News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-01-26
DEAR Mr.. MORTON.
A CHARMING STORY IN WHICH LOVE FIG
UREs CoNsPICUoUsLY,

URES CONSCIOUSLY,
"Tom's widow is coming to tea this
evening""
"My dear, don't speak of her in that
way. Toms widow there is something
CHASTITY in the very sound"
"You needn't be afraid, mother; she
never shall be my widow"
81 thought you admired her, Tom, j
said Hilda.
$50 do, immensely; she's the jolliest
little woman that I know, but mean to
leave different sort of widow
zone whose appearance will be better
adapted to weeds9"
Zone who will show little more feel
ing when [ am gone" said Tom. ''Mrs.
Morton's husband can scarcely be a year
dead, and yet she is the gayest and the
merriest of you all. !"
''Rose, just imagine Toms ideal
widowi A broken-hearted creature, all
Grape and pocket handkerchief, who
will be forever talking about her lost
darling"
my dear, d" said my mother again.
''The mater thinks it unlueky to talk
about my widow. How do you know
that it is not who am to be the bereav-
ed one, bewailing the loss of my sainted
wife, and expecting sympathy and con-
solatien from my sisters 2"
"Well, said Hilda after a few min
utes' reverie, 81 admit that it does sur
prise me to see Freda Morton, loving
and warm-hearted as she certainly is,
appearing to feel the loss of her husband
so little"
perhaps she disliked him.
''Rose !! disliked dear Mr.. Morton ? "
ooh, that is merely a little convention
al way of speaking of him; she evidently
considers it the correct phrase. 1t is
quite compatible with indifference, if not
dislike"
81 think she was fond of him, said
| Hilda. 'She avoids speaking of him,
| as If it panied her to do SO; sometimes
--seasa lssn@S-eoiua cLolSos when she 1u,sn--
tions him -
"And at other times she makes the
most fippant remarks about him and
his tastes and habits. She certainly is
a puzzle to me-"
81 am sorry you do not care for her,
Tom; [ often thought how pleasant it
would be to have her as a sister-in-
law"
''Your visions may be realized without
Y1ctlmlzlng me.
''DO you mean Edmund?"
81 do; [ think Edmund is very much
smitten, and that she knows it, and does
not object
81 never thought of that" said HiIda;
| they never seem to speak to one an
other"
'No, but when either speaks to some
one else, the other listens. Watch, you
will see."
81 would rather she was married to
you than to Edmund"
Sorry [ can't accommodate you.
Goodbye, mother, I'm off.
care you coming home to tea, Tom,"
asked my mother.
Certainly, mother. wouldn't miss
Mrs. Morton on any account"
Mrs. Morton and her sister, Mabel
Heath, had now been settled in Long
mede for some months. They had
brought letters from an old schoolfellow
of HiIda's and mine, who had now mar
ried and was living in Liverpool. Ma
bel Heath and her sister were dear
friends and neighbors of hers, she wrote,
and she was very sorry to lose them,
but they had now no reason for remain
ing in Liverpool, and their means being
diminished by their recent loss, thew
were anxious to find some quiet country
place whore they could live economi-
cally. She had advised them to try
LOngmede, having heard much of it from
H1lda and me, and feeling that she
might trust to Onr kindness to make them
welcome. The letter was hastily writ
ten and seemed to take for granted that
the circumstances of the two sisters were
already known.
However, this was Ethel Fordham's
way; her letters generally were some
what lncOherent. So Hilda and | went
at once to call upon the newcomers,
whom we found established in pretty
rooms In the house of the late doctors
widow, who had managed to retain her
old home by letting part of it.
We were somewhat surprised to find
both sisters mere girls, Mrs. Morton, al
though in reality the elder, appearing
the younger of the two. They were in
striking contrast to each other, Mrs.
Morton being small, fair, and childish
looking, while Mrs. Heath was tall and
stately, with dark hair and eyes. Both
wore deep mourning, Mrs. Morton's very
becoming little cap constituting the chief
difference in their dress.
We soon became very intimate with
both girls They refused our invitations |
at hrst on the plea of deep mourning,
but after little time they consented to |
tea, and later on to quiet game of ten
MS. Mrs. Morton soon proved herself |
an excellent player, and she and Tom
fraternIzed over the game. Tom made |
no secret OF his admiration for her, and |
H1lda and L soon decided that it would |
be very pleasant if Toms widow. as we
had begun to call her, were to become
Toms wife. Now, however, Toms man
ner, even more thap5his words, put an
end to this castle in the air, leaving a
new field of speculation in the s11o
gestion he had thrown out concerning
Edmund.
Edmund was a surgeon, and had been
for some years on board ship. He was
now at home, recovering from a some
what severe illness, and looking for suit
able employment on shore. He was far
quleter and more reserved than Tom.
and the possibility of his being attracted |
by the pretty little widow never occurred |
to any of us. Now, however, enlight-
ened by Toms hint, we watched him
closely, and before the close of the even
ing had discovered that Tom was right,
and that Edmund was absorbed in study
ing her every movement and listening to
her every word; while she, on her part,
was fully conscious of his admiration,
and did not apparently dislike it. 1t
was rather a disappointment to lis, as we
would have preferred her marrying Tom;
however, we resigned ourselves to the
inevitable, and began to speculate on
the course of events and make plans for
Edmund's future, with Mrs. Morton as
his wife. !