The Southern herald., 1892-08-19


that time passed very slowly, indeed
Strange as il NAV seem, life apart
from Mr., Hicks brown was very,
very dull-and lonely Yes, she had
been hasty-too hasty-but there was
no turning back now She had burned
her bridges, and, besides, had ever
I.Ovedale retraced a step once taken?
mol And she held her pretty nose
little higher and tried TO look haughtily
don't-care-ish, all the time feeling very
miserable, indeed
And Mr. Hicks Brown? He was
working away as though lighting time.
He never gave himself a moment, if be
could help it, for thought Not a word
had passed between him and a member
of the LovedOle family since the day
his wife had aung herself out Of the
house and returned to her parents lie
heard she had gone west for divorce,
and il made him vince, but he shut his
mouth more tightly and went at his
work still harder. There were times
when he had TO think, and they were
not pleasant times There was one in
particular few months before he
had begun to build, unknown to his wife,
q handsome new house in her favorite
suburb-and the time came for him to
occupy it, and she was not there to en-.
joy it. His younger sister, an orphan,
who had just finished school and had
come TO live with him, was delighted
with everything She ran all over the
house, fairly gushing with pleasure,
and did not know that her brother, sit
ting amid the confusion Of furniture in
the front hall, was thinking Of how
much some one else would have been
pleased And there were two big tears
on his cheeks when he remembered
himself and arose to superintend the
work Of arranging furniture.
Everybody who reads the papers re-
members the iicks-Brown divorce trial
how the defendant paid no attention
TO the suit; how the judge, in granting
a decree without slimony, scored the
fair plaintiff for seeking a divorce on
such trivial grounds, and assured her
that he allowed a decree only because
It was plain TO be seen that 1t was
case Of incompatibility; and how, two
days after receiving her decree, the
plaintiff left suddenly, and everybody
said: ~ told you SOL knew she'd go
as soon as she got it."
But everybody does not know that
the reason she left so suddenly was that
she received telegram announcing her
fathers death, or that when she reached
home she found that he had died a
bankrupt .
IIicks-Brown knew It, and his heart
ached with the longing to 60 to her aid
and then the Hicks Brown pride
came 10 the surface, and his heart
hardened with cold snap, and he bent
himself to his work harder than ever.
One morning, as he rode into town,
Henry Hicks-Brown was thinking how
lonely his sister must be, sometimes,
out there in that slow little suburb, and
an idea struck him. by Jove" he
thought, "its the very thing, There
are lots of nice girls who would jump
at the chance to be companion to so
jolly girl as Lottie." And he stopped
at the Sol office and left "Want" ad-
vertisement, which stated that young
lady desired companion who was able
to speak French and possessed sundry
other accomplishments; must furnish
best references; would receive liberal
salary, etc. apply in person at resi-
dence, No. - Grove street"
Mabel Hicks Brown, discussing ways
and means with her mother at their
slimly furnished breakfast table next
morning. saw this advertisement. "It'a
the very thing, mamma, and I'm going
tossee about it to-day. Something must
be done, and I'm the one to do it, So"
"But, Mabel, it seems so-so-why,
the idea Of"
"There, there's no use saying word,
mamma. We can't be choosers any
more" And so it was settled.
At four o'clock that afternoon Mabel
Hicks-Brown rang the door of the house
in Grove street, indicated in the advcr-
tisement, and was admitted by trim
maid, who seemed to know her errand,
and usbered her into pretty drawing.
room on the right.
Somehow the room had familiar
look. At least, there we're things in 1t
that seemed familiar. That picture in
the dark corner-she must have seen il
before. She rose TO look at 1t, and as
she did so, some one came hurriedly
into the room. Turning, she stood face
to face with Henry Hicks Brown.
Fer full half minute they stood
staring at each other stunned. Then
Mabel, weak from the strain of the
weeks and months just passed, gave a
shuddering sob and sank to the floor.
Ten minutes later she found herself
upon the divan in the conner, with a
pair of strong arms about her and q
very dear face close to her own, while
a deep, tremulous voice whispered
mabel, can't we-can't we make it al
up? Tell me, little girl"
She told him right then and there
and, half an hour after that, they stood
in the study OF the parsonage close BY
Hicks Brown would have it so-fol
all the world like pair Of elopers, anc
what had taken nearly five months tC
unite was retied in FIVE minutes.
And that was the real end Of the eel
ebrated Hicks Brown divorce case-tht
part that only a small minority of th'
newspaper-reading public knows about
r. L. Ketchum, in San francisco
Argonaut
--Ianes Russell Lowell was walking