Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-09-24

you sa,o uvo,I. Spe 4. al o.pszano now. ana
thoughI mud Jell you that the bitterest
fears ever shed came frdu me when saw
What va suspSeted me q, still am not
| angry, because must adll1lt. that what has
happened did fairly suggest something of the
kind. II Though all you had continued to
trust me, INshcdld have been the proudest
wumun m Engfznd-but that WIS 700 much
Net me this evening at the. ald blace IL
can say what 1 dare not Yrite Whan.- We
have talked things over calmly, you will see
all In different light. Dearest VIM know
how / love you, and believe your heart is
as deep as mine. / am happier now-f
thought should have died last night, but
now feel that all will be well. lGood-by
until this evening. Ever your loving s. H
There is no need to spin little in cident
into long story. Willie did not 90; he
spent that evening with Nancy Steele. Three
days later he received a second letter be-
| seechins him to grant another meeting. He
made no reply Of any sort and after that
nothing more came from Miss Vanity Hard
| ware. sJ
| One day-it must have been about week
later-she came into my shop. Her face
L
| must admit 1t was pale to the uttermost,
and her wonderful eyes burned with light
such as one sees in consumptive patients
The swift, elastic step was gone, she walked
with heavy, dropping carriage, and her
voice had a sick-of-life sadness init. She
bought some trifle, and while she was count
ing her change with vacant air two small
girls-one about ten, the other about four
slz
bled over the doorstep and fell, breaking out
Immediately in loud, piercing cry. Miss
Hardware turned sharply round, angry at
the noise; but when she saw the child hold
ing up its bruised hand for pity she SCENE
touched all at once, and catching the little
thing in her arms comforted it like mother.
Her own tears ran faster than those of the
little girl, and it struck me that there must
be great store Of sorrow in her heart when
a cause so slight brought about an over
flow.
From that hour began half to wish that
had never interfered in Willie's love affairs,
but henceforth events took their own course
without any help from me. Everybody
knew that he and Nancy were engaged; and
either he or she-or perhaps the pair-being
anxious to get married soon, the ceremony
took place in a months time. The wedding
was on the whofe about as cheerful as we'll
conducted funeral The morning was
drizly; the church struck one with danny
chill; Willie was plainly depressed. He
glanced nervously over his shoulder two or
three times, as if fearing an unwelcome hand
laid there. The bride alone bore herself
spiritedly. -.-...---.--.--s.-J
The happy couple took a full-measlire
honeymoon of four weeks. During their alb
sence heard certain reports bruited in. the
village about the Hardwares One story
not altogether so inexplcable to me as to
other folks-said that on particular even
ing stranger passing by was startled by
loud cries coming from the farmhouse.
When he went to the door to listen he heard
a man shouting and swearing furiously, and
woman sobbing and crying out as if she
were struck Concluding that it was only an
ordinary case of wife beating, the stranger
pursued his way with relieved mind; but
when he got into Hampton he told the story,
as he sat over his glass of beer at the Lion,
Another report declared that old Hardware
found the climate of the village disagree
with his asthma, and that he had bought
house at Burnham. 1t was soon ascertained
to be a fact that they were, leaving Hampton,
and, indeed. learned the very day Of their
intended departure; for Rich, the cabman
who had been engaged to drive the old gen
tleman down to the railway station, men
toned it to me. By an odd coincidence the
same day was fixed for Wilie's return. But
l must not hurry on too fast. ,..i. "a