Mower County transcript. [volume] (Lansing, Minn.) 1868-1915, 1885-03-18

clare, .Pom, you esplendld!
~ could return the compliment, if l
dared. But where are all the rest of
the family? Thehouse below is as emp
ty as a haunted hall"
"All gone to welcome that horrid,
poky old Prof. La Place, who has gra-
ciously indicated his willingness to
pass q few weeks with us. Tom, I do
hate that professor"
"Hate him! What for?''
"Oh, / don't know, Pm sure. He is
g. snuf-dried, conceited old wretch,
spectacles!"
Nonsense, Mary! Why he is only
twenty-six.''
II don't care; I know he is rheumat-
ic and wears spectacles, for all that.
And, Tom-now if you'll never, never
breathe q word of this"
~ won't upon my word and hon
or!" said Tom.
"Well, then, papa has actually got
the idea into his dear old head that I
would make nice wife for the pro-
lessor, and"
Mary turned away with crimson in
dignation flashing in her cheeks.
''It is too bad of you to laugh,
Tom. I never, never will marry that
mani"
II wouldn't if I were you" consoled
Tom. "But, Mary, wait and see the
man before you decide. He may be
quite decent fellow"
"No!" said Mary, shaking her head
and biting her cherry lips firmly. 81
hate him beforehand"
"What a. spiteful little puss you
are!' said her companion, laughing.
"No, Tom, Pm not And the blue
eyes became misty. II love papa and
Ruth dearly, and love almost every
body. l like you, Tom; but l hate
Prof. La Place. And / want you to
promise, Tom, that you'll be my
friend, and not allow him to tease me
into walks, or rides, or tete-a-tetes OF
any kind. Will your"
Would he? If she had asked him to
precipitate himself out of the pear
tree upon the steps below, with those
blue eyes fixed on his, he'd have done
1t any man of taste would.
II promised! he said, and they
shook hands on it.
What a coy place for a chat that
gnarled old tree was.
And when they had talked over
everything they could think of, it was
the most natural thing in the world
that Tom should recover the book
which had slipped down into the net
work of tiny boughs, and read poetry
to his pretty cousin in the deep, mu-
1<>x 49,
to.
And Mary sat there watching the
jetty curls blowing to and fro on his
broad, white brow, and the long, black
lashes almost touching his olive cheeks;
and she thought how very, very hand
some Cousin Tom was, how much he
had changed in the last ten years that
had elapsed since she had seen him,
and she wondered whether Tom was
engaged to any pretty girl; somehow
she hoped not. Now, why couldn t
Tom have been rich, like that horrid
Prof. La Place, instead of apoor med
ical student, and
And when the large, black eyes were
suddenly lifted to hers, Mary felt as
though he had read every thought
of her mind, and blushed scarlet.
"Come, Tom," she chartered, to hide
her confusion, Twelve been up here
long enough. Help medown and will
show you the old sun dial that we
used to heap up with buttercups when
we were children"
Arumble of wheels; it was the re-
turning carriage, and Mary chung to
TOMS arm.
1.-THE awful professor!" she whis-
pered. "Now, Cousin Tom, be sure
you stand by me through everything"
s'To nv lies end!" was the whis,
pered answer.
But there was no one in the carriage
save Mr.. Thorne and Ruth.
1t drewup on the grand sweep beside
the two cousins.
"Where's the professor
"He was not at the depot" said
Ruth; "and-"
But Mr.. Thorne had sprung from the
carriage and clasped both the stran.
gers hands in his.
"La Place. is it possible! Why, we
have just been looking for you at Mill
Station"
II am sorry to have Inconvenience
you, SIR" was the reply; but I came
by the way of Wharton, and walked
over this morning.
"Never mind now, so you are safely
here!' exclaimed the old gentleman
Ruth, my dear-Mary, let me intro.
duce you to your cousin, Prof. La
Mary had dropped his arm, and
stood dismayed.
"You told me that you were Cousin
Toni"
"That is my name, and 1 believe ]
am distant cousin by relationship
Now, Mary" and the black eyes
sparkled, "don't be angry because
don't take snuff nor wear spectacles.
beg the other Cousin Toms pardon,
whoever he is; but am very glad he
isn't here. Mary, be just, and don't
hate Cousin Tom because his other
name happens to be La Place"
But no doubt it was a very perplex.
ing thing to have two Cousin Toms;
and so, about six months subsequent
ly, Miss Mary contrived to obviate
that inconvenience by allowing one OF
them to assume nearer relationship;
and, in spite of all her asseverations to
the contrary, she is Mrs. Prof. La
Place.
For it's solemn fact in this world,
that whenever q girl says she never,
never will do thing, she is pretty sure
to do it the first chance she gets; and
Mary is no exception to the general
rule.
A Splendid Cigar Wasted.
From the Boston Saturday Evening Gazette. ]
One of the peculiarities of Gen. But
Ter as is probably known to most PEG.
pie who have met him frequently, is
that he never smokes cigar, but chews