The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1886-09-12

"no'Nt oANb "oN hAuooub ulhIcRdI
| Of eupbony:
~ : / ought to tell you who she is I
"Why, the girl you'ie breaking yor
; heart about"
Her two bands are on my shoulder
! feel her breath on O rather expose
spot on the top of my head.
"Girl2 What girl"
Ny lady disdains to be more e,
plicit. She still stands behind m
char.
Sup osing tell her? will.
whats the good Of talking of il d?
] txclaim, by way of graceful begir
ming. "Nebody can help. What
the use Of my saying. her name
Nelly, the same ss yours, that she
the daughter OF one DR.. Drayton Mui
ray, that met her in the Black Fol
est last year and just stopped short O
dashing all her tseth down her throat
leaving, by way of souvenir, a pur
| pie mark on her cheek. You're DO
laughing, are you Nelly?"
Add / turned round fiercely.
mo, dear" Nelly's face, as diml,
ssen by the freight, is solemn IS
judges. How account for the vibra
zion impsit ted to the chair?
"0f course I'm not laughing; but do
explain yourself little. How die
yon come to-.o-"
Somehow he seems unable to pro
coed with this question.
The ice is broker, aud 1 cannot ire
go the re ief OF contding in her.
"See here, Nelly; I'll tel you all
about it," | say mlenanimouely; and
pour forth the whole story, conc nd.
ing as again | turn round
Nov you know how mater stand.
| need OF say that love the Girl;
should be brute ii / didn't"
"And very likely che loves you"
Don't talk like a fool, Nelly"
1t is seldom that l am 60 grossly
rude to my brothers little wife; but
her remarks, made pensively in reply
to my confession, sounded too like a
motksry.
Silence.
Why does she not peak agaiu?
wait, wishing sbe would, and rather
wishing that / had not used langu az
quite 30 strong. AS regards thst, we |,
she brought it on herself, al d anyway,
/ will beg pardon after ward.
"a girl who only saw me once"
say at last by way OF showing my read
ineis to return to the subj ct.
Silence.
/ think this downright mean of Nelly
and decide 10 let her knowso.
"If you've nothing at all to say,
wonder why you brought up the sub
ject," observed amiably.
"Well, talk OF US women, Phil! You
men certainly are
may here remerk that whenever
man incurs Nelly's dsspproval she
tells him that we men certainly are.
What, she never adds, but pulls up
short at the verb; tue idea unex-
pressed being, i fancy, combination
Of the criminal and absurd for which
laneu .se mercifully has no name.
"Y' u only just now as much ss told
me that 1 talked like fool"
Mere expletive. OF course, if you
choose:to 50 k"
"I'm not sulkipg, only-well, there,
I'll take 1t as a compliment And
now, II you want me to speak, let me
FAY what think. To begin With, you
mustn't expect me to see things ON
your point OF view. TO me it seems
the most likely thing in the world that
the girl loves you. What FAY she
only saw you once? For the matter
Of that, dear, you only saw her orce"
III you care to sppiy the same test
to man OF 30 years and child OF II!
I'm IS certain as that | am sitting
here she has forgot ten me long ego"
"And i don't believed" triumphant
ly. Then, in far away voice, which
shows me that she hes bean iuroing
the matter over in her mind: mo; /
certainly don't believe it. There are
and mesiipgs, Phil, and with
yours and hers is connectI dwell, the
sort OF thing one remembers"
This is too much. | start to my
ite'.
"Look here, there are things one
ant stand, even from a sister, Nelly
What the -"
Philip, II you're going to be vic
eDt and diFgYce your cloth l shall
never open my lips sgalD."
! collapse at once. / always do
when madam reproaches me with dis
,racing my cloth, which the dear lit'ls
adv does on every occasion, great or
Imall-especially small--upon which
illustrate the famous axiom concer--
ng fallibiily.
Sitting down again, l say in dis
nal tone:
violence apart, Nelly, / suppose
Inyone would admit that to tsunt a
nan with the fact that the 2 RI he
owes may remember him on the
trength Of his having all but dit-
igured her for / fe, is not exactly gen.
rous."
"Taunt'-'generous' 1 can; |
how you can oe 80 stupid,
Phil. See here"
She glides round my chair and sits |
lown on The fender. Her face, as it
tands out sgaiusS the mellow fire light,
8 strangely beautiful. That shade OF |
lair, too-red gold-is quite my favor
te color. A pity only her eyes are
'lue. The other Nelly g are brown
exquisite, brown, Blessed eyes," IS
can Ingelow somewhere says. De-
idedly my iavotits color for Eyes is
,rown.
"What l meant to cay, dear, is"
'roceeds the old lady ON the fender,
omplacently sliding my brothers
ing up and down her finger, II
weren't your sistsr--if Instead OF the
wife Of much nicer mau than you
re" (lrokiug up)-"don't wriggle now;
rs only women, you know, that cau'C
'ear to hesr each other praised
where was IP'
Nelly, needless to say, never can
manage psrentheses.
| smile despite myself. Her hair
With the light daucing on it is quite
Ike a glory. Strange little woman.
III you were girl, you were say
ng, instead of a beldame--p
Yes-GoH't te sb,urj, dear--if l
we're a girl-and all the rest, and you
nd had met as you and she met,
nd you had hurt me as You did her,
the little episode atterwatd
-youe go remoueful, and the der,
plendid, haudRome-"
"Thst1l do, Nelly" l bslievs l say
n in no very IL suited tone.