Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1891-06-04

there could be nothing In common be-
tween her and him, until his relation 70
%that woman was dissolved
Thus passed n dreary summer. Often
Hattie climbed on one Of the hills that
surrounded the valley in which their
village stood, and sat there alone for
hours with a book in her hand She
hardly knew what the lines said Her
thoughts were far away across the At
lantic waves, where one lived who cared
only for another woman When sho re
turned home at dusk, she looked dis
tressedly into the pale features Of her
aunt, whose expression now was more
that OF sadness than OF haughtiness as
Of old Was It bodily or was it a men
tai trouble which had caused this
change? Who could tell? Perhaps
there were more causes than one
a few weeks after the arrival of the
Warringhams at Fair Glen. Hattie was
not disagreeably Surprised to see Jack
Spoford alight from the somewhat prim-
tive vehicle that did service as an Omni-
bus between the village of Fair Glen and
the railroad station that was about two
miles away. down q picturesque noun
tain road.
What had brought Jack Spofford 10
this -of-the-way village? He had
never shown particular inclination to
aslowly trace the forests shady scene"
ITO climb the trackIess mountain all un-
SEEM
In fact, there was some uncertainty
whether Jack had ever read these lines,
or many others by the poetic lord.
But Jack knew why he had come 70
Fair Glen. He did not tell anybody,
however. There was in that solitude a
certain young lady with golden tresses
and blue eyes, whom whimsical Jack de-
sired to see at least once a day.
With the young gentleman's arrival
life in the little colony of summer resi-
dents, which had up to that time been
rather mOnOtOnOus and sluggish, began
TO assume a different aspect He told
Hattie on his arrival that he was bound
TO have immense fun, and he set diligent
ly about TO accomplish his purpose. He
proved himself a master in arranging al
sorts of amusements, excursions by car
rage, on horseback or afOot, to neigh.
boring points of interest picnics in the
shades OF the magnificent forest thai
covered the hills, dances at the hotel
fireworks, and innumerable other Varie
ties Of @having fun" A clear, if not very
large, brook run through the val
ley, or @glen" as the natives In
sisted on calling it. Jack main
tanned strenuOusly that there mus
be trout in that little stream, anC
the landlord of the hotel eagerly upheld
him in this opinion, which added addi
tional luster 10 the splendor Of his estab
lishment The skepticism of the ma or
ity was overcome by argument and
rhetoric, and one beautiful morning four
tifths of the summer population, pro
Vtded with fishing tackle Of more or les!
elaborate pattern, began the war agains
the speckled denizens Of the brook. L
is true that nobody ever heard of any
trout being taken, but the fun was i'm
mense, just the same-at least the ladie.
all declared so.
OF course IL was but a short time unit
Jack SpOfford was by all the ladies de
clared TO be positively ~tOO awful nice fol
anything" The men, indeed, did MOI
quite agreeswith this judgment They
never do, hOrrid creatures! But as the
ladies were in the vast majority, Jack
could boast when he had scarcely been
a week at Fair Glen, that he was the
most popular man IN the place.
OF course Mr.. SpoffOrd insisted thai
Miss BeckfOrd should participate in eY
cry amusement that he arranged, anC
Hattie's lonely musings on the hill be
came in consequence less frequent il
can hardly be said, that Jacks popular
ity was shared TO any extent by his fall
friend. The ladies almost unanimously
pronounced her insipid. On the Other
hand, the perversity of the male minor
ity led them to differ on this subject like
wise They said that Hattie was the
most charming girl IN town, always ex
copied the fair one with whom the gen
tlemen was. at the time being, discussing
the question. The two parties generally
agreed, however, on the fact that Mr.
SpOfford succeeded in mOnOpOliZing Hat
tie TO a scandalous extent But the con
illusions drawn from this given premis,
were again different, according to the
female or male persuasion OF the reason
er. The ladies all thought Hattie's con
duct simply shameful, while in the eye.
of the gentlemen this fact was one Of
the main causes of Jacks unpOpularity
Strange how people viii differ on the
simplest matters.
Hattie, young and full Of animal spir
its as she was, naturally enjoyed the di
versions JACK arranged, evidently in the
first place for her own benefit. She haG
always regarded her cousins friend will
q kindly feeling, and now, during theil
closer association, which the sojOurn a
Fair Glen facilitated, she liked him NOR,
and more. In her open-hearted, franz
manner, she did not care to conceal hel
sentiments from him. What was NOR
natural than that Jack flattered himself
the prospects OF his suit were growing
brighter every day, and>every night wheI
he went to bed he promised himself tina
he would take the first opportunity to de
clare his sentiments to her. But daI
after day passed, and the love-sick swain
had not the courage TO take the tremen
dous step.
Alas, poor jack He never dreamed
that he was doomed 70 disappointment
that Hattie's heart was far, far away
whence she would never recover it!
The young lady, on her part, neyel
dreamed that her amiable friend woulC
ever appear in the guise OF a sutton. Id
was her playmate, as it were-nOthinl
more. Merry and joyful as she showed
I herself 10 him, there were everyday
moments of solitude when her Thoughts
wandered to him who had gone, and tn,
deeply hidden sorrow of her heart over
cast her very miFthfulneSs with q sub
dued shade which made her still NOR,
attractive in his eyes
AS for Mrs Warringham, she verl
rarely took part in the sports and vile
of the younger people. 1t was as If SOM
insidiOus disease were gnawing the vcrl
roots OF her life. The physicians wer'
at loss how to answer the anxious
questions of her niece They could ONLY
vaguely say that Mrs Warringhami
nervous system needed recuperatiOn-
that she must be preserved from all ex
element and from bad climatic infiu
ences. At times she felt so weak tina
for whole days she was unable to leave
her bed; then Hattie nursed her will
the utmost tenderness. and never lef
her bedside.
On the whole, Mr.. SpoffOrd's homes
efforts Notwithstanding, It was a drearl
summer which Hattie Beekford spent a
Fair Glen.