, 1889-08-02

broken festival in honor of our reunion.
Oh, but there was a lump OF lead at my
heart. Could l tell them? What would
our sensible Harriet sayf How Eliza
would chatter over the romance of
Brother Francisl And the little onesI
Had / a right 10 show myself, l whom
they 30 honored and looked up to, as the
ridiculous fossil 1 was-spooning over a
bundle of old letters, the writer Of which
l had never set eyes oni Would l re
joice to see one of them playing the role
she'd playedf No; q million times mol
Those simple, fresh hearted girls. Only
to imagine that it could be in the heart
of woman to do it, would ave brought
the blush to every one of their young
faces.
Only one day more. / locked myself
in my chamber to re-read my Lizzie's
last letter. Signed" it said, 'for the
last time, Lizzie Kent" Just now, /
own the touch Of the thing was repug-
nant to me. But the event it heralded
was too near for me to pause. Why,
here was something 1 had overlooked.
After that signature, on the next page,
scrawled hastily, it seemed, evidently
an after thought, this: Look for me,
dear Frank Qll stop that nonsense if 1
live, on the train which reaches there at
4 O'Clock p. IN. If 1 am belated, 1 will
telegraph from Kansas City,"
No dispatch had come. OF course the
trains were or time. Only tw~enty-four
hours. Well, the emergency must be
met, and there was no way l could think
of but to take Harriet into my conf
dence. Harriet is not a person given to
exclamation points. l hated to lower
.,.raA1 ~, l-, -. T. -
by the relation. If it was a fact that the
advent of the girls had swept my mind
clear of the ~befogged sentimentalism
which had reigned there in my loneli-
ness, it was equally a fact that this sister
had not in her the capacity to believe
that any man in his senses would be
guilty of the follies with which 1 had
been entertaining myself for the last
twelve months.
And how good she was! She listened
patiently, studying my face, meantime,
with something of the look with which
n pagan might have gazed down on the
remains of his shattered idol. There
were sorrow, pity and deep solicitude in
it. But she uttered no ungracious COM
ment. OF course she had set me down
rs insane, but she was mindful of the
aAho mann " outh &hStni IhhlOI Iut
patient"
Entirely ready she was to advise with
me on the preparations. One might
have supposed, from the way she en-
tered into h business, that this was a
matter of every day occurrence with
me. h agreed it was not best to men
ton the purport of the making ready 20
h little ones or even to Eliza. They
might imagine n surprise party was on
h docket. One was, for that matter.
All took hold.
She and 1 played the mysterious, and
such a ~jocular, hilarious time as they
made of it'll 1 didn't feel especially hila-
rious. Before 8 o'clock the next morn
ing the house was decorated as for the
reception of n princess. Edith said 80.
/ groaned. Eliza planned the reception
programme. think she had a hint from
Harriet.
And the hours sped byl Three o'clock
Halt pastl We issued forth. /, alone in
the little basket phaeton, three mounted
sisters moving as guards on either side.
The railway gate was at the farthest cor
ner of my park, the road to it winding,
zigzag, measuring a full half mile.
There! the train belll The cars, instead
of moving in, were moving out, and
that was a thirty minutes stopping
place.
glanced at Harriet. I knew it hazily.
She had put back the clock. The pre-
cious grill saving for me and them a
half hours respite. But what was that?
The gate was opened. l was to pass
through, enter the ladies' waiting room,
find and snatch my bride (and dear knows
how l should pick her out in the crowd,
l am short sighted, bear her to my car
riage, seat myself beside her, turn back
again, pass through that gate-John,
with his cue heightened by a yard of
white ribbon, standing with it in his
hand ready to close it after me-my
e~scorting cavalcade was to take up again
its line of march, the direction being
home again.
l said we had reached the gate. John
had opened 1t. i, in pursuance of this
portion of my programme, was about
urging my horse through when a smart
buggy, containing two persons, dashed
into the space and stopped. 1t was
Frank Howard, the showiest beau in
town, and a lady, a stranger.
"Ah, Mr.. Howlandl Mr.. Howlandr"
he started off effusively, taking off his
hat and bowling low, low enough to do
reverence to all my sisters ten times
over. Congratulate me, Mr.. Howland!"
His face was shiny enough to light a
} match by. Let me introduce you to
, Mrs. Howard" taking the lady by the
, hand and doing the bow over again. "'My
| wife, Mr.. Howlandl My wife, young
ladiesl Half an hour ago Miss Lizzie
l Kent. Now! nowr-he swelled up
again-"Mrs. Frank HowardI'
, "Hurrah!" l fairly shouted.
! God be praisedl' / heard calculated
} from the lips of our good Harriet.
My whole being echoed the thanksgiv-
Ing. 1t seems she had been holding the
manacles ready for me or both of us. 1t
! was a paper Howard had thrown away
l that 1 picked up. He had then got
} through the mountainous experience
5 that marked my initiatory work. My
Lizzie had been corresponding with
him for fhraa xraalo and ohA tAalv