Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1885-03-20

was the daughter OF parents in easy
circumstances, and that the young
man might be either very unpre-
tentious type Of drummer or else a
subordinate employe of some kind.
The two seemed on excellent terms
and chatted away without pause
during the next half hour. Scraps
of light talk were unavoidably over
heard-I told him. 'she told me;
they've broke of theirengagement;
and 'he gave her lovely pearl ring
and soon the Observer was for
cibly reminded OF his advancing
years, in that he began to wonder
| if he had ever found a charm in
that species of conversation.
Presently the whistle sounded and
the train pulled up at a country
station.
The girl gathered up her belong
ings.
Il must stop here she said.
Must your
Yes
won't you write to mel-this
from the young man.
whats your nameT
James McKafIerney. What is
yoursY
Jenny (only she undoubtedly
spelled it Jenne) Walpole.'
Good bye, be sure and write
'And so they parted as the nov.
els say. Possibly they had never
met before, but perhaps this was
the last of several similar chance
meetings in the cars. Atall events
they had promised to correspond
almost before knowing each others
names.
The Observer marvelled greatly,
and specializing in his own mind
whether this sort of thing il com
mon nowadays, he resumed the
perusal of his afternoon paper,
which had been interrupted by this
little social episode. The first
paragraph that met his eye was to
the effect that Miss, an accomplish
ed daughter Gall these young per
sons are lovely and accOmplished)
of the richest mill owner in neigh
boring city, had made runaway
match with q handsome good-tor-
nothing idler whose acquaintance
she had formed in casual way at
a skating rink. The next para
graph related how pretty girl OF
eighteen, with blue eyes and blonde
complexion had gone away from
home on a visit, and within a week
had been met, wooed and won by a
certain George. They Quarreled on
the day after they were married,
the young wife was beaten, the
police were called in, George was
held for trial and tho girl went
back to her mother.
The Observers attention having
been thus drawn to this species OF
news, he watched for similar items
and has collected quite All assort'
ment of scraps bearing in this same
| direction.
| In all of them he sees the proto-
types of Jenne Walpole. She is
the daughter OF the wealthlest and
most influential man in the country.
She has, perchance, been keeping
up Irritation with a young man
whom she had met while going to
town in the cars. She makes ap'
pointments with him at the gate
for while, and them they get mar
ried secretly and the young lady
presents her husband to her parents
who have never heard ofhim before.
He turns out to be drunken ne'er.
do. we'll, who has not even q trade
! to bless himself with, and lives on
the wages of his too indulgent
mother, whose only pride seems TO
! be to keep him from hardening his
hands with honest toll. How is the
blissful honeymoon likely to wax
and wane in such an unfortunate
. case as thisi
r Again she is the child ofa well
to.do farmer, or Of merchant in
some provincial town, or she is
schOol.teache left to her own 10
sources, or she is pretty shop cir
} or factory hand. She is forever
s picking up chance acquaintance
J. in the most reckless fashion, and
n being sometimes married, but of
n tener betrayed, AS the result Of hel
It lightly formed intimacies.
o 1t is safe to say that only smal
}; proportion of these cases get int,
]. the papers, but not week passe
l.. without y dozen such finding thei
way into print, aud most Of ther
point to probable wretchedness i
z the immediate future.
re Unusually the main burden {
ut suffering falls on the weake'
o. shoulders-the woman's-hence 81
ought to be especially cautious