The Forrest City times., 1891-01-23
.LOTTIE DEANE'S MISTAKE.

- country town.
 One day Mrs, Ross Dcane was mend ing her husbands office coat and sing ing cheerily over her task. She was q pretty little woman, with pink cheeks and wavy fair hair and great blue eyes, sunny and innocent in expression as a little child's. If her mouth was trifle large, nobody ever noticed it for ad- miring the scarlet lips and white teeth that gleamed out when she smiled. which was not seldom, for she was a merry little body, as sparkling and sunshnv as If she'd never a care in the world.
 And really. when you come to think about 1t, her cares were very few, and her pleasures many. Hadn't she the handSomest and dearest husband in the world, who petted and humored her to her hearts content? It is very queer the fonduess some women have for be- ing petted. It's rather cat-like trait. this liking to be purred and coddled so much. Then she had the sweetest love of baby; but that was rather a part nership conccrn--thcre were grand parents and aunts inrumerable, who put in claim to baby. to say nothing of the little ones father; while her handsome Ross was all her own indi- yidual property.
 At least she thought he was till she very unwisely undertook to mend that office coat of his. She had bounced upon it that morning, when previous to a shopping expedition she had penetrated to his office at the back of the house-being in want of more money--and had coniiscated it directly. declaring that 1t was a shame for any body to wear such dilapidated ar engagement. and her husband shouldn't do it another day. so there!
 There was only ono more pocket to look after now, and then the tlresome job would be done. Caroling n merry little roundelay, she turned 1t inside out. The song died on her lips as n tiny scented envelope dropped out and huttered to the floor She stopped to pick it up, and, noticing the feminine handwriting on the outside, opened 1t. of course. but with an odd misgiving at her heart regarding the act never theless.
 Perhaps she had better not have opened it. won't undertake to say whether it was best or not; but l ai- ways believed that where ignorance was bliss it was exceedingly foolish to become enlightened of your own free will as this child was doing for this was what she read
 DEAR MR. DIANE: Of course you will bs at the masquerade tomorrow evening. won | tell you what character shall assume. but if you were to wear a pink domino with a white rose in your button hole, and you were to meet another pink domino with a rcd rose in its hand-how can l tell who 1t would bel
 BELLE.
 Bad enourh-or not--just as one chose to take it. Mrs. Deane knew well enough who wrote it-knew that !he letter wasn't really half so bad as 1t sounded. Still it was proof that the flirtation-which Mrs. Deane had here- tofore believed to be carried on chiefly by Miss Belle-was going altogether too far to be pleasant to 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 at handsome Ross Deane, only to be eareesslv tlattered in return by him. and afterwards laughed at alike by both Mir. and Mrs. Deane. it was very little the latter cared about it. She called the girl goose to herself, was politely cordial to her before folks. and never gave the matter another thought.
 Miss Preston was a goose. of course. but quite pretty, winning little goose after all. She was rather dashing in her ways-smoked cigarettes. talked slang-b both of which Mrs. Preston par ticulariy detested and tried to ape the manners generally of the masculine half of creation. Of course she made q failure of it. but men are remarkably tolerant of bright, saucy black-eyed failures of the Belle Preston kind; and so they laughed at her little. but tlaeter her a great deal more, and not few fell in love with her continually. But Mrs. Deane did not choose that her husband should be caught in the tolls of siren like this; and she WAS properly indignant at finding that the two were on familiar terms enough for notes to pass between them-and such notes too.
 The bold thing-to ask another woman's husband to come to the mas- querade to meet her-she ought to be ashamed of herself" muttered Mrs. Ross Deane angrily. And he. too. she was horrid-I hate him." and she stamped her little foot, and subsided into fit of the sulks.
 But her nature was too healthy to permit long indulgence in feeling. of that kind; so, before long. she touud herself wondering what she would dc about it. Was she going to sit still and let this woman win away her hus | band without an effort on her part tC | prevent itp Not she. She would gc to this masquerade herself. What shs would do there she hadn't fully deter mined upon. She would wear pink domino and carry red rose in her hand; and if Ross Deane should happen to mistake her for the fascinating Miss 1 Prpston-why. how could she help it! l Any way. she knew sho wouldn't try to help 1t. Let him blunder if he liked | she didn't care.
 Her mind once made up. she looked to see where the note was dated. Il ! was written the day before she fount it. so that the masquerade WAS to b' that very evening. No time was to b, lost, evidently, if she wanted to attend They had received cards several day, before but Ross had declared himsel averse to going. and SO Mrs. Deant had thought no more about it. Now che saw his decision in a different light ] He didn't want me to go, 2 she mur mured to herself. and he thought h' could make some excuse to be away