The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1888-04-21
The Absent Cousin.

/ DuAg boltht II hO oAOuA4 00tAV hVAAk
full of health and vigor. and as tru
and kind of heart as he was when b
went away, you wouldn't let his wan
of money stand In the way Of you
marriage. would your"
you talk. Ida, as though I wa
solemnly betrothed TO him!'
"No. no, not that. dear Bella; bu
YOU know 1t was the dearest wish o
your mother that you should grow t.
womanhood and become Philips wife. ,
oh, bother! what does that amour
top
1T would amount to much to me
Bella. A reverence for my mothers
memory"
Your mothers fiddle-stick, Miss
Propriety! You are in love with Phi
Trevor yourself! And I tell you plain
ly, Ida. if he comes home with a penny
less than ten thousand you may have
him and welcome.
.'Oh, Bella, you do not mean that!
did love Phillip, but never with a
thought of marrying him. We were
but children Mt the time. l was only
twelve years old. and in short frocks;
and Phil was n great, stout, handsome
young man of sixteen"
"And I was fourteen. Quite mar
riageable age, WASH it?"
"You were certainly old enough to
know whether you liked youth like
Philip Trevor or not"
We'll, d dn't care that for him!'
"a snap of the finger and thumb, and q
pause.) "Still might have arrived at
that stage where a good fat bank &C
count would have turned the SCALE"
bella, don't let Aunt Martha hear
you talk ike that She regards Philip
as her own flesh and blood; and, though
he has been gone eight years, she
thinks of him continually. and is now
counting the hours until his homecom-
ing"
"A fig for Aunt Martha. and fig for
your preaching! Wait till the hero
comes. shall claim the right of first
choice. Should he be worth less than
we'll, say ten thousand. you may have
him and welcome. All! Who are you?
What are you dong here?'
The foregoing conversation had been
going on in little vine-c clad harbor. in
Mrs. Marth Cooper's garden. Mrs.
Cooper was widow, still III the prime
of fe--say, about fifty-lIvIng very
comfortably on the income of her small.
unenucmbcred property, and wd-
ow's pension-widow of a colonel who
had lost his life in battle. The speak
ers had been Bella Mason, aged twen-
ty-two, and Ida Smelling, aged twenty.
Ida's mother and Aunt Martha bad
been sisters. Bella's mother had been
Aunt Marsha's cousin. And the father
of the Philip Trevor of whom they had
been speaking had also been cousin
german TO Aunt Martha, and the same
to Bella's mother; so that he, Philip,
and Bella were only second consins.
Ida held the same relation to PHI lip,
through her mother, that Belle did on
her fathers side.
Though Philip Trevor's father and
Bella Mason's mother had been only
cousins, they had loved one another
like brother and sister; and for several
years after the death of her husband
Mrs. Mason had found home will
her Cousin Trevor.
The two-Mrs. Mason and Charles
Trevor--had died in the same year
when Philip was fifteen and Bella thir'
teen-and, as Ida had intimated, it had
been Mrs. Mason's earnest wish and
hope that her child might become
Philips wife for she had read the boys
character deeply and critically and
felt assured of his sterling manhood.
And Charles Trevor, though not SO
earnest in the matter as was his cousin,
yet was pleased with the thought that
Bella Mason would be his sons wife.
Mr.. Trevor had died first. leaving his
little property so encountered that by
the time the estate was settled only a
few hundred pounds were left.
They kept the house. however. while
Mrs. Mason lived, and when she had
passed away, Philip found himself in
his sixteenth year. and well-nigh PEN
nIless.
Shortly thereafter Bella went to live
with Aunt Martha; and six months
later Philip went abroad.
He kissed Aunt Martha, and wept on
her bosom; for she had been as q
mother to h m since he could remem.
Der. He also kissed Bella; and when
he had done so, she said to him with
q laugh "Come home rich. Philip,
and I'll be your wife"
And when he had looked for Ida.
Where was sheP All! He found her at
length out in the little orchard, sitting
under pear-tree, crying bitterly. She
had chung to him when he had kissed
her, and smiling through her tears,
earnestly prayed, "May God and al
good angels bless you, Philip, and
bring you back safe and we'll"
And then he had gone. They had
heard from him many mes-most Of
his letters however, had been to Aunt
Martha-but never q word of what he
was doing, or how. At one time he
would be here; at another there; and
| at still another somewhere else.
His last letter. received by Aunt
Martha only the day previous to thai
on which we find the girls in the gar
den arbor, had said that he should very