The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1892-08-17
GENES CASE.

W 1IkN1 ~ OI10l1s
In the fall OF 49,, after they had had
such gay times and SO much company at
their country home, Mrs. Afford began to
look over her box of homeopathic rem
edies for something that would suit
Genie's case"
By degrees she made the girl take
upon her tongue or in two glasses of
water, alternately crossed by the spoon
if one made no mistake, samples of most
of her nice white medicines But some
how Genie kept on looking pale and
growing thin and being depressed, and
that unmistakable symptom of having
red eyelids of a morning continued.
Genie always used to look so fresh
when she came to breakfast" Mrs. Al
ford said. 'And l give you my word,
her face was quite swollen yesterday
when went to call her."
1t never occurred to Mrs. Afford that
the mysterious symptom of pink eyelids
in the morning might be occasioned by
shedding tears during the night.
b"Why on earth should Genie weep"
she would have said had this been sug-
gested. She had no trouble. But even
mothers do not always know everything,
and "Genie's case" was really this.
William Richie, their next door
neighbours son, with whom Genie had
always been livery friendly" who had
walked to school, and gathered nuts
with her, and pulled her about ON his
sled, and skated with her on the pond
in their childhood, had, after two
years absence from home, returned to
find Genie quite grown up and wonder
fully pretty. For her part she saw in
him the pink and perfection of man.
hood, and their eyes confessed their
mutual admiration. Noone else dreamed
of any change of feeling between the
lifelong friends. But it was not long
before William said things to Genie that
made her happy when she thought of
them, and had rejoiced her soul by gifts
of flowers and volumes of poetry and all
manner of delicate attentions, and at
last had proposed to her and been ac-
cepted.
They had not made the fact public
yet, however, when Major Standish came
to them from the west to pay them a
visit and brought his daughter with
him.
The major had married Mrs. Affords
sister years before, and Cora was their
only child.
She was q belle in army society, and
if there is anything calculated to in
crease young lady's satisfaction with
herself it is that.
She made no secret of her conquests,
but spoke openly of the bleeding hearts
she left behind her. She might if she
chose be Mrs. General That, or Mrs.
Colonel This. Captain So-and-so was
ready to die for her sake, and she had
long string of lieutenants to laugh about
even the chaplain was really very far
gone
With all these adorers watching for
her return to the fort it seemed hard to
Genie that she should instantly make
dead set at William Richie and know
no peace until she had stolen her one
eve lamb from her. But this is just
what Cora did, and it seemed to Genie
that William met her half way.
Innocent Genie had never seen fine,
well managed, genuine Irritation before.
Her wonder was almost as great as her
grief to find man so treacherous, and
one evening, when there was gay par
ty at the house and Cora and William
seemed to have vanished mysteriously,
she hid herself in the honeysuckle arbor
"a place just then plunged in deepest
shadow-and flung herself down on q
corner of the bench to indulge unseen in
few tears.
And while she fingered there Cora
and William came softly in, and sitting
down where the moonlight drifted in
upon their faces began most senti-
mental and dramatic conversation.
He compared her to rose and a
nightingale. He told her what star
thing effect she had upon his heart when
first he saw her, and he alluded mys-
teriously to "bonds that bound" him
and to what he would do were he free.
But honorl honorl He would break
no sweet girls heart.
"Never for my sake" Cora declared.
"Better that I should suffer than one in
nocent."
1t was quite like q chapter from a sem
yational novel. She gave him her hand
to kiss, neither Of them guessing that
the deep shadow in the corner was
Genie, and he quoted poetry by the
yard. They evidently considered them
selves very noble and self sacrificing,
wonderful, suffering, glorious beings
And how the little maiden sat quietly
two feet from them until they rose and
went away arm in arm she never knew,
neither how she lived through the night
But the next day found her very strong.
Early in the morning she went to the
garden fence and beckoned William
Richie to come to her, and took hisarm
with laugh, and made him walk with
her out Of hearing. Then she said:
Don't you think that when people
have made q great mistake the best
thing possible is to confess itf"
And when he answered, 81 suppose
90, she simply took her ring from her
finger and gave it back to him. Then
she left him and walked away, and oh,
how gay she was all that dayl She had
never believed that she could act SO
well. Her heart was full of burning
pain, and she wished that she were dead.
But her pride upheld her, and no one
guessed how she suffered.
She was SO glad that she had never
told any one Of her engagement to Will
liam Richie, and could join in all then
merry talk when it waspubiicly known
that Mr.. Richie had cut out the. gen
erals and majors and captains and colo
nels of army society.