Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-30

often dubbed himself to Lavinia Pool
Lavinia! Dead and nearly forgotten.
He decided to leave Palermo, and forget
his folly. But one June day the three
Kathleen, her father and Blount-went fol
an excursion to tiny fishing village some
distance round the coast. 1t was a holi-
day, and all the village folks were holding
festival All wore gala dress, and the
young men were dancing tarantella, while
the women, according to custom, sat at the
doors looking on.
Chow light-hearted they seem," said
Blount as the three of them turned away
and went down to the seashore.
Cad" cried the Colonel irritablv,
"those young blades would not foot it so
merrily had they the gout in their toes as I
have. Look here, Blount, you and Kath-
leen can go on if you choose, but Iii rest
here awhile"
So the two strayed together along the
yellow sands. Kathleen stopped now and
thento pick up some exquisitely tinted
shell.
"What lovely place this is" she said
with sigh. 'tand how happy we have been.
shall never have such delightful time
again.
Nonsense. You have life before you.
You will marry, and your honeymoon will
be more interesting than this time has been,
spent with couple of old fogies."
II may not marry. Everyone does not.
You, for instance"
A cloud darkened his good-looking face,
and a sudden impulse made him take the
girls pink palm in his.
"You are mistaken. / have been married.
Shall tell you about it?''
'If you please" she said, with grave sur
prise and shy upward glance from her
hazel eyes.
So they sat down on the sands in the hot
sunshine, and Blount barred his heart.
when they sent me home invalided,''
he began abruptly, 81 went to live at
boarding house in Kensington. It was
kept by pleasant middle-aged woman,
whose name was Mrs. Minor. She had
niece who was supposed to assist in domes-
tic affairs, but who was more of an orna-
ment than anything else. Lavinia Minor
was pretty girl of two or three and
twenty"
"Was she like me?''
ooh, no. She was blonde; pink
checked, blue-eyed and fluffy haired. Well,
to make long story short, married her,
and the marriage was rather failure. We
did not quarrel exactly, but we titled, and
Lavinia, poor soul, was fond of nagging.
She wasn't quite-quite lady, you know,
and did not seem to make friends with other
women. She lost her good looks, too and
soured In consequence One day, when we
had one of the usual little sparring matches,
it was arranged that she should go on visit
to Mrs. Minor, who had sold the boarding
house, and was living at north-country
village She went, and the train by which
she travelled came into collision and caught
fire. The result was fearful went down
and saw the dead. Laviniz was not among
them. But some were burned and mutt
lated beyond recognition. That was two
years ago, and have not doubt that 1 am
widowed"
Show horrible" said the girl with
shudder.
There were tears in her lovely eyes, and
she put out one of her little hands sympa-
thetically.
Captain Blount took it and held it fast
The summer sky, the blue waves which
rippled at his feet, above all the girls
beauty, intoxicated him.
He forgot his 40 years, his prudent re-
solve.
Pussy" he whispered, uDconsciously
using her pet childish name "I love you,
I love you, my darling. Say, will you be
my wife?"
1t was Christmas Eve in London. Out
side the snow fell thick; the roads were like
iron, the very pnddles had turned to greasy
black ice. Inside, at an old-fashi6ned