Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1892-05-13


would be despoiler and even now.
above. on the gallery. Miss Brantleigh
heard the muffied tones OF Miss Caro-
iina's autocratic voice!
With but little ceremony and in the
most dire alarm. Pauline gave the
young intruder to understand that che
Misses Weymouth preferred death to
barter and that were he discovered
ais position would prove mt least fatal
90 his life He received these admon-
itions with becoming meekness. ana
with a most respectfully tender glance
from a pair OF remarkably handsonis
eyes; and apolOgizing with the air OF
courtier to queen, the enemy bowed
himself out just as Miss Caroline Was
preparing to descend the staircase.
Miss Brantleigh rushed back to tho
kitchen, to find Chloe seated. the pis-
ture Of good natured somnolence f,s-
fore her own fireside The shriInp
We're gone-it was long past thrsS
o'clock!-and all the debris of sheliJ
and paste pots cauldron's and ladies
had been removed.
Pauline looked down at her han1s.
What? Her ring was gone! Her
one sole bit OF fncry! Her solitart
ornament the heavy chased goldeN
band that a certain great-grand-
mother, also Pauline w. Brant,
leigh had worn. and whose initint;
were inside the circlet!
Pauline wept and wonder ed; ces.
signed the young vandal whom shs
considered the author of her loss -
unknown and terrible regions shs
searched and sought and at last ~s.
lapsed into stony silence The ring
was gone. of that she was sure aui
what mattered 'how" or ''where!'
Aunt Chloe was summarily aw;lE.
ened.
''Oh, Miss Pleen!" cried she mourn
fully. lit am been dem shrimps! Yes
honey, when yo' was a-siftin of tiht
last batch thro' yer fingers that spler-
did ring has ies' gone in with den
shell-fshes, and, laws-a- mercy, honey!
dey's all gone, shrimps and ring ara
everything, up country to dem hila-
folks. Laws-a-mercy!'
A couple OF months later an event
occurred in the Weymouth stagna-
ton. Miss Brantleigh was invited or
q visit TO some distant relatives as,
M a'small town in the interior OF
the state 1t was not until much hat
been undergone in the way Of rawlings
from Miss Carolina over the degener
acy of the modern damsel in oesirinS
to visit and in the form of sarcasti"
inquiry from Miss Virginia as to tho
probable wardrobe Of her niece, that
Pauline finally set forth. 1t was true
that she had but few gowns and fewer
laces and ribbons, but the friends she
went to were but little better Oft then
she herself and she had. therefore,
the sweet beautiiiers of a contentsd
spirit and a happy anticipation. Her
charms wore too perchance, bright
! ened by the color that came and went
on her round cheeks. as she sat in tie
old-fashioned, numbering coach. aid
read over certain paragraph in Olive
Bentley's letter. 1t ran thus: Arthur
Seamoor our cousin from New York
you know, is paying us little visit;
he has seen your photo in Jenny's
Now. it must be borne in mind that
Pauline although of the mature nge
OF twenty had held but little comrnu-
nlcation with the opposite sex. ana.
with waywardness 'unbecoming in
her gender" Miss Virginia would
have said. she yearned for an oppor-
tunity to overcome her deficiencies in
this respect Here it was; she was
Fastening toward it as fast as four
horses could carry her. Nay, she has at
tanned it, for at this moment the coach
pulled up with jerk before the Bent
ley's pretty cottage, and-and-the
Invader the 'vandal" the seeker
after tho Misses Weymouth's treas.
ures came calamity from the porch
to assist her to alight
.Mr. Arthur Seamoor Miss Brans.
leigh"
In fact these two young people ty
some strange fatality, that very night
wandered off together up and down
the pretty. small garden. whilst Alice
was similarly engaged with mascu
line companion. and meantime Jenny
sang and played within. And miracul.
Gus to relate Miss Pauline told Mr.
Arthur Seamoor Of the vicissitudes OF
her life, including the loss Of Ger
tain ring and its probable incorpora-
ton in somebody's shrimp pie long
weeks since. In return for these con-
fidences Mr.. Seamoor poured iuto
Miss Brantleigh's willing ears the fact
that he was a partner in n large i'm
porting house in New York, dealers
in objects of art bric-a-brac and the
like, and that in the interests OF his
firm he had ventured on that hapless
afternoon to storm the citadel of her
virginia. aunts
1t must furthermore be recorded
that these mutual condolences grew
apace and that daily Miss Brantleigh
and Mr.. Seamoor seemed to find an
increasing fund OF conversation and a
growing interest in each others So
ciety.
In reality he was the girls shadow,
and the climax was at last capped
when, one afternoon late. Jenny