St. Landry democrat., 1883-02-17

| 1Oh CtCo anu oHe MISUNDERSTANDING Id
Emily Barry was, SO she might be. a
sort of dreadful asm closed about he1
| chest, and she almost determined tc
think again OF Mr.. Hart. Aunt Jane
saw her advantage. y Mr.. Hart is a
very good man, and he has good prop
erty. He has the best house in the
whole county, as you know, and good
furniture. Why, / remember that he
furnished the same year that Uncle
David and | did, and his first wife kept
things clean. g
I. Q aunt! / think it is the ugliest
house I ever saw excepting this, she
was about to say, but she saved herself.
"Well, it's Il good deal better house
than DR.. Davenant will ever have" said
Aunt David, carrying the war into
Africa. =
The peoples cast their red reflections
upward again. 1t was the old story,
the very old, old story; and DR.. Dave
nant poor and proud, he had not spoken;
but oh, il he should!
Jane was romantic. She had not
been her fathers daughter, else. Life
had been so dull and prosaic about her
that she had conjured up an ideal ex-
istence, and in it the handsome young
doctor had begun to play the part Of
Prince Florizel. The dreams of fancy
and OF hope had gone even so far as to
reachsan aesthetic cottage, wherein. sur
rounded with perfect VIII am Morris
papers. few PLAQUES, plenty of books,
some real old mahogany chairs, an old
clock, some Persian rugs. and a portaere
made out of her fathers tapestry, Jane
should sit a .beaming, beloved bride,
making five O clock tea for her husband
in a Queen Anres teapot; and oh. how
sweet this little domestic, practical pict-
ure, absurd in its mingling of detail
with dream, lovely and natural, as com.
ing from her ingenious and wistful
heart. had become to Jane! And how
odious life would be to 60 on forever
with Mr.. f art. in that great, tasteless
house, with those gas fixtures, which
always reminded zane Of the twisted
snakes OF the LAGOON!
Meantime two men we're dreaming of
her. The elderly Mr.. Hart, most gen
erous and excellent man. not at all dis
agreeable or disgusting. sat in his COM
mon place and lonely parlor and pict-
ured to himself the vision of slender.
graceful figure, who should sit opposite
to him of a winter evening, and smile
and talk. perhaps read the paper to him,
(if she would be so kind, pour out his
tea, move the furniture about, perhaps
even have work basket on the table
at any rate, sit where he could look at
the pretty dark head, the rich. ripe
cheek, the long lashes of the gray eyes,
and then get up, and perhaps-this was
almost too pleasant come over, and
throwing her arms around his neck,
kiss him, as he sat there adoring her.
His home had always been cold one.
the vanished presence had not warmed
it up particularly; and Mr. Hart went
on dreaming other and dearer pos
sibilities, all checked by the fact, the
dreary fact. that Jane had said g No"
Somehow, however, Mr.. Hart meant to
make her re- onsider that no. And
again another and a younger man
dreamed. Far up on the Summerville
turnpike. stood the doctor cottage. 1t
was little, rocco, and comfortless
wooden house, yet picturesque. It had
the ominols name of Parrots Folly
and was associated with the foolish life
Of a visionary. Every body who had
lived there had failed. Now. the young
doctor was taking his turn at it. He
was clever person, and good at heal
ing, but he had a positive craze for buy
ng everything he did MOI require. To
be properly .scase'' seemed. to be the
End and aim Of the doctors existence.
He collected the most. comfortless
ind rocco of chairs, the most
'ickety and spindle legged tables, the
most faithful clocks. with degenerate
works. His dining room. in which there
vas seldom a dinner. had a Lucretia /
8orgia side board. His collection of I
,ric- a-brac was getting to be consider
lb'e. He loved beauty, appreciated |
trt. had the soul of collector He had /
canned about. travelled every where, I
'aught the habit Of spending money
,esore that bank failed where all his
vas. Then he came down to being
country doctor, and fell in love with a
,air OF gray eyes, two white hands, and I
figure so tall, slender and graceful.
hat he had no bronze nymph in all his
objection which was SO suelte.t And !
low, as he came home to the rocco
ottage and sat down, tired and poor
nd diseonsolate. how he wished he had
ot bought SO many things he did not
eed, that he could now afford this dear
hing which he dia need.
And both men determined to write
er Valentine. The 14th OF February
as at hand, that great dramatic period.
vhen men are expected to tellatO some
weet listening female ear the fact that
well, let us see how they did it.
Mr.. Hart went out and bought far
lg, flaming, much vanished Valentine,
,hich had on it. in gold letters:
:. Whate' err thy wish may be,
That will give to thee!''
nd put it in. a violent pink satin box,
IT b a1.fi al Gnurnrs of d ma nra,lf hi1a a.,