The Penn's Grove record., 1884-07-19

emf lines. ana LLes scarcely hutN HeI.
. For The last six months she had been
I STAYING with an aunt in London, and
now she was coming home for good. |
am dwelling on this part of it because
/ I want you to see how naturally every
| thing came about. There was no wo-
man in the house your grandmother
had been dead Tor year. and Nellie was
I the only girl. You can fancy how her
coming was talked OF and looked for
/ and prepared for. At last she came.
! It was Unexpectedly after all ; they had
caught an earlier train than they ex-
pected. and we were playing cricket on
the north side Of the house when her
! father brought her to see her brothers.
| / SAW her coming across the smooth eX-
panse of green lawn, all in the sunshine,
| a small fgure-small indeed by your ia
Lther'5 s~lde-dressed in some gray stuff.
with a bow Of scarlet ribbon at her
neck. DO you want to know what she
was like. Janie2 Look in the glass
for she was as like you as two blades of
| grass are alike-different. vet scarcely
| known apart. You are taller, | think,
by the merest trifie, and she was the
paler but you are her sweet self. To
fud her again IN yOu-ah, | am con-
stantly afraid YOU will fade into no
thingness and leave me more utterly
! alone than ever! jamie, it does not
grieve you to hear all this2 You look
troubled. darlng.n
"Only for you, Arthur" she answer
ed eagerly. 1T IS because | can guess
something of what is coming. | wish
oh. I do wish that it had been different,
and that you had married her and been
happy all these years -
He put his arm round her with a fond
protecting look.
"She would have loved you dearly,
jamie; but you are all to me that she
was, my darling-and how much more
will you be in the happy years to come,
my own little wife ?"
Tell me the rest was her whisper
ed response.
ut seems strange to think of it now,
but | remember | was disappointed in
her at first. She was not in the least
pretty, and her cheeks had not your
vii i-rOse bloom. "A pale uninteresting
schoolgirl, was my verdict as | watch
| ee her playing chess with her father
that evening. My first lesson came
next morning, the first day Of that won
derful summer. She knew nothing of
art-could scarcely hold a pencil prop
erly but one could not be with her and
knot feel the better for her sweet pres
ence. | had no sister; | had never
known my mother; the women | had
mixed with were commonplace femi
pIpa Funrta1u In NQilia I co q n PaalI
cation of my ideal of perfect woman
hood. Pure, tender, true as steel, she
was too good to liye.n
"SinCe her death | have never men
toned her name to any one but you, my
darling" lie went on, after a moment.
But L want her to be a memory in
both lives, that you may fully share
my thoughts"
Thank you for telling me-" was the
low remark. please go on"
"There was a nan living near-he
had the house at Woodlands, where
your uncle Jasper lives now. He called
constantly at the house after Nellie
came home, and, from what happened
afterwards, l know your father encour-
aged his visits and gave his full consent
to his engagement to Nellie if he could
obtain her concurrence. But at the
time | scarcely realized his existence ;
and it was just the same with Nellie,
We were so happy together she was
constantly in the school-room with the
boys, who adored her, and she would
Join us in our shorter walks /; moreover,
there were my painting-lessons, which
threw us much together. l cannot I'm
derstand even now how they were 50
blind. So the summer went on, till one
morning, as | was %sketching with her
- Do you know the old bridge just
beyond the park"
'You shall see my picture of it whe'
we go to London. 1t was a capital bill
of work for a beginner, and Nellie Il
| used to sit down in the meadow by
the river bank just where the sweep oil
the three arches could be best seen. This
was our last visit, for the picture was
finished and | remember she was look
ing at il, very proud of her work, when
| told her what we had both of us
known for so many happy summer days.
And that evening, When the lessons
were over, | went to her father III the
library and made my confession. OF
course ! knew he would be angry
expected that but he would not listen
10 me-he was like a mailman. Do you
know | cannot go into the library nov
without a vision of him standing up al
the end of the great table shaking his
hands at me in blind rageP His daugh-
ter was promised to a man who could
maintain her-he meant Mr.. Scott OF
WoOdlands-she was not for a penniless
adventurer and he ordered me from
the house. | left that night without
seeing Nellie again but | wrote to her
from the village before l went up to
London. | had an answer-a few hasty
words begging me not to write again.
There were marks of tears on the page
her gentle soul was not tit to bear
such trouble. | went to London, hall
wild, without any fixed plan ; and Just
as things looked darkest a great stroke
of luck befell me. | was offered an
appointment In Rome with a capital
salary, the only conditions being that
should be ready to begin my duties IN a
month and bind myself to remain III
Rome for four years. L accepted the
offer at once, and came down here to
fetch my wife. l watched for her on
Sunday afternoon, for she always vent
to church alone and anne home across
the park. 1t was just here that | met