said, extending my hand to her, but she
only looked in my face with n painful OK.
preston in her eyes as she whispered t,
me: "Oh, Rob, how could you'll" A sol
was in her Voice, and she turned away
without another word and left me. Some.
thing had evidently made her unhappy,
but l was guiltless.
The party at The Elms" wore begin
ming to grow FESTIVE under tho monotony
of their snow.bound existence, When Mr..
Cro'ton said he was DESTROYS that the
city girls should SEQ what was moant by u
genuine country sleighiog frolic. He
further informed them that he had sent
word to the Red Cross hotel. about ten
miles distant, to provide music and u good
supper for eur party. and to SEQ hat the
house was thoroughly heated; he added
that enough horses were in the stable, but
rs he owned only ono sleigh he would
leave it for tho gentlemen to supply the
others needed from the neighboring
town.
All was now merry hustle and confus-
ion; the girls were delighted ut the pros
pect If participating III this new pleas.
ure and began 10 look up their warmest
wraps, while Mr.. lowering and myself
went to Everton to procure the required
sleighs. | was not anxious for his com.
pany, but rs it could not be avoided |
submitted as gracefully rs possible.
Nv. fn,n1 h,t tmA ,l.iah. Ia. g.
the town, and these would hold only two
persons each. This delighted mo, for, be-.
ing accustomed to drive with Henrietta, |
thought it would surely fall to my lot to
have her for my companion. But reck-
"ned without my host, for when l asked
her to accompany she said, with asmile,
that she Wa already engaged to 60 with
Mr. lowering.
OF course, the sleigh-rlde al once lost
all attraction for me, and | would gladly
have remained behind had it not been for
an underlined feeling of uneasiness for
Henrietta that possessed mo. Therefore
| invited Miss Crosby, and when We
started it would have been difficult to
lind u merrier party than ours.
The road was splendid, and the SNOW
creaked and wh,stl,d beneath our run.
ners. The horses were soon covered with
flakes of ~oongoaled moisture, and flew
over the road, their hoofs keeping time
To the merry jingle of the many sleigh
bells. The moonlight on the snow turned
the night into brilliant day, and tn,
ladies enlivened the ride with merry
songs and jests.
At last our destination was reached aud
tho girls thoroughly warmed before q
roaring hickory fire, were shown to tn.
dressing room, from which they soor