Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1886-04-01
GOOD SAINT-VALENTINE.

Mr.. Boldwood, as related in that de-
lightful novel, Far from the Madding
Crowd, she lighted the match that set
on fire train of circumstances that
resulted in a murder and other I'M
comfortable occurrences. But it must
be admitted that when a valentine
has wrought such havoc it has gone
far enough, the real intent of valen-
tine being to produce love and con-
cord.
Certainly in this respect the valentine
sent by Miss Jean Lyddy and inspir-
ed by her faithful Abigail did not re-
semble Bathsheba's. Miss Lyddy liv-
ed on Blocker street where she had
lived ever since she was born. Her
grandfather had built the house when
Blocker street was the abode OF
shion. Miss Jean remembers him
surrounded by group OF white
haired, lovial old merchants, around
the mahogany in the dining
room. The house had never been
changed since her grandfather died.
Her father had been spendthrift and
q prodigal, and the old man had left
to little Jean a comfortable fortune.
But with the prompt facility OF wom-
an kind, she had trusted it's keeping
to various relatives, who had made
away with it one way or another until
all was gone but few hundred year
and the Blocker street house.
In vain other relatives had pleaded
with Miss Jean that the Becker street
house might be sold and the money
reinvested with great profit. But while
she had willingly confded to them her
stock and bonds, and would even now
have given up her few shares in the
Chemical bank, the only thing remain-
ing her, the possibility OF selling the
home of her father, in which he had
lived and died and in which she was
born and brought up her mind was
simply unable to conceive. In vain
these relatives bombarded and be-
sieged her with arguments and with
financial pamphlets, so plain and per-
spicuous that the wayfaring man must
have seen his road to fortune. The
arguments rolled off like water from
the ducks back, and the pamphlets
kindled the fires. So, while fashion
moved uptown and forgot her, Miss
Jean remained in Blocker street with
only her faithful Abigail feeling the
changes about her unimportant com.
pared to the regularity of her own ex-
existence.
Owing to her straitened means, the
two women now occupied only the
first floor, with half the basement
when needed. The rest was let to
dodgers. This may seem OF itself sig
nificant inroad into Miss jeans life,
but it was not. Abigail cooked Miss
jeans dinner and then served it in
apron and cap, with all the pomp and
circumstance of other days, on the
round mahogany in the diningroom,
and from the stately sideboard sur
rounded by the family portraits. Miss
Jean always dressed herself for dinner
in her frayed old MORE antique and
carefully darned lace, and sat in her
grandfather's chair.
But while the meal was served Abb
gail entertained her with stories, con-
lectures al romances about the
dodgers. These Miss Jean never saw.
Personally she was as far remote
from them as the President, Abigail
attending to all the business details.
But the house and it's inmates were
their little world. These two roman
tic old creatures gossipped about
them, wove little histories out of the
slenderest threads, and these were to
their isolated lives like the reading of
perpetual and unwearying novel.
They never INDUCED in the technical
language of the lodging-house. In fact
they never heard it, and would not
have understood it. 1.-THE second
floor back, was Mr.. Miguel Altmonty,
and so denominated, and in with the
ether gentlemen of the house. Mr..
Altmonty kept a cigar store, and MIR.
Vignot dealt in nuts and raisins. Mr..
Alfred Perkins was clerk in cloth
ing house, and it must be strongly sus-
pected that all the dodgers were addict
ed in one way or another with lowly
associations. But no breath of this
ever found way to Miss Jeans rooms,
to whose imagination and habit OF
thinking they were all gentlemen otthe
highest fashion and best old blood,
else, with even her imagination, they
would not have been acquainted.
young Jones has new photo
graph in his ROOM" said Abigail, serv.
ing little crisp chicory on cut-glass
platter.
at must be his sister, Abigail, or it
would not be strange if it was his
cousin. think, Abigail, he must be
related to the Jones-Lispenard fami-
~ The Lispenards all have that
same ruddy complexion. There was
large family, and shouldn't be sur
prised If this was portrait OF one OF
the Lispenards of the younger branch
] think have it, Abigail. They are
always intermarrying, the Joneses and
Lispenards, and it would not aston
ish me greatly il there was match in
progress among these young people.
! II that is the case, don't doubt that
old Major Lispenard-Jones will take
the young man into the house."
"She's dressed very peculiar-like for
nice, well-brought-up girl. She has
n sort of night-gown-looking white
dress on, with her hair all highly
tightly down her back, and her face
screwed up as if something allied her.
When | see the pictures in some of
these young gentlemen's rooms it does
seem as if strange fashions was
abroad, / do declare. Times changes. +"
"Autres temps, autres moveurs, F"
elegantly replied Miss Jean.
"a = A