The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1885-12-10

herer
Jack reflected moment before he said
HWhat Mrs. JGnes?-I know three or four.
'Why,"I replied, 'the Mrs. Jones-wh
,cas Miss Johnson
His face frightened. co." he exclaimed
''now know whom you mean. You'll nm
her only four blocks away, in Twenty
seventh street. She's a widow"
ga widow!'' cried.
''Yes; Charlie Jones died about five year
ago"
Indeed" / remarked, sympathetically
| although with a somewhat inhuman light
ness at the heart. Il am very sorry"
81 fancy she'd rather be widow than
wife, my friend rejoined, carelessly
"Jones was a kind of bully, you know"
Il don't know" said L "But that's no
to the point. Thanks for the information.
Then we parted, and went to my room
About two hours afterward | set out fOl
| Mrs. Jones's house in Twenty-seventl
| the servant 20 send my card to Mrs. Jones
he informed me that Mrs. Jones was not a
| home, but that Miss Jones might be willing
| to see me. | had no objection to meeting
Miss Jones, and SO accepted the servant:
| invitation. was, in fact relieved to find
| that Mrs. Jones was not in the house. Hel
| absence gave me time to take breath, and
TO adapt myself to the atmosphere of the
| place.
| While 1 was meditating, a light step
pressed upon the carpet, and looked up
| A young lady had entered the room.
| arose quickly and bowed to her.
Miss Jones'" said, vaguely, as though
Miss Jones did not exist
Yes, | am Miss Jones'" she answered,
goOd-2aturedly. She seemed to watch me
closely. l came to the conclusion that she
had heard of me. Her mother had told her.
! probably, that had wanted to stand in Mr..
Jones shoes once upon time. / felt I'M
comfortable. But gradually, when / dis
covered that Miss Jones was u very bright
and Interesting young woman, | warmed
up and was quite responsive. As the con-
versatiOn proceeded, had good opportu-
nifty TO see Miss Jones. | WE struck imnse-
diateIy by the resemblance S: e bore to her
mOther-Go her mother as aad known
Marie eighteen years previOusiI. II posi-
bic, Miss Jones was more lovely than her
mother had been. l discerned q. softened
tone about her, like the tender, nIellowing
grace which comes to picture aftec years.
/ can hardly tell you what my thoughts or
my emotions were for several minutes. Ny
romantic past rushed back upon n.e as
waves rush back on reach of white sand.
] felt that was in love again-Derhs,
ought to say that the love which had ne-er
died within me had been unexpectedly IN
l,indled. But whom was | really in love
with. With Marie Johnson, apparently.
Yet that is not strictly true. | 1UaS in love
with Marie, who lived a second time in her
daughter. Strictly, therefore, | was in love
with Miss Jones. The new passion simply
flowed out of the old one.
This was not surprising. had cherished
my affection for Marie during eighteen
years, and Miss Jones was Marie, with, so
20 speak, modern improvements. NV brain
was in a whirl when Mrs. Jones-Marie her.
self-came into the room. Perhaps she was
not altogether pleased to learn that Miss
Jones and had become fast friends in half
an hour. Outwardly she was as cordial as
possible. She shook my hand warmly, and
expressed wonder that l had not returned
to New York sooner. / congratulated her
that is to say, | condoled with heron the
loss of Jones. l need hardly say that re-
garded my old friend and sweetheart with
much curiosity. She was still a young
woman. But the delicacy and fragility of
her girlish beauty had given place to a sub
stantial and handsome embonpoint She
suggested practicability and common sense.
Now, the Marie whom had loved so loyal
ly was gentle, innocent unworldly crea-
ture-just the sort of creature that Miss
Jones seemed to be. When l saw the two
women-mother and daughter-together
the contrast was more than ever striking.
There could be no doubt about my feelings
then. The ideal that had worshiped was
certainly typiied in Miss Jones. Ny ardent
Imagination rounded golden halo over her
small blonde head. fear that Mrs Jones
OaugnUor
had made upon me, for 5he inquired, rather
sharply, after we had interchanged a few
formal words:
''Where on earth have YOU been, Sydney!
! had made up my mind that you were
dead"
80, I've been everywhere" said. 'In
France, England-as far as Persia Iu fact,
I'm an adventurer."
"And not maTied!". she suggested, arch
ing her eyebrows.
mot married. - 1 replied, trif1e nervous
''Well, that's WISE" she declared. senten-
tiously. ''YOu have waited for the mar
riageable age. You wouldn't have appre-
ciated a wife at twenty
Several weeks passed, and was frequent
ly at the house of Mrs. Jones. l accom-
panied her and Miss Jones to dinner parties
and theatres, and / was evidently accepted
by them as friend who should be trusted
them was extremely delicate[I mean so
tar as myself was concerned. Though l
tried gallantly to give an equal measure of
attention to both, it CHANGED that l fell
more often in the way of Mrs. Jones than
in the way of her daughter. This was
natural, because Miss Jones-I liked
Jones" as little as l had liked johnson"
and wanted very much to call her Edith
had a score of young men at her command
You can guess the result. l lost my head
1t Is not necessary to mention NV heart
which had been lost somewhat indefinitely
for an extended period. Yet my manner
toward Miss Jones was by no means the
manner of lover. She was very nice, and
L was very friendly, and that was all. A
certain warmth of sentiment, which was
unquestionably meapt for her, manifested
itself unconSciOusly toward her mother In
one sense, the two women were a single en-
tlty. L did not love them both YOU under
stand; I loved the same thing in both: or,
to be more lucid, loved in one what had
loved in the other. The situation became
more complicated as days progressed into
weeks and months.
There are men who swear by that ancient
and laconic saw, Non BIS ige idenl 1t is. in
deed, remarkable how many fellows. after
being rejected by the woman they love, re-
fuse to think of marriage again. l might
nave been one of those men, but fate some
how pushed me on its own lines-suuint
lines, | have called them-of vision. ]
determined spontaneously to ask Misa
Jones to marry me.
reflected upon my determination many
days; How should proceed in this bust
ness! My conviction was that ought to
begin the attack by speaking to Mrs. Jones'
That would be certainly polite and decent
was not at all anxious to speak to Mrs.
Jones. One is not eager to address a
woman whom one has loved about woman
whom one lOVes. But my course seemed
marked out for me. There was no escaping
from 1t. l called, therefore, upon Mrs.
Jones, and in hesitating and absurd de-
livery assured her that wanted to give up
bachelor life. Much to my amazement,
she received this confession with smiling
Indeed she exclaimed, II am glad to
hear that, Sydney. Now you are like your
old self'
MY old self" stammered.
Yes; don't you remember!" she asked,
still more sweetly.
"Remember-what?' said, with worse
Stammer
Your memory must be short. But no
matter. So, after eighteen years of indie