Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1885-01-08

grandfather bought it; Jennie, when
you were baby, and we all spent our
summers there. That's 20 years ago,
and ] was, then what society calls
passe-in fact, / had before that
made up my mind to life of old
maldism.
"One day had taken fancy to 90
! into the kitchen and make a cake. I
did this because everybody except
the hired men and one of the cham
maids had gone.to the city, even the
cook being away for the aay. the
hired men in the fields, and Mary and
| the only occupants of the house
had began my making when I
discovered the want as certain spices.
and Mary volunteered to go to the
store TO obtain them. She had hardly
got away when / heard step. and
raj sed my eyes to see a man STANDING
at the kitched daor, which opened
into the path that led to the road.
My l.eart was in my throat in an
instant, and remembered how utterly
alone | was. We were not afraid OF
tramps in those days as now, but I
think a better specimen of that genus
/ never saw. He was dilapida-
ton itself, and as ] looked at
him in dazed, frightened way, he
whined:
Lady, I'm very hungry. Won't
you give me something 10 eat2'
AS scared as | was reasoned I
would feed him and talk to him until
Mary returned, and would then send
her for the hired men and so | babe
him come in, and set before him the
contents of the kitchen pantry, with
an abundance of warm coffee from
the stove. He ate like one who had
not seen food for over month. and
as he ate, he poured forth the tale of
his troubles He had been prosper
GUS shoemaker, having at one time
had as much as $500 in the savings
bank; but, as he declared, he had been
ruined by a bad wife, who would not
bear with his little foibles. one Of
which was his conviviality, aud SO
she left MIN, and ne became wan
derer.
'Ol course I sgmpathised with him
in his troubles, and under this and
the stimulation OF the coffee, as soon
as he could eat no more, l found him
on his knees before me, pooring out
his admiration. Oh, If he had but
such a wife as I was, what different
man he might hare been. a million
aire, perhaps-Oh, viii that girl Mary,
ever return-but it was not too late
yet. Ills wife was not dead, but he
was not afraid of her. Would marry
him2
Il don't know how | found words,
in my fright, but | saw that | must
and told him that the OF
Jer was so sudden, that | was unable
to decide at once; that at any moment |.
my father or brothers might come |
down stairs, and / would rather keep
i a secret from them Ii he would go I
away now and return the next day at !
same hour he should have my answer.
De promised he would, and very can
lIdly confessed that he did not know
where to sleep that night, whereat |
took out my purse and gave him what
money ] had, about two dollars, and
that's the only direct offer, girls, I
have ever received in my life.
"Oh, auntiem went up in chorus
chorus from the three girls How
errble Did he come back?n
"Oh, no! never saw him again,
md as | did not know his name, you
Know, girls, | could not hunt him up.
When Mary came back she found me
stretched upon the kitchen floor,
where | had chosen to drop in faint
md after she had brought me back to
life she wanted to send one of the
lired men after my visitor but re-
used TO allow her, for what had the
nan d0ne2 Nothing lie was civil
nd quiet, and had gone away at my
equest, and had LETT it in my power
o say that | had received one offer at
east in my life