The Press., 1885-03-12

sNfoB q Walk6u tLG lJteoc took it" said Charlotte, defantlr. II don't care; meant to have it. Nancy made it, an worked herself most to death over it, an it's made out of my folks hair, an had right to it. .''
 "Why, mother, how did you ever dare ?'
 'I peeked into the vestry, an saw 'em both in thar on one of the back seats Then I run right up to the house. knew, unless they did different from what they used to, could git in through the she'd An I did. I went right through the kitchen an sittin' room into the parlor. It made me feel bad enough. That plush furniture's gettin' real worn, usin' 1t so common the maps all rubbed off on the edges, an the tidies are dirty. I saw a great spot on that Brussels carpet, too, where somebody'd tracked in. It don't look much as 1t used to. could have sat right down an cried But a5 afraid to stop long, so jest took this picture down an come of. didn't see soul. s'pose you think I've done an awful thing, Elm incline ?"
 ''I'm afraid you'll have some trouble about it, mother"
 "I ain't afraid"
 In spite of her bravado, she was afraid She tucked away the wreath out of sight upstairs, and when Thomas Weeks came to the door the next day, she answered hls ring with inward trepidation, She had an inclination to run out of the back door, and leave Emmeline to encounter him, but she resisted it.
 She came off victorious, however. Even Thomas Weeks succumbed before the crushing arguments and the whitening sar- casms, tumbling pell-mell over each other, which she brought to bear upon him.
 ''He says may keep it, '' she told Elm incline when she went in. ''He guesses Mis- Weeks don't set no great by 1t, an he don't care. He was awful toppin' at first, but he begun to look kind of ashamed, an wilted right down after I'd talked to him awhile. I told him jest what thought of the whole business from beginnin' to end. "
 The hair wreath was hung up in state in the front room after that, and openly dis played. Everybody upheld Charlotte in inc. Nothing delighted her more than to have people speak about it and admire
 One day she was descanting on its beau ties to one of the neighbors, when a ques- ton arose which attracted Emmeline's at tention.
 'tWhose hair Is that reddish rose bud made out of il? ?" asked the woman.
 Mrs. Steadman gave warning "Hush p and scared glance at her daughter. En- incline saw it. After the woman. had gone she went up to the wreath, and looked at it closely. 'Mother," said she, "whose hair is in that rosebud ?''
 Mrs. Steadman shrank before her daugh- ter's look.
 Mother, you didn't go to my drawer and take that out l missed it How did you know I had it? ?''
 "Now, Emmeline, thar ain't no reason for you to get so mad. I went to your drawer one day for something, an hap pened to see it. An poor Nancy wanted some hair that color dreadfully, an she didn't really want to go out of the family, an we all thought-''
 Mother, did he know it?''
 "Now, Emmeline, its ridiculous for you to fire up so. Is'pose he did. You re- mmember that last Friday night when Paulina was here last summer, an we all went to meetin'? He came that night, and we warn't to home, and Nancy was settin' on her doorstep when he drove by, an she had to call him in an show him the wreath. An s'pose she let on bout his hair bein' in it. I told her she was awful silly; but she said he kinder corner ed her up, an she couldn't help it. I scolded her for it. She said he seemed kinder upset"
 Mother, that was the reason.''
 "Reason for what?''
 "The reason he stopped coming, and everything"
 'Emmeline Steadman, I don't believe it. 'Tsint likely fellar'd get so mad as that jest cause somebody'd made rosebud ont of his hair to put in wreath; tain't reasonable. I should think he'd been rather pleased than anything else.''
 "Oh, mother, don't you see? He. gave it to me, and he thought that was all l cared for it, to give it to Aunt Nancy to put in a hair wreath. And he is awful sensitive and quick
 II should think he was, to get mad at such a thing as that I can't believe he did!'
 ''I ksaoaO he did p
 .Well, there ain't any call for you to feel huffy about it. I'm sorry did 1t I'm sure I wouldn't if I dreamed it was goin to make any trouble. I didn't have any idea he was such fire an tow kind of a fellar as that. I guess it's jest as well we didn't have him in the family thar wouldn't have been no livin' with him.
 That night Emmeline wrote letter to Andrew Stoddard. She sat up for the purpose after her mother had gone to bed, pretending she had some work to finish. She wrote the sort of letter that most New England girls in her standing would have written. She began 1t '.Dear Friend" touched very lightly on the subj ct of tie hair, just enough to explain 1t, then decor ously hoped that if any misunderstanding had. interrupted their friendship it might be done away with; she should always value his very highly. Then she signed herself his true friend 'Emme!ine E. Steadman.''1
 Nobody knew what tortures of suspense Emmeline suffered after she had sent her poor little friendly letter. She sewed on nothing about it.
 7 She began to go regularly to the post office, though not at mail times. She would make an errand to the store where it was, and inquire if there was letter for her quietly and casually after she was through trading.
 One morning she came home from one of those errands, dropped down in chair, and covered her face with her hands. Her mother was frightened: she was mixing bread: they were both out Ill the kitchen.
 "Emmeline, what is the matter ?'
 Emmeline burst into bitter cry ''He's Mrs. Wilson told me just now. Mrs. Adams told her: she lives next to his folks"
 @"Why, Emmeline, I didn't know you