The Warner sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1885-1???, 1886-08-06
LITTLE MRS. WHITNEY,
BY ELIZABETH 9. ArHERroN

A nv" Hc Was sorry Tor IL. she
thought she realized the whole aSlast.
Ihat her money had assisted his pity
did not occur to her. She had been a
little, soft-eyed, crippled thing, cared
Tor and loved all her life, and when
this new love came it did not seem
strange to her. She had accepted it
simply and gladly, had married him,
and they had been comfortable on her
little income, and as happy as most
people. He was a dapper littlefellow,
with red curls and rather nice brown
eyes, a glib tongue, and as pretty a
hand and foot as any in San Rafael.
He had not very much to do, as far
as business went, not needing to work
for living so he devoted himself to
lawntennis-in fact, he was the
crack" player of San Rafael; and,
when he was attired in his immacu-
late white tennis rig, long, black stock
ings, low shoes, and a little black cap
on his red curls, he was acomely figure
on the green court, and you could not
wonder that "little Mrs. Whitney"
as everybody called her, watched the
game with such interest, and laughed
in a tender, deprecating way whenever
Tom made an unusually swift serve"
or "took" hard ball calamity.
1t had been on the tennis-ground
that she first saw him, three years be-
fore; it hadsbeen there that she expe-
rienced some of the proudest moments
of her simple life, and it was there
that Esther Very came across her
path and darkened it. Love and
jealousy are commonplace and every
day, OF course, but they have some
times the deepest-cutting tragedy of
all.
1t was a glorious Saturday after
noon-one of those California days
that come oftener to San Rafael than
to most places-not warm, but still
suggesting the possibilities OF July
heat; one OF those days when one APP
preciates intensely Joaquin Miller's
simplicity in saying:
"The hills were brown, the heavens were
blue;"
for the hills and the heavens dominate
the landscape. There was asott, little
breeze, that could have been only
fourth or fifth cousin to the bolster
Gus, dusty wind that was undoubted-
ly blowing at that very moment across
the bay in San Francisco.
Little Mrs. Whitney-"Poor Nell"
according TO her husbands naming
sat In great willow chair on the ver-
anda of the tennis club house, watch
ing Tom as usual while he play
ed, when some one said "Let
me introduce Miss Very to you,
Mrs. Whitney, and she turn
ed to bow and smile to the tall, slim
gir.swho was being presented. Esther
Very was one of the few Californian
girls with true enthusiasm for physi-
cal development. Thecraze for walk
ing and gymnastics has SO far reached
Californian femininity in a fragmentary
way. Rare indeed are the girls who
can "pul up three times from arms
length on the horizontal bar, but
Esther Very had long ago felt the
wholesome inspiration of muscular
christianity, but was an ardent dis
ciple. With how firm stroke did she
send her boat over the bayl With how
strong q hand did shecontrol a restive
horsel With what pride would she
clench her pretty fist and double up
her arm that you might feel the firm
swelling other bicepsl How easilyshe
vaulted the wooden horse at the gym
nasium, or pulled up five, no, six
times on the bar!
Now she looked on with the delight
ed eye of q true tennislover at Tom
Whitney's fast serves, and was ready
with enthusiastic appreciation when,
at the close of the game, he came up
to the veranda with the rest, and was
introduced to her. Tom was pleased,
of course, and when she expressed q
desire to play with him he was only
too delighted. as he said. He looked
her over with the eye of aconnoisseur,
and noting the keen glance, the full, firm
arm, and the easy movements, decided
that she would be a foeman worthy OF
his steel, or rather his racket.
And SO she was. They played the
next Wednesday, when Tom returned
from the city earlier than usual; the
following Saturday, and many We'd
nesdays and Saturdays after. Little
Mrs. Whitney sat on the porch, in her
accustomed place, with her sweet
smile always ready, and with constant
and unselfish pleasure that Tom had
found so worthy and delightful an op-
ponent
Miss Very was spending the summer
with some friends in San Rafael, and
after while Mrs. Whitney invited her
to visit her. The Whitneys had q
~ vn,;n,, l;ttla home and Esther fitted