Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-02-10

present, at least, he does not ieel eduai
to the ordeal of seeing her again, now
that all is at an end between them.
He remembers Bessie as an over-gro~n
girl, and decides in his own mlnd that
her presence will not add to the com
fort of his visit Still, she may not be
quite so much of a nuisance as ne an
ticipates. and after all, it would be
better to put up with few 1omboy
tricks than remain in London. 80 he
coes with Tom to the cathedral town
where his widowed mother lives with
her two younger boys. and the daughter
before mentioned. who has Just return
ed from Germany. Toms home is a
very pretty little place, with smooth
! lawn. on which young lady Is stroll
| ino at the moment of their arrival,
with her ewes fixed on a book. The
roses that bloom on her cheek and lips
are lovely. and her brown hair is chang
ed to gold as the sunlight rests upon
! il, Altogether she makes ravlshlng
picture of youthful beauty. and so
| thinks Basil as he gazes on her. New
| erthelcss, there is Il look of annoyance
on his face as he says:
| L
your mother had visitor. If | had
known of it, would not on any ac-
! count have accepted your invitation
"A visitor!' eXclaims Tom, and
bursts into hearty laugh that reaches
the ears of the girl on the lawn. 'Why,
| that's Bessien'
Before Basil can express his surprise
at the transformation of the awkward
schoolgirl into graceful woman, Bes-
sic is at her brothers side.
why. Tom, dear Tom, how good
of YOU to come so soon says fresh,
young voice. 1--WE did not expect you
for a week.
II wanted to give you a surprise. .
returned Tom. And see, | have
brought Mr.. Cowan with me. You re-
member him-dOn't YOU
Bessie does remember him. and col
| ors little as they shake hands, think
ing of the many tricks played on her
brothers long suffering friend in the
days gone by.
What a lite wretch / was" she
says penitently. Il am sure you must
have been afraid of me.
Basil makes some light rejoinder.
but tells himself that he was not hall
so much afraid of her then as he is
| now Laura has not improved hi,
opinion Of women. He has made up
| his mind that Bessie is a tiirt. and hel
anxiety to treat her brothers friend
with civility strengthens the idea.
Il hope Tom will let her know that
am not an el gible party he think,
bitterly. as he enter, the house.
Mrs. Eden warmly welcomes hel
SOM 5 friend. She is a sweet, content
ed-looking woman. fond of al hel
children. and very proud of her beauti
full daughter. Bessie is good muSi
clan, a fair artist, reads French, Ger
man, and Italian, and her mother i
naturally Xious to show off her ac
complishments. The girl herself re
fuses to .show off" and Basil soor
finds that if he wants her society h
will have to seek it. She never throw:
herself in his way. He finds that sh,
has other admirers. and the discover,
does not please him.
..She is too good for the idiots tha
dangle about her." he tells Tom in
dignantly.
Il shall think presently that yo,
want her YOURSELF" observes Tom by
way of joke.
But the iesting words have more
truth in them than he imagines, fol
Basil is beginning to realize that BesSi,
is worth a thousand shallow-hearteC
Laura's.
Il came to the country for peace,
he thinks. 1.-The best thing l can dc
| Is ~ ,;u Hach LUurIurI.
But when he speaks of leaving h,
sees B'ssie's face change color, anC
wild hope springs to life in hi
heart.
"Will you come with me?" he asks
and his voice shakes. for he loves Bes
sic as he never loved Laura.
Bessie's answer was evidently salts
factory, and Basil has reason to bt
grateful that he is not Sir Anthony.
heir. for Sir Anthonv's heir would have
married Miss Balfour and regretted il
before the honeymoon was over. He
married for spite, Laura told herself
when she heard the news, which is
scarcely as agreeable to her as it ought
to be, seeing that she is engaged to an
elderly baronet
But when few days later she stands
face to face with the married pair, and
sees the look of proud proprietorship
in BaSiPs eyes, she feels. with a little
| pang of envy that the old love is dead,
and that its ashes can never be rekin-
| died. Tom looks at his brother-iu-law
anxiouslv. and presently draws him
| aside to whisper:
''Are You quite cured?"
''Quite. Tom" returns Basil. THE
luckiest day of my life was when Il re-
ceived that telegram informing me OF
the birth of Sir Anthony's herr
He does not dream that his wife
knows anything about his former at
tachment for Miss Balfour; but her
first words when they were alone to-
gether undeceived him.
Basil" she says in low tone of
voice. '.your old love is sweetly pref
ty."
Not half so pretty as my wife," re-
plies Basil as he draws her nearer to
him and kisses her: ''but it was scarce
ly kind of Tom to tell YOU"
ut wasn't Tom,' returned Bessie.
lit was Miss Balfour herself She said
~
Never mind what she said, Bessie"
returns her husband, folding her in a
warm embrace. You are the only
woman in the world | ever loved. Viii
that content you?"
Bessie's answer was kiss Her
husband fortells her that whatever
Laura Balfour's influence may have
been in the past, she can never come
between them now, for his heart is all
her own.
An Auburn lawyers little daughter
goes to Sabbath-school and is in a class
with other little girls. Possibly the