Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1885-05-21
THE MYSTERY SOLVED.


ALL"
"Why, you certainly mean to marry
John BrantP"
"Assuredly l do not. He passable,
that's all. p"
"Then it will be Harry Rogers"
"Never! Harry Rogers is not endur-
able with his mild ways and his meek
courtesy"
THAT will do to tell me, Miss May
Saunders, but wait till either of the
gentlemen proposes to you, and you
win accept"
"They have both proposed, and both
been refused within the past twenty
four hours. There nowi what do you
think of that? Haven't / Just little
bit of spirit and independence"
"Why, May Saunders, you are silly
girl to refuse either of these gentlemen.
You have made the first great mistake
of your life. Reconsider what you have
done, and accept one or the other of
them"
a will do no such thing I'll live
and die an old maid before | marry
either of them, or any other man, for
the matter of that.
"We will both live long enough to
see things come out differently"
"Oh, l hope we will both live to
ripe old age, but in the end you will
find that | have kept my word"
This bit of dialogue took place be-
tween my intimate friend, May Saun-
ders, and myself on her twenty-fourth
birthday, aud l had been rallying her
because she only had ose more mile
stone to pass until she entered the do
main of old maiddom-if allowance be
made for coming the word-and l had
been advising her to marry before she
crossed the borderland.
John Brant was bookkeeper, and
Harry Rogers was cashier in the bank
of Iveson & Co., and both were excel
lent young men. knew that both
were devoted admirers of May, but l
was greatly surprised to learn that they
both had proposed, and still more dis
mayed to learn that both had been re-
jected.
"Tell me, May" said, "what OBJ
lection could you have to Harry Rog-
ersP He is an exceptionally splendid
young man, and no one stands higher
in the public esteem in the whole town
of Dayton"
Il presume" she. replied, "that I
dislike him because everyone praises
him. He is unselfish, grant it, and
gentle and courteous, and all that, but
to my mind he lacks self-assertion,
without which no mans manhood is
complete or perfect"
"Well, that charge does not lie
against John Brant He has self-as-
sertion enough for any one mana lit
tie more, in fact, than l admire, but
perhaps not too much to suit your taste
and fancy"
John Brant is we'll enough so far as
that goes" May rejoined, land l do
not mind telling you that | like him in
finitely better than | do Harry Rogers,
but not well enough to link my fate
with his
"And why not?"
II can hardly tell. There is some
thing about him that | cannot compre-
hend-something that is unfathomable,
and secret monitor whispers to me
never to marry him, even if | should
fall in love with him, which seems not
only absurd bat impossible"
l was quite overcome with the pecu-
liar situation of affairs, and saw that it
would be waste of time to volunteer
any sort of advice or undertake solu-
ton of the knotty problem. So con-
cluded to leave the solution to the deft
fingers of Time.
Both the young gentlemen continued
to pay their usual attentions to May.
The gossips of the town were in ignor-
ance of the fact that both had already
been rejected, and consequently there
was nothing to interfere with their
speculations as to which would win her
in the end.
l watched my friend narrowly, and
from time to time cautiously sounded
her feelings, and made up my mind
that it was only question of time, un-
til Miss May Saunders would be Mrs.
John Brant, Her partially was sutli-
GENTLY marked to show the drift of the
tide.
From John Brant l was able to learn
that he regarded Harry Rogers as a
rival-and rival whom he both feared
and hated, Notwithstanding their close
business relations.
But | was entirely unable to discover
that Harry Rogers looked upon Brant
as rival in any sense OF the word.
On several occasions he confided in
me far enough to express both his
amazement and pain that May should
so persistently reject his love without
giving him any reasonable explana-
ton.
Perhaps she thinks you lack self-as-
sertion," said to him, in the way of
suggestion.
THAT is what she told me herself, but
/ cannot understand it. l don't know
what she means by it. attend to my
business and don't meddle with other
peoples. There has never yet been an
occasion when it was necessary for me
to set up my opinion in opposition to
my business superiors. do not know
whether would have the proper
amount of self-assertion to do so sue
cessfully, but certainly would stand
by my convictions of right"
There was "a commotion one day in
the banking-houso OF Keson & Co.
When the doors we're closed in the af-
ternoon and the cash was balanced,
Cashier Rogers was found to be just five
hundred pounds short.
Every transaction of the day was
gone over, the members of the firm
taking part in the work, but there
was no Way of accounting far the de-