The Press., 1884-01-24
house, which she had now reach

bathing-h house, which she had now reach l ed.
 l "She thinks I am in love with Miss Coupon" said Mowbray bitterly to him. self, and he walked gloomily away. sSup- poses I am like all thesrest selfish and caring only for money. Great heavens, what injustice She classes us all togeth- CT, and despises me as me as merely a sso- ciety' man.
 Miss Coupon did not make her appear ance for quite week. ssNot that she was really sick" said one of her intimates, l Mrs. Bullion, "but she likes to make a sensation, to have people around her nurs- ing her, to be playing the martyr. She thinks her absence will cause her reappear- ance to be all the more triumph 7
 Miss Brierly came down in the evening as usual, and was immediately the center of large crowd, all eager to compliment these admirers. But our heroine evident did not like this publicity. She gave an appealing look to Mowbray whose heart throbbed with sudden joy as he saw it. ssShe cannot utterly despise me, 2 he said to himself, Eff she invokes my aid to res cue her from this mob' He went up to her and suggested that, as the loom was too hot and close, perhaps she would like a stroll in the moonlight, and she accept ed at once, and with one of her sweetest smiles and eyes eloquent with thanks.
 They went forth. They were soon out of sight and hearing of all others On and on they strolled down the half-shadowy road. At first the conversation was on general topics. But Mowbray was too deeply in love, too anxious, to bear sus- pense any longer. So, suddenly, he broke into passionate declaration; and when they returned to the hotel an hour later Mary Brierly was the affianced bride of our here.
 "Conditioned on the approval of my un- cle and guardian, she said, but with an- another heavenly smile that did not look as if she feared negative. "He is gov ernor of our state, you know"
 ''I know nothing" said Jack, interrupt ing, and then he gave gay laugh. "You are aware, suppose, that some of the people here have been talking of you as if you had just come out of 8 log cabin !"
 "Yes, know" and she laughed in re- turn. 'sMiss Coupon, believe, set that report going. From sheer love of fun, af- ter that, I did what I could to mystify them. She said, I believe, I wasn't in 'so- , ciety.' But we western girls look on all I that as nonsense. Some even go so far," she added, with merry twinkle, Gas to call it snobbish. With us it is merit that makes the man, or the woman either, for that matter" it to himself to be something higher than a mere drone, idling away time eating French dinners, cr1ticizing wines and [ lounging in opera boxes. It wasn't in that way that our Websters, Clays, Lincolns, , and Garfelds rose to eminence. What ambition have is in the direction of poll
 tics, if l may be for moment egotistical. At one tis1e, darling, feared you de- spised me as mere society man." "No, said she, blushing and clinging fondly to his arm, "I thought better of you from the first. I am glad you think
 as you do about politics. So many of our more refined people you know weakly shrink from them. But I have always been taught that they were the proper sphere for 8 man of energy and ability. My father was in congress. My great grandfather fought at Bunker Hill. In our family we hold that to serve ones country is the first duty. To have come from heroes who have died for liberty, as my uncle says, is thousand times nobler than to be descended from millionaires Her cheek flushed, her eye kindled as she spoke. She looked, Mowbray thought, like Greek maiden, arming her lover for Thermopyle.
 ''I am glad we agree in this, D he said. I am only waiting for an opening to begin my political career. And am sure now of sympathy, where man most wants it lat his own freside But had no idea, when fell in love with you, that Govern or Wilmot was your uncle. Why, he's a very distinguished man..
 | ssNo vOu oo111dp't hava knoun if I kept my secret to we'll"
 'It was for yourself, darling, I loved you,' said Jack, passionately. ''I never thought to ask anything else"
 "And you are willing to marry poor western girl, who wasn't" and she look up saucly into his. face, "who wasn't in
 The look was so arch, the mouth so pret- ty, that Jack then and there kissed the ripe, red lips as, indeed, he had done more than once before that evening. Mary sprang back, laughing.
 'Have you finished ?'' she said demure- 1y. ''If you have, I'll end what you in- terrupted me in telling you which is, af- ter all, I'm not even poor, ss poverty goes. You'll have to take an heiress, I'm afraid. "
 Of course the engagement was not made public until after the reception of Gov. Wilmot's letter. This was the very day of Miss Coupons reappearance. She came down stairs expecting to see Mowbray pining in despair over her absence, only to hear, to her chagrin, that he was going it !-even IN SOCIETY.