The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1883-11-15
[From The Argosy.l
CHERRY ROPER'S PENANCE.

lnentally; but there was somethin
about the girl which always made m
use Sudden words in speaking of he
She was not noisy, Or bustling; bu
he always seemed to take you by sui
rr,. e, never doing or saying what yo
woulo' expect, and always appearln
where v. u did not look for her.
uWbv f,'herry, my DEAR" exclaim
ed: II though you were in London;
"bpt that doesn't hlnder my beini
here to-day, does it? 10 you @ usual Il
take more than twenty-l>'ur nouis u
the journey?" +bonab
"No,you absurd child; but l : hougn Il
you were to stay month with : y YOU
cousins -
They thought so, dare say, and !
let them think; it was no business OF
mine what they thought. But | was
bored there; so yesterday afternoon,
when they were all gone to lecture,
or something stupid, l just packed up
my traps, and came away.
without letting them know, or
saying good-bye?"
"Why not? 1t saved lot Of trou-
BILE. | hate good-byes, and they would
have bothered me to know why |
wouldn't stay
"They will never ask you there
again"
"Oh, yes, they will. They want
me to make their parties go off. Be-
sides, they know my way. | wrote
them sweet little note last night
when | got home, and told them a lot
of stories. Par eremple, | told them
that I had fancied from the mother s
letters lately that she was not very
bright, and that when [ began think
ing about her yesterday afternoon, |
couldn't stand it any longer, and had
to see for myself how she was. So
you see, instead Of thinking me a
wretch, they are now admiring my FL
ial devotion Rather good, isn't it?"
1T is rather good that you have
come home, | think, though it need
not have been quite so abruptly; for |
have not been quite happy about your
mother myself"
why! she hasn't had one of her
upsets, and kept it from me, has she?"
asked Cherry quickly. 1T struck me
she was looking white"
"Oh, no; it is only that this damp
weather has not seemed to agree with
her, and | thought she was just in the
state in which little overriding, or a
chill, would bring one on. Now you
are at home she will be all right"
"I'll see to her. I'll keep her in
cotton, until the clouds dry up, and
the river goes down. But | rather
think it will be gun-cotton; for the
fact is, Mrs. Singleton, of all the quar-
rels mamma and | were ever engaged
upon, the present is the finest speci-
| men.
Cherry threw off her fur cape, and
Sc tied her muddy boots on the fender
stool, with an air of enjoying the sit
uation.
Il am sorry to hear it" said. "But
I don't think it is any business Of
mine"
mo business of yours, perhaps" )"
returned Cherry. But [ have come
out to-day in the wind on purpose to
tell you, and you must listen to me.
[ want support and sympathy in this
matter"
resigned myself to listen.
''It's about Mr.. Goldthorpe," re-
sumed Cherry. DO you know him?'
rs it any relation Of the old gentle
man who was staying with the Min
tons in the autumn?"
THAT gentleman father was my
Mr.. Goldthorpe's mothers husband,
and | have always understood that she
was only married once, and had but
one son.
"Your Mr.. Goldthorpe, Cherry?"
I'm coming to that. In the first
place, [ wish to observe that he is not
old, but only elderly; to be exact, he
was fifty-seven last birthday"
He looks more" | remarked,
"What do looks matter?" she de-
manded scornfully. well, | met
him two or three times when he was
with the Mintons, as you say, and he
seemed to take fancy to your hum
BILE servant; but | never thought of
its coming to anything. Then he
turned up again when | was in Lon
don this time, and was always coming
to Portman Square. He sent me bou-
quets, and tickets for the opera, and
one evening he all but declared him
self, but escaped, and the next day
he sent me bracelet. / thought
then it was time to run away, and so
here am. Now you have the true
inner history of my Hegira."
"And a very tangled history it is,
now | have got it. | don't understand
what you mean to do, Or what you
have been doing, or why you have
done it. [ wonder If you know your
self?"
II do know, quite well. I mean to
marry Mr.. Goldthorpe. I did not let
HIM propose to me at once, because |
hadn't quite made up my mind; and
then | didn't like the affair going on
in somebody else's house, and the ana
ter knowing nothing about it. So |
came back to her, thinking she would
be as pleased as Punch; and nice re-
turn | got for my dutifulness.
What did she say?"
asked me if I loved him! And
when [ couldn't produce feelings ex-
actly up to boiling-point, cooled down
what feelings | had with floods of
sentiment. This morning we had an
other talk, Of less affecting nature;
and she told me ri ght out that [ was
going to sell myself, and that she
would never give her consent. In
fact, if | had to marry an ensign iv-
ing on his pay-instead Of a financier
with 100000. year, she couldn't have
been more cruelty, sternly unrelent-
ing"