The Newtown bee., 1892-07-22

the church she attended and at the home of her attorney, many of the incest peo- pie in the city, she was almost entirely | ignored in social way, and it galled her immeasurably. She, a Lovedale-yes, | and Hicks-Brown for, even if the man who had bestowed the last name on her did work for a living, it was name to be proud of-to be ostracised by insig- nificant country people, half the men among whom attended the balls in Prince Albert or cutaway coats! The idea! As if she cared! And yet she did care a great deal. And MT Hicks s-Brown? He was work ing away as though fighting time. He never gave himself moment, if he could help it, for thought. Not word had passed between him and member of the Lovedale family since the day his wife had flung herself out of the house and re- turned to her parents. He heard she had | gone West for divorce and it made him vince, but he shut his mouth more tight | ly 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. A few months before, he had begun to build, unknown to his wife, a handsome new house in her favorite suburb-and the time came for him to occupy it and she was not there to enjoy it.
 | His younger sister, an orphan, who had just finished school and had come to live with him, was delighted with every thing. She ran all over the house fairly gushing with pleasure and did not know that her brother, sitting amid the cOnfu- sion 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 su- perintend the work of arranging furni- ture.
 Everybody who reads the papers re- members the Hicks-Brown divorce trial how the defendant paid no attention to the suit; how the judge, in granting de- cree without alimony, scored the fair plaintiff for seeking a divorce on such trivial grounds and assured her that he allowed decree only because it was plain to be seen that it was case of in compatibility and how, two days after receiving her decree, the plaintiff left suddenly, and everybody said: 'I told you sol knew she'd go as soon she got it.''
 But everybody does not know that the
 reason she left so suddenly was that she
 received telegram announcing her fath-
 CTS death, or that, when she reached
 home, she found that he had died bank rupt.
 Hicks-Brown knew it and his heart ached with the longing to go to her aid ; and then the Hicks-Brown pride came to
 the surface and his heart hardened with a cold snap. 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, 'it's the very thing. There are lots of nice girls who
 would jump at the chance to be com- panion to so jolly a girl as Lottie." , And he stopped at the Sol office and left a want advertisement, which stated
 that young lady desired companion who was able to speak French and pos sessed sundry other accomplishments , must furnish best references; would re- , ceive liberal salary, etc. Apply in per
 son at residence, No. - Grove street." Mabel Hicks-Brown, discussing ways and means with her mother at their slim ly furnished breakfast table, next morn
 ing, saw this advertisement. Its the . very thing, mamma, and I'm going to see 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 o'clock that afternoon, Mabel
 Hicks Brown rang the doorbell of the house in Grove street, indicated in the advertisement and was admitted by a
 trim maid who seemed to know her CT rand and ushered her into the pretty drawing room on the right. Somehow, the room had d familiar look. At least, there were things in it that seemed familiar. That picture in the dark corner-she must have seen it before She rose to look at it and, as
 she did so, some one came hurriedly into , the room. Turning, she stood face to face with Henry Hicks-Brown. For full half minute, they stood star . ing at each other, stunned. Then Ma bel, weak from the strain of the weeks and months just passed, gave shudder ing sob and sank to the floor. , Ten minutes later. she found herself
 upon the divan in the corner, with pail I of strong arms about her and a very deal
 face close to her own, while a deep, ,trem
 ulous voice whispered, "Mabel, can't WI cant we make it all up? Tell me, littl,
 girl.''
 n She told him, right then and there a and half an hour after that, they stood il . the study of the parsonage close by 2 Hicks Brown would have it se-for al : the world like pair of elopers and wha e had taken nearly five months to unti' was re-tied in five minutes.
 : And that was the real end of the cele brated Hicks Brown divorce case-th' 2 part that only small minority of tht :. newspaper reading public knows about a --ESan Francisco Argonaut. He dropped a nickel in the plate = And meekly raised his eyes, Glad the weeks rent was fully paid