Arizona republican., 1892-11-19
LUCY'S LOVERS.


 more marrying men in India and fewer maidens. Besides Lucy was really sweet enough and pretty enough and adorable enough to monopolize the attentions of any number. Of these two swains one was an elderly swain-that is, if the col. lector of district on two thousand and some odd hundreds of rupees month and a "fund" of the most liberal nature can properly be called a swain at all, which is doubtful. He was a good fel. low, was John McAllister, but at least twenty years older than Lucy, and, what was more to the point, very prim and stiff and solemn and serious, and in fact destitute of not only appearance, but the thoughts and ways of youth.
 And so when Colonel Watson cited instances of the happy marriages he had seen between elderly gentlemen and youthful lassies-he used occasionally to draw on his imagination little-poor Lucy would piteously reply:
 "Yes, papa, but it isn't his age; that's nothing, nothing"-oh, Lucy, Lucyl- "but he's so old in his ideas and habits; he has nothing in common with girl. "
 And then there would be little break down in the voice, and a tear would fall on the colonels hand, and he would turn away to smoke cheroot and make the best of it. for he did not want to force his child into a distasteful mar riage; he was too fond of her for that; htrt yx.fth Cf ron,yipr, frn,,. Effn.., to five. that his one daughter should marry well to do man was distinctly desirable.
 Pensions were gooG in those days, but even q, 100 year seemed small with such troop of boys to educate and put into the world. And then there was trihe of debt which McAllister would but what was the use of thinking about it if it would make little Lucy unhappy? It is almost superfuous to say that the other adorer, whom Lucy did like, was a hopeless ineligible. George FGrleigh was subaltern in her fathers regi- ment, of about five years service. A fine young fellow, good at sports, but with absolutely no prospects. There was no chance of the adjutancy falling vacant for long time, and there were no departmental openings, so far at least as he was concerned.
 In a small, up country station these two had many opportunities of meeting, and to do them justice they took advan- tage of all they could get. But Lucy was not without mixture of sound, con- mon sense, and she would not pledge herself to George until he could show some reasonable grounds for believing that his position would soon justify mar riage; she would not listen to the idea of an indefinite arrangement.
 Matters were thus at deadlock, and there seemed no hope of solution. Months passed by, weary months to all concerned. Then all of sudden came change. The new governor general arrived in the country, and it so hap pened that in former years he had known Georges father rather inti- mately. The natural result followed. For boy who had passed nothing but the higher standard in Hindoostanee it was not possible to do much at once, but still he might be tried. So down came the offer of semipolitical ap- pointment in a native state for six months, the continuance of which was to depend on Georges progress and abil- ity.
 There was fearful parting.
 "Now, mind, you are not to write to me unless l write to you first. Papa would be very angry if you were to write direct to me, and of course 1 won't have anything done in a roundabout way. When l write to you, if do write at all, sir, then you may answer"
 So, half crying, half laughing, Lucy dismissed him, and both the colonel and McAllister said goodby with a sigh of relief. The sagaciOus Lucy had a reason for the condition she imposed. Over and above the difficulties of a corre- spondence to which her father would object, she wanted to test her lover. Married ladies often prone to dismal ad- vice had sniffingly told her of the incon- stancy of man, and she had also read about it in novels and poems, so she thought that an experiment should be made.
 "lf we begin by writing to each other" she argued to herself, "he won't have chance of forgetting me, but, if there is no communication between us for some time, then that will show whether his affection iS Sincare
 Left alone in the field, good, honest NcAllister could make the running at his own pace, but somehow he never seemed to get any nearer the winning post
 But the three months never passed, for one fine day the colonel, with white face and broken bones, was brought back in a dhooly from the parade ground (his horse had fallen), md though the bones were soon mended complications set in and the doctors Tdered him home-"internal injuries; lever get right in this place; voyage will i've him strength, etc." Then the poor nan told Lucy that she really had bet CT make up her mind, that he could i'll ford the expense of taking her to Eng md, and reminded her that she did not ct on too easily with her stepmother, 'ho was looking after the boys. And