The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1891-01-31
LOTT|E DEANpS MISTAKE.


Mr.. Ross Denne was thriving young
surveyor and auctioneer in large
country town.
One day Mrs Ross Deane was mend
Ing her husbands Office coat and sing
ing cheerily over her task. She was a
pretty little woman. with pink cheeks
and wavy fair hair aud great blue eyes.
sunny aud innocent in expression rs a
little child's. IL her mouth was trile
large. nobody ever noticed ii for adj
miring the scarlet lips and white teeth
that cleaned out when she smiled.
which was not seldom, for she was a
merry little body. as sparkling and
sunshiny as II she'd never care in the
world.
Aud really. when you come TO think
about IL, her cares were very few, aud
her pleasures many. Hadn't she the
handsomest and dearest husband in the
world. who petted and humored her to
her hearts content? Ii is very queer
the fondness some women have for be-
ing petted. It's rather a cat-like trait.
this liking TO be purred aud coddled so
much. Then she had the sweetest love
OF baby; but that was rather n part
nership concern-there were grand
parents aud aunts innumerable, who
put in claim TO baby, TO say nothing
of the little ones father; while her
handsome Ross was all her own indi-
vidual property.
AT least she thought he was. till she
very unwisely undertook to mend that
Office coat OF his. She had pounced
upon II that morning, when previous
10 a shopping expedition. she had
penetrated to his Office nc the back of
the house-being Ia want of more
money--and had conhscatcd Il directly.
declaring that il was a shame fer any
body TO wear such n dilapidated sr-
..-angement, and her husband shouldn't
40 IL another day. so therel
There was only one more pocket 10
look after now. and then the tiresome
Job would be done. Carolng merry
little roundelay, she turned il inside
out. The song died on her lips as a
tiny scented envelope dropped out aud
fluttcred 10 the floor. She stopped TO
pick IL up, and. noticing the feminine
handwriting on the outside. opened IT,
of course, but with an odd misgiving
Mt her heart regarding the act, never
thelcss.
Perhaps she had better not have
opened II. / won't undertake TO say
whether II was best or not; but | al
ways believed that where ignorance
was bliss IL was exceedingly foolish to
become enlightened OF your own free
will as this child was doing. for this
was what she read;
DEAR MIR. DKANE: or course you will be-
Mt the masquerade tomorrow evening. 1
won't tell you what character stall assume.
but II you were TO wear pink domino with
white rose in your bution-nole. and you were
60 meet another pink domino with red rose
Ia It's hand-how can tell who IL would Der
BELLE.
Bad enough--or not--just as one
chose TO take il. Mrs. Deane knew
well enough who wrote it-knew that
The letter wasn't really half so bad as
II sounded. Still II was proof that tho
Irritation which Mrs. Deane had here
tofore believed to bc carried on chiefly
by Miss Belle--was going altogether
too far 20 be pleasant 10 the looker-on
when the looker-on happened TO be
the wife OF one OF the parties.
AS long as Miss Belle Preston made
eyes nj handsome Ross Deanc. only TO
be carelessly BATTERED in return by him.
and afterwards laughed ut alike by both
Mr.. aud Mrs. Deane IL was very little
the latter cared about IL. She called
the girl goose TO herself was politely
cordial to her before folks. and never
gave the matter another thought.
Miss Preston was goose. OF course.
but quite a pretty, winning little goose
after all. She was rather dashing In
her ways-smokcd cigarettes. talked
slang-both OF which Mrs. Preston par
ticularly detcsted and tried TO ape the
manners generally OF The masculine
half OF creation. OF course she made n
failure OF II. but men are remarkably
tolerant of bright. saucy. black-cyed
failures OF the Belle Preston kind; and
so they laughed at her n little. but
ilatter her great deal more, and not
few fell in love with her continually.
But Mrs. Dcanc did not choose that
her husband should be caught In the
tolls of siren like this; and she was
properly indignant at linding that the
two were on familiar terms enough for
notes 10 pass between them-ana such
notes. too.
The bold thing--to ask another
woman's husband Ia come TO the mas
querade to meet hcr-shc ought TO be
ashamed of herseli!' muttcred Mrs.
Ross Deane angrily. And he, too,
after pretending TO me that he thought
she WIS horriil i hate him" aud she
stamped her little foot and subsidized
into liz OF the snlks.