Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1884-07-23

For through what is past can love and Bless
Till now have never known happiness"
50 dried my tears. and with noiseess tread
l leh my mother, my beautiful dead.
CONSERVING AT LAST.
TITS no use, Delphine," said Miss
Stratton, turning round from the glass
before which she had been crimping
her dried frizzes-"no use whateverl
I'll never give my consent to your
throwing yourself away upon man
who can't earn enough to support him.
self, much less family"
"But, aunt, he is clever, and will get
good practice in time."
"In time!" repeated Miss Stratton
contemptuously. Eyes, in about twenty
years or SO, perhaps. And, meanwhile,
what do you and he propose to live on q
"The-the money that grandma left
me would help us to begin WITH" said
Delpbine timidly.
"A thousand pounds! How far would
that go? And besides, you forget that
it was left to you only conditionallv.
I should be false to the trust reposed in
me" said Miss Stratton, erecting her
thin form with an air of moral dignity,
If l gave my consent to your wedding
yourself to life of poverty, and tho
wretchedness which poverty always en-
tails. You can marry George Irving if
you choose-mind don't say I forbid
it-but with my consent no hard earned
money of my deceased brother shall
ever 60 into the pockets of an Irving. !"
In the last sentence Miss Stratton
betrayed herself.
The high moral tone vanished be-
fore the self-interested motive which
was the real basis of her persistent
opposition to Delphine's marriage.
She had not forgotten that young DR..
Irving's father had Tilted her in her
youth, and married her bosom friend
Mary Lane; nor that this course had
been brought about by DR.. Irvings
Aunt Dorothea, who had been he1
special rival from their very baby.
hood, and who had warned her fay-
orite brother that he would not be
happy with Millcent Stratton as his
wife.
As to the doctor himself-who had
as yet barely become accustomed to
his new professional title-it was true
that he was very poor, but Delphine
had been right in saying that he was
clever, and would probably win a
good practice.
And if-the girl often thought
wistfully-if only she could bring
HIM that thousand pounds to begin
with, how happy he might bel
And it all rested upon a word from
Aunt Milicent, which she refused to
speak.
Most people said that that was a
very unjust condition of old Madame
Stratton's will by which the money
was to be Delphine's only upon the
express stipulation that she did not
marry against her aunt's consent.
The young folks, one and all. pro.
nounced it "horrid" and "cruel," though
there were some among the elders who
remembered how the old lady herself
had made a most unhappy marriage
against the will of her family, and how
her favorite daughter, Delphine's moth
er, had followed her example and had
been equally wretched.
And as she expressed her belief that
such things "ran in families" she had
in Delphine's instance guarded against
similar recurrence by making it con-
dition that her granddaughter should
marry with the full consent and approv.
al of her shrewd, sharp and scrupulous.
ly correct Aunt Millicent, who had been
always very severe in condemnation Of
her sisters imprudent match.
Miss Stratton loved money. and
though very unwilling that the Thousand
pounds should go to the various CHAR.
ties to which it had been deuueathed in
case of Delphine's forfeiture of #. she
would, in her own heart, rather have
seen it cast into the ocean than in any
way benefiting the son of John Irvine
and Mary Lane, and the nephew O.
Dorothea Irving, who had recently
averred that, despite Millicent's airs
none of the STATIONS could hold cam
BILE to the Irvings.
Delphine's eyes were full of tears a.
she reported to her lover the converse
ton with her aunt, and that lady's de-
clared una]terable decision in REGARD
to her marriage. He tried to soothf
her.
"Let the money Co." he said impa
tiently. ut is comfort to think thai
she cannot forbid our marriage, though
she may keep us apart for awhile. Bu1
we are young and can afford to wait
can't We darling?"
II will wait for you all nv life
George, if it is necessary" said Del
phine trustingly.
Yet, though they both tried to lool
cheerful, their hearts sank at thu
thought OF the slow rolling weeks and
months and years, perhaps in which
they must live apart, scarcely meeting
except by accident, since Miss Strattor
objected to her niece receiving the doc
tors visits at her own house.
It was about this time that q sensa
ton was created by the arrival of ar
artist mo third or fourth rate profes
sor, but genuine artist, with q name
and fame--who, having come hithel
for his health, allowed it to be under
stood that he would condescend to The
light recreation of painting few por
traits of aristocraoy; and the aristocra-
cy, for the most part eager to secure
this proof OF their being such, hast
ened at once to secure his services.
Among the first to call upon Mr.
BENDER was Miss Stratton.
To be sure, his charges were enor
nous quite ruinous, indeed but
then, as Mrs. Goldsby, the former
jewelers. wife, supercii ously remarked
there was 4the Same difference in hiqh
and low art as in real and imitation
diamonds; If one would have the
genuine, one must expect to pay accord