Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1889-01-10

"Why, child, were you expectingit?"
exclaimed DR.. Fellowes, astonished at
her eagerness.
..Not exactly expecting it," said
Amy, while her color deepened to
crimson blush; Fsbut rather thought
there might be a letter for me-"
And she hurriedly tucked it into her
belt. having first seen that the hand
writing was of a large, bold, masculine
sort, while the postmark bore the name
of the mountain region she had heard
Mr.. Lorilard speak Of
"Well, dear. why don't you read it,
now you've got itP" asked Mrs. Eel
loves.
There's no hurry-it will keepw
said Amy, with much apparent care
lessness.
But her appetite was very small
that evening, and she refused all in
vitations to second supply of any,
thing-eVen the cup of tea, for which
she had quite fine ladys liking; and
then, with some murmured words of
excuse, she at last rose and ran away
to her own little room. where she
locked herself in before opening the
precious letter.
1t was not very long letter, nor
particularly interesting or witty one,
considered from a literary point of
view; but to Amy it was just all the
world, and for that evening, at least,
it shut out all the rest of existence.
Then came the business of answering
IL.
At first the mere thought of this ap-
palled her; but when she began to
write she foundit the simplest thing she
had ever done; the pen seemed to move
of itself, and Eugene received packet
of the most delightful natural and girl
ish conversation he had ever known;
and it seemed to him while he read
that he could hear the sweet voice in
| all its tones of airy gayety, laughing
merrlment, or subdued tenderness.
SWELL" he exclaimed, ''this is
treat! There isn't a girl of my ac-
quaintance capable of writing such
charming letter. How pleased I am
to have asked it of her-it was quite an
Inspiration
He answered it as well as he knew
how; but he was painfully aware that
he had no such delightful epistolary
style.
Amy, however, was not critical for
she found his letters perfect. And the
correspondence continued, gradually
assuming a more and more familiar
style, till the tone became playfully
but decidedly loverlike on both sides.
Weeks slipped by rapidly. Amy
thought the days had never been so
short, and before she realized it the
summer was gone.
In his latest letter Eugene had given
her new address. saying he was
| about to return to the city very soon.
In that letter he had also said some
thing more like direct love-making
than ever before-something which
had made Amy laugh and blush when
she read it; and she was still smiling
and blushing when she answered it.
And this was how the letter to Eugene
concluded:
You speak of rivals in my regard, and say
| you could not bear it with good grace. But
think there is nothing you couldn't do grace
fully. AS to the rivals, you have only one,
but he is all-powerful, and to such a kind,
| good friend / must confess that j shall love
| him while live, as have from the first
moment in which beheld his dear face In
! complexion he is not unlike you, for he has
/ fair hair and the loyeliest blue eyes, but can
| like him, for no one was ever so beautiful,
so charming, SO captivating. If you ever see
him you will agree with me. though now
suppose you are laughing at me, and no
doubt you think / am dreadfully in love.
To be entirely frank, / just am; but do
think that the GEAR fellow gives me some ex-
cuse for he declares that he loves me just the
| samel
Eugene turned white and then red
as he angrily crumpled up this letter
in his hand; then smoothing it out he
deliberately and with set teeth-for
every word seemed to stab him-read
it all over again.
THE bare-faced little fiirt!" he ex-
claimed. This is your sweet country
simplicity and innocence! Confound
/ the fellowi some moon-faced BOBBY,
with saucer eyes and hair smelling of
bergamot. suppose. What fool |
have been! Not a practiced coquette
in society could have made more
complete idiot of me! And yet I de-
serve it. Wasn't I calmly flirting
with her as a summer amusement
something to while away the time,
without thought of any serious end
ing to it? And now-well, I'm punished.
/ This is what they mean by hosting a
fellow with his own petard, l suppose.
Practical illustration to enforce the
lesson
But, storm and fume and philoso-
! phize as he would, Mr.. Lorillard could
not get the subject out of his mind.
And when he reached the railway
station on the next day, instead of
| buying ticket to New York, he alb
sently mentioned the name of the little
town where Amy lived; and only when
/ the train started and the conductor came
/ along did he realize his blunder.
mo NATTER" he thought savagely,
Il suppose there's hotel of some kind
there. and just for once in a way
would like, to see my rival. 1t will be
new sensation"
He found Amy prettier and more
charming than ever. The few weeks
since he had said good-by to her had
matured without aging her, and with
out taking away her charm of girlish
simplicity, had invested her with a
subtle fascination. 1t was the charm
of being in love and knowing herself
beloved, though neither of them knew
it.
But Eugene soon found out his own
state of feeling, and, somewhat to his
dismay, realized that he was for the
first time in his life deeply, hopelessly
in love.
Amy did not attempt to deny her re-
gard for him. She had never felt such
deep friendship for any gentleman in
all her life. 1t was more than friend
ship, she admitted, with hlush-it was
: love. Oh. yes, real love; but not the