The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-08-09

gonsl How soon abe left off her acting.
Her mother opihed that she had beer
| too gay that summer. Mrs. Ritchie.
who was broken hearted at her vii
1iam's choice, came in sometimes and
was apt to wish herself in the tomb o.
her forefathers. But William neveI
came. He correspondent voluminousl,
with Miss Cora Standish, who made him
Jealous Of now one officer and now IN
other. and he felt that he received Little
sympathy at home.
At last the time arrived when he was
| to go TO claim his bride. Between q hor-
ror of having her brought home, ''to
ride over her head" as she expressed It,
and fear that they would induce cher
William" to take up his residence among
them. Mrs. Richie was quite distracted.
"She is your cousin" she said to the
girl one day, "or I'd say what think Of
that creature. She might have kept
herself with her own kind. Why should
she carry off my boy7'
Then Genie felt so much sympathy
for the bereaved mother that they min.
gled their tears.
Mrs. Richie would not go to Wits
wedding-not she, indeedi
She went go far as to hope that when
he returned he would find her dead of Q
broken heart. But she packed his trunli
| for him ana put in new Bible as hel
wedding gift to Cora. Then VIII de
parted.
What with Wills popularity. his moth,
er's despair and the doubt as to whether
the young couple would come back &c
live or settle down at the fort, this wed.
ding made o great deal of talk, and when
time passed on and neither telegram
letters, nor anything else In the shape OF
news arrived, there was some excite.
ment. Had there been "trouble with
the Indians" the newspapers would have
revealed the fact. This silence was very
| strange.
Old Mrs. Richie was sure that Will
was 'weaned from her already" and
consigned herself to despair. Genie read
over and over again poem which began:
Married. married, and not to me!
Is II dream or can it be7
and pasted 1t In her scrapbook, and was
reading 1t in the honeysuckle arbor
when an expressmsn paused at old Mrs.
Ritchie's gate and hauled from his
wagon one solitary trunk with "W. R..
upon Il. Later VIM himself walked up
the road alone, with his portmanteau in
his hand, and stood at his mothers door.
Something had happened. Genie
would have been an angel If shc had
grievcd over the fact. As IL was she
felt that her little bit of revenge was
ready for her, and revenge was sweet
and with merry laugh she skipped
over to the fence that divided the gar
dens and called out: 49,.
"Why, how do you do, WHIP Where
is Cousin Cora?"
Will turned and looked at her, and
came straight toward her.
when / reached the majors resi-
dence your cousin Cora had Just eloped
with Colonel O'Shaunessy," he said.
"As the major and Mrs. Colonel O'Shau-
nessys brother are out hunting the
colonel, thought would return home,
though kindly invited to join the sport"
"Ohf" cried Genie, with oil the hor-
ror of an innocent girl. "a married
man? Is she like that-as bad as that"
at is pretty bad" said William.
"But Pm glad found her out SO soon.
Later would have made it tragedy for
me-and all your fault. Genier'
miner" cried the girl.
eyes" said Will. when you gave me
back my ring you threw me into her
hands. Before TINT it was only O flirta-
ton. never intended it to be ANYTHING
else, for my part. But when you used
me SOL
II used you sol" said Genie. "Why,
William, heard you talking to Cora in
the arbor the night before gave you
back my ringr'
mo man ever tatFs that way to the
woman he loves" saiH William.
Then they turned away from each
other, but though Mrs. Afford wept over
the awful conduct of her sisters daugh.
ter, Genie was happier than she had
been for many moons.
You and may wonder whether Will
fam Richie told the truth, or whether
he told half of it, but Genie believed
him.
Before long the gossips of the place
whispered that she intended "to take
pity on him." and this was Genie's view
of the matter.
Her petulant conduct she said had
driven him into the meshes Cora spread
for all men. She was to blame. 1t was
her duty to atone as far as she could.
She felt sure of that, and William insist
ed upon it also. Therefore she one day
married him.
In their case marriage has not proved (
a mistake, for they make very com
Portable couple, and no one was happier
on the wedding day than old Mrs. |
Ritchie.--Mary Kyle Dallas in Fireside T
Companion.