The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-06-10

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scarcely exchanged half dozen words.
came about, though. as these things viii
that in the course Of his parish work b
came upon Priscilla-Priscilla teaching
class Of ragged boys their lessons, afte
having taugh the most stylish young lad!e
in West Harrowby the most elegan
branches of polite education. Some way
all the restraint they had felt In DIR. SIN
bury's drawing-room melted away in tn
little bare school-room. There Priscilli
reigned supreme, calmly confident uSfe
Mr.. Thorburn's searching gaze. She had {
peculiar knack of teaching Her gentle
Now. please boys" had the same effect a
Mr.. ThOrburn's stern ''See, you fellows
behave yourselves" Mr.. Thorburn watched
with admiration the tact with which she
managed her somewhat unruly crowd. U
course ell this, teaching did not go on with
the unqualified appreciation of the MisSe:
| Mildmay. Priscilla showed a phenomena
determination about it, and being upheld
by Dr. Sunbury, who in some way always
| encouraged her vagaries. the Misses Mild
may, although they might LOOK coldly on
| 1t, could not forbid it.
| 1t did not take much to violently excite
West Harrowby; and therefore when the
HarrOwby PdYddium published ONE
morning, with big display head that Gov
cred half the first page of the paper, the
| burning of the Northern Lunatic Asylum,
a certain circumstance connected there
|
talk about for week Five inmates of
| the female ward were missing. When the
| roll was called among them. Mrs. Eleanor
! Thorburn and five bodies charred beyond
! recognition were found in the ruins of the
| building Some days after that notice ap-
peared i'll the obituary column of the CRiOE-
| Palladium: Suddenly, on the 18th OF
| February, Mrs. Eleanor Ihorburn, wife of
| the Reverend Edmund Thorburn, of East
| HarrOwby." That was all. NobOdy-not
| the most tcensoriOuS-cOuld accuse Mr.. Thor
| burn of not paying scruDulous respect to
| his wife's memory. Yet it made but little
outward difference in his life. For two or
three SUNDAYS he was absent from his pull
pit, and when he reappeared he wore a
band Of Grape upon his hat.
SO things went on until nearly two years
slipped past One spring afternoon Dr.
SunbGry, with his particular chum and
crony DR.. FOrmaE. the great light Of the
medical profession in and about Harrowby,
was ENJOYING quiet Saunter through the
familiar shady street. They had wrestled
in argument so often and practiced i'll com
pany so much that DR.. Sunbury had be-
come pretty good doctor Of medicine,
and DIR. Furman was no me IN prof ,ient in
theology. Right in the midst of friendly
fierce wrangie on the subject OF ecclesiasti-
cal history. DIR. Forman suddenly remarked:
That's going to be a match"
As Dr. Sunbury glanced up he saw Mr..
Thorburn. as he met Pris lila Mildmay,
stop, smile. speak a few words, and lifting
his nat. go upon his way.
BLESS my SOUL" almost shouted DR..
Sunburv. stopping short and gazing at DR..
FOrman's immOvable face.
''WhV notn said the physician, testify.
Il see them together half dozen times
week"
DIR. Sunbury was at heart an inveterate
matchmaker. as all truly benevolent old
l-n MT fO "a a "a q l.
lowed his imagination to feast upon the
idea of a match between Thorburn and
Priscilla its manifest fitness pressed itself
so upon him that he would fain have got
out license. gone to them, and command
ed them to stand up and be married imme-
diately. He did, however, firmly resolve
to give Thorburn hint; but giving Thor
burn hints was always a matter of more
or less difficulty with everybody. At last,
however, the opportunity came, and DR..
Sunbury seized ii courageouSly. He had
been spending the evening with Mr.. Thor
burn at his lodgings, and the other clergy
man happening to mention, as DIR. Sun
bury was taking his leave, that he thought
of getting lodgings elsewhere, DR.. Sunbury
remarked quite naturally that he had
heard something regarding Mr.. Thorburn
and Miss Priscilla Mildmay which perhaps
were standing at Mr.. ThOrburn'S door, and
by the bright moonlight DR.. Sunbury saw
the dark flush which overSpread Mr.. Thor
burns somewhat saturnine face.
IL assure you" he began; and then,
after a pause, Il am too Old.'
''NOnSenSe"' replied DR.. Sunbury. ''Pris- |
ella is nearly twenty-four" (ah! doctor,
before last, ''and you are-let me see
Thirty -nine," conscientiously said Mr..
rhOrburn
We'll. thirty-nine. You are enough man
If the world to see that age interpOses no |
obstacle in the case. However, | shall say |
10 more. Goodnight"
If | hadn't been going just then, L don't |
.hink | could have said it contidentially |
'emarked DIR. Sunbury to DR.. Forman.
The little seed that DR.. Sunbury had |
planted in Mr.. Thorburn's mind grew, and |
Taxed to be great tree. But all the time !
ne looked upon it as impossible. Priscilla |
was but child, and he was man grown |
old in sorrow, in suffering, and labor. No, |
t could never be. And having come to the |
conclusion that he was in no danger what
ever, Mr. Thorburn Jared just as such pre-
Samsons always do-met Pris- |
ella under the most adverse circumstances, |
home from shower, and in a |
the most unexpected to himself |
TO her just as they came in front |
Of the West Harrowby savings bank, which |
was also the post-office and the principal |
apOthecary's shop. Priscilla's behavior |
was of piece with his own. The idea had |
never been presented to her mind before, |
and it was a matter that required the |
utmost circumspection in deciding, and yet |
by the time she reached her own door she |
had accepted Mr.. Thorburn, the rain mean |
while from his umbrella trickling in little |
rivers down her back There was neither |
time nor opportunity for love-making in |
the midst of a pouring shower upon the |
nent in of ha
sion, SO Mr.. Thorburn could only take her |
little cold hand and say: ''God bless you, |
God bless you, my PRISCILLA"
In due course of time the wedding-a |
very quiet one-came off, and Mr.. and Mrs. |
Thorburn were settled in modest rectory |
in East Harrowby. The Misses Mildmay |
had uggested-indeed, urged-that Mr. |
Thorburn should establish his rectory in |
the more fashionable precinct of West |
Harrowby, but Mr.. Thorburn demurred, on
the ground of its being a clergyman's duty |
to live in his parish. They were as happy |
as the day was long. Priscilla, under the
new influence of happiness and good roast |
beef and daily pint of porter, grew rosy,
and blossomed out into regular beauty,
and Mr.. Thorburn's face lost that painful
expression it had been won't to wear when
he strode through the streets on his parish
work. And time went by so fast-so fast;
they had been married nearly three wears,
when they felt as if their honey moon was
just beginning. 1t was getting toward
dusk one misty November afternoon when
Priscilla went tripping past DR.. Forman's
house, which stood on the opposite side of
the street. The moisture from the over
hanging branches of the elm trees was
dripping upon her, and her boots were
quite soaked through. Across the way the
doctor was just stepping out of his buggy,
and she stopped and debated whether she
should not go over and ask him to drive
her quarter of a mile further down the
road to St Philips rectory. As she stood |
woman approached her out of |
the mist, and spoke.
May inquire she said, ''the way to |
the house of the Reverend Mr. Thorburn ~
She was perhaps forty, and had once |