Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1890-04-09

ISHd", DdThcE, uOil 90 udCh Ol
your girl, cried another. Miss Miller
told me all about it. Quite bad case,
but she SAYS you must be at outs this
evening. That'snothIng, old fellow; love
never runs smooth, you know 1t will
be all right to-morl ow, so III Just give
you my congratulations now.'
Sorry L can't accept and thank you,'
replied Nat. coldly, but you are lit
tie premature, you see.'
Then this rumor about you and Miss
True is nothing more than thisf' asked
a tall, fair man, blowing the smoke of
his cigar away in thin clouds.
That's it, answered Nat. ga mere
breath, and nothing more. People
have to talk, you know. Miss True is
quite friend OF mine, but that is all.
She's good natured little thing, but
simple country girl, not one that l
should select for wife,
The words VIII ch | have overheard
said Doctor Muller, stepping out on
| the veranda, warrant my interruption.
| am rejoiced to learn that Mr.. B.rker
and Miss True are not engaged. L had
thought they We're up to this moment.
And now, as you are all gentlemen, L
believe, may L ask you to drop the
lady'S name from your conversation?
Any lady of my acquaintance. and par
| ticularly the one named, shall not be
mentioned before me III a light manner.
| Her defence is just as strong us my
right arm. L hope | am sufficiently
/ clear
'Bravol' said the tall man. taking
the doctors hand why, Muller,
! believe you changed your profession and
have turned parson since you LIFT Us;
better come back And the speaker
! tossed his cigar away just as IA voice
called to them from the window, and
Mandy heard them re-enteT the room.
Poor Mandy! She wondered if she was
the same giIl who had leen so happy
hearted just few hours before There
! had never been any one TO her like y at
Barker. She had loved him completely,
| immolating self on the altar of her
worship. Had star fallen at her feet,
and been shatte. ed into brilliant sparks,
she would have been surprised; but the
! fall OF a star was as nothing to the fall
of her idol from its sublime height of
wOrshipful love.
1t might have been an hour that she
| sat there, strlken dumb with humilIat-
| ing pain. when a voice close by said
Mandy and recognizing Mats voice,
! she spraug to her feet, confronting him,
while the moonlight fell across her
white face.
Why, Mandy, what in the world is
| the matter?' exclaimed Nat. AR you
| i'll? You surely are not angry with me
/ for not asking you TO dance earlier IN
! the evening? \ ou know had to show
attention to the strangers first; but l
| would rather be talking To you than to
any one else in the world, and | have
/ been thinking of you you alone, all
the time.
/ Mandy essayed to speak, but no sound
/ came from her Tale lips till Nat said
| cheerfully, Come in, and we will have
/ this dance when, pointing to the open
| window, she said in a tone he had never
| heard the gentle Mandy use, Go in,
| Mr.. Barker, and da ce; but never
| come near me again. and she passei
/ 10y HIM and disappeared i'll the hall
Alter the ball, as Nat Barker walked
! homeward, he thought rather with re-
| lief Of the imperative dismissal of
/ Mandy, for somehow, when he saw her
white, tear-wet face, he had felt great
! longing to take that sad face between
| his hands and comfort her. She was
| good and true, but then solilIquized he:
There are plenty of & od girls in the
/ world, and every good one can't expect
4 fellow to marry her just because she
/ Is good. Now a brilliant girl like Miss
! FaiTly-pshawl there are not many like
/ her i'll the world, and Mandy ought not
/ to want to stanl Ill my way. OF course
/ she loves me, but she Will get over that
/ soon and marry some farmer and be
/ happy
The month of roses had passed, and
! July was nearing its close. Never i'll
/ the annals of Maytield had that staid
/ little town been kept at such fever e
. heat of gayety, and Nat Barker was t
/ The head of all the social gatherings.
/ lie had always been favOrlts III town,
on account of his manner OF trying 10
p.eISe all; few ever founi out his little
conreIts AMI hs hI'lt OF using every
one for hIS own p.GisaTe. To think
well OF himself was cEI racteristic. His
father before him had thought well of
| himself, and as far back as could be
remembered, the BarkerS had all held
| the highest kind Of AN opinion OF the
Barkers. Even good Oh church-LoerS,
who had groIne for yeus over the sin
# dancing, began TO think more len
iently of it under Mats genial persua-
sicns.
Moonlight fetes, lawn parties and
picnic's, all followed each other IN
quick successivn; bat at none of these
WAS Mandy True 10 be seen. Nat Was
glad of her absence, for he did some
times recall her lace, with the White,
/ piIued Look, AMI it made him uncOm-
Portable.
Mandy had fought the battle Of GRIEF
a'one, and as she supposed unoOServed,
but the keen e es of Doctor Muller had
noted every change in her face an {
tone. Farmer True being confined 10
bed with rheumatism, the young phy-
siclan visited him quite often and had
I inuch occasion to observe, and often
jUusod to say comfortIug word 10 the
qu.et, wonaniy girl, who was feeling
the bitterness of being not to the man
uer born.'
One evening, as the young man
walked over TO the farm, lie found
| Mandy on the porch, her lark lice
leaning against the trumpet-vlne that
crept over the trell:s. In her hand WAS
! great bunch of the rich reG b OssJms,
which she held up as she spoke:
Doctor Muller, could this vine lie
cultivated until the flower could look
more delicate, mOre-oh, you know
what mean! These are pretty. but
they are bold and glaring, not like the
I Hna-ys suckle and such vines
Would yod like TO change these
flowers, Miss Mandy?' he asked, taking
up bunch. i think them beautiful
ds nature male them
Il would like them to smell sweet, ,
she SAID, but suppose flowers are like
people, and you can't make the common
ones look fine, no matter how hard you
try
People, Miss Mandy, are generally
rs they make themselves. The mater al
Is Ven into their hands, and they can
grow in more ways than one to resein-
| lie the fnMer, they love a. well as the