Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1890-09-24
Dear Mr.. Morton

Toms WIDOW Is coming 10 Tea thl
evening"
"My dear, don't speak of her i
that way. Toms widow! There
something CHASTITY in the very sound.
"You needn't be afraid, mother
she meyer shall be my widow. She
the jolliest little woman | know, blu
l mean to leave a different sort Of
widow"
zone whose appearance will be
better adapted to weeds?"
Zone who will show little mor'
feeling when am gone" said Tom
"Mrs. Morton's husband can scarce
ly be a year dead, and yet she is TIT
gayest and merriest of you all"
"Well," said Hilda after a few
minutes reverie. II admit it doe,
surprise me to see Freda Morton
loving and warm hearted as she GER
tainly is, appearing to feel the loss Of
her husband so little"
Perhaps she disliked him."
Rosa disliked dear Mr.. Morton =
ooh, that is merely little conven.
tional 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
even her voice seems to choke her
when she mentions him."
81 am sorry you did not care fol
her Tom l often thought how pleas
ant it would be to have her MS sister.
in-law."
"Your visions may be realized with
out victimizing me-"
"Do you mean Edmund p
81 do; l think Edmund is very
much smitten, and that she knows it
and does not object"
81 would rather she was married tc
yon than to Edmund"
Sorry can't accommodate you
Goodbye, mother, I'm off,"
"Are you coming home to tea p
asked my mother.
Certainly, mother, l would not
miss Mrs. Morton on any account"
Mrs. Morton and her sister, Mabel
Heath, bad now settled in Longmede
for some months. They brought
letters from an old school fellow OF
Hilda's and mine, who was now mar
ried and living in Liverpool. Mabel
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 remaining in
Liverpool, and their means being dim
inished by their recent loss, they were
anxious to find some quiet country
place where they could live economi-
cally. She had advised them to try
Longmede, having heard much of it
from Hilda and me, and feeling that
she might trust to our kindness to
make them welcome. The letter was
hastily written and seemed to take it
for granted that the circumstances of
the sisters were already known to us.
So Hilda and l 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. Nor
ton, although in reality the elder, APP
pearing the younger of the two.
They were in striking contrast to each
other, Mrs. Morton being small, fair
and childish looking, while Miss Heath
was tall and somewhat stately, with
dark hair and eyes. Both wore deep
mourning, Mrs. Morton's very becom-
ing little cap constituting the chief
difference in their dress.
We soon became very intimate with
both girls. They refused their invi-
tations at first. on the plea of their
deep mourning, but after a little
time they consented to come to tea,
and later ON to a quiet game of tennis.
Mrs. Morton soon proved herself an
excellent player, and she and Tom
franternized over the game. Tom
made no secret of his admiration to
her, and Hilda and l soon decided
that it would be very pleasant if Toms
widow, as we had begun to call her,
we're to become Toms wife. Toms
manner, even more than his words,
put an end to this castle in the air,
leaving new field of speculation in
the suggestion he had thrown out
concerning Edmund.