The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1883-03-16

rimanas, no scornIui looks, cOuid cause
me to cry in their presence; | kept con-
troll over my emotions. and wept only
when alone.
cried and sobbed. and longed for
any fate that would free me from this
thrald0ni. Finally must have fallen
into an uneasy slumber. The SENSE that
tells w some one is near awok- me.
Standing motionirss, looking down upon
me- in silent pity, was Mr.. Shields.
Ihurriedly started up, mutteriDg some
Kind OF apology, and very much asham-
ed III my tear-staincd face and rulnpled
hair. requested him To be- seated. and
lac sat down, moi on the chair near him,
but beside me ON the sofa. was con-
fused. and knew not What To do or say.
| suppose he had perception enough TO
! notice my agitation. He was all calm
n,.SS and ease. wondered ii it were
| possible he could hear my foolish heart
! beat. aud see the trcmor of my lips,
when tried to answer his questions.
"YOu are in trouble tonight. MonaT
shall remember to my dying day the
fhcxprcssible sweetness of those sympa-
| thizing tones. I thought, Is | always
have since. that i was the most musical
voice had heard in all my troubled,
dreary life.
You were sobbinS in your sleep
when came in; what WAS it' Are You
lonely? Aunt and cousins are gone.
aren't they? Well, cheer up; will stay
here until they return. They are not
unkind to you, are theye''
Tcould not tell an untrl,th now, with
N fna at in at ch L
| answered.
Miss Geraldine scoldcd me because
l dropped her fan and broke the mirror,
and Aunt Hustler. too"
IIorc completely broke down. and
cfied as il was never going to stop.
He sat awhile in silence. and let me sob
undisturbed; then he said. laying his
hand upon my head.
Don't give way to your grief; come,
cheer up; you are hurt by cross words
and rcproaches, but there is sunshine
after rain. Mona, tonight you and l.
are drawing very near to each other; |.
too. have been stung by ingratitude. 1
have sounded the depths of bitter waters,
and by the periidy of one person was
sunk to the depths of despair. But
am out of this slough of despond, and
am now far happier than would have
been had affairs gone differently. am
now in a position which perhaps should
not have attained if | had gained what
| / coveted above all else at one time. l
outgrew my bitter disappointment. and
in my work found panacea. Now l
am in very tranquil state of mind. and
Mona, little friend. have observed you
and am aware you are not happy. We
will sympathize with each other, and in
our mutual friendship dispel part Of the
gloom"
His kind words, so mildly spoken, the
most gentle that it had been my good
fortune to hear since | was an inmate of
my aunt's house, went to- my lonely
heart like soothing balm. l rallied,
and soon we began to talk. The hours
flew by rapidly.
"You and I are only beginning to
know each other, Mona" said my new
found friend at last. I'VE are going to
be capital friends, and"
| No more was said, for aunt and cous-
ms came in. and our evening together
was cut short.
They were profnse in playful re-
proaches, and Mr. Shields was scolded
in pretty way for not attending the
party He said,-
| well, YOU see was detained by i'm
portant business until / feared it was
too late; then dropped in here, think
ing perhaps some Of you were at home.
| found Miss Mona, and Is she was all
alone, thought should be doing my
duty to stay with her. So stayed, and
we have had quite jolly time"
1 Il. $ Ia,
and Geraldine shot y glance in my di-
rection calculated TO annihilatc HE.
They all seemed to want TO box my
ears. So | just folded my tent like
the Arab. and Us silently stole away"
The next morning | had my orders
was given my walking papers.
was soundly reprimandcd for my for
wardness, and my aunt and cousins
took turns in haunting me. Then was
spirited away in the night time TO my
aunt ) farm far ont in the country, eX-
lied. abandoned, driven away.
One evening went TO neighbours to
get the mail, which he often brought for
us. The short winter day was closing
in on my return. A sleigh passed me.
Its occupant, man. was mufllcd up in
furs and robes; he looked at me as he
passed.; then the ejaculation, "Mona!"
came out in very emphatic manner.
l looked up; it was Kenneth Shields.
The robes were thrown hurriedly back
and he jumped out.
Mona, where are you goingp Is
this where YOU have been all this timeo
/ made bold to inquire your where
abouts. but your aunt gave me very I'M
satisfactory answers. You did steal
away in a dreadfully mysterious man.
ner. From standing at my elbow you
fed into the vast unknown"
1 could hardly speak for JOY; for the
light in Kenneth's eyes was clearly that
Of love. no longer accused myself of
vanity when confessed that he really
did love me.
Well, II is the old. old story. The
next day babe adieu to the dreary
farm, and with my promised husband
started for the city, on rcaching which
we were quietly marrichT Then we
drove to my aunt's, and Kenneth intro
duced me rs Mrs. Shields to aunt
and cousins. They were astounded and
ashamed, and confess that the sudden
transformation from plain Mona Norton
to Mrs. Kenneth Shields quite startled
me. They welcomed IT'S in tolerable
hospitable manner. and for FORMS sake
we stayed to dinner; still a latent spark
Of resentment fingered underneath the
show Of good will.
Mona, DEAR" said my husband,
when We were alone. "were you resign
ed to your fate, and would you have
made no effort to let me know your
abiding place? You did not intend to
forget mep"
"Indeed did not; and if you had not
come TO rescue Inc, don't think l
could have gone on living. But am
happy now, so let lis forget the past"
Comparatively little Is known Oi
heard Of the silk industry of Central
Asia, but a German contemporary states
that the growth of Russian influence in
Turkestan has contributed to the devel-
opmeut Of the old-establshed silk man.
ufacturcrs of that country. There ara
now in Samarcand ITO houses where
weaving is carried on, and there are 800