Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-01-02


time," would live these weeks over again
But at length they came to an end. One
still June evening, when the moor
was but crescent in the sky
aud the nightingales were singing
with all the strength of their tiny throat'
and fervor of their great hearts, my little
love laid her golden head somewhere about
the lower edge of my breast-pocket, anc
gazing up IN my face, promised to overlooi
gallant officer.
'Well, YOU see," whispered the little
voice, "you are so big and strong and hand
some, it is no use trying to fight against
YOU. love you, love you! and after all
YOU are nv own dear old Clinton; and I'o
marry you if you were a sweep, which Ii
even worse than doctor" And the brave
blue eyes looked up at Inc SO proudly ant
so trustingly, that 1 thought no man hat
ever before such loving glances cast upor
him.
Oh, what happy time we had / thought
that trouble could Dever touch me more.
AS strobe home through the soft air to tel
nv father the glad news, 1 felt like an
archangel.
Yes, fancied my troubles were at an end
J that was going to be blessed beyond all
! human f1esh but did not vet realize what
it is to be an engaged man No sooner
were we safely and firmly betrothed, than
my young lady contracted such habit OF
flirting as made me stand agape. l maintain
that she f1irted. She insists that she did
not She saws she was only making herself
| agreeable for the sake of my practice.
She repeats that she smiled on the curates.
| youths from Oxford, retired military men,
| etc.s not as men at all, but purely as posi-
| BILE future patients Did 1 want them
bought with her smiles? Still, such an in
| iured saint did she look when I ventured to
| expostulate, that L hardly knew how to
bear myself: and I used to wonder whether
I really was the most suspicious brute on
the face of the green earth.
At length matters reached climax, and L
| turned at last.
1t was in the week of the 'Iawn
Tennis Tournament - the one great
excitement of our little country
side-when a young hussar made his
appearance, and contrived to get himself
! drawn as her partner in the doubles! She
declares / am simply talking nonsense when
1 assert that he got himself drawn as her
partner and she says that it is all done by
lots, and that people must play with just
whoever falls to their lot! Well, that Is
neither here nor there. She need not have
behaved as she did. He did not live in
these parts of the world: he could not be
interest she took in him was most marked
If it is q fact that she could not help hav-
ing him for her partner in the doubles
as they called the thing-need she
have stood watching him with all her
eyes in the f'singles," clapping her hands
at each stroke he won, or have been the
first to congratulate him the moment he
had put on his abominable loud 'blazer"
and marched off the field or court VIC
torious?
do not play tennis, having more i'm
portant matters to attend to; nor do dance
particularly well; still at their insufferably
dull ''tennis ball she need not have thrown
me over for him in the pronounced way she
choose to do.
'Oh, Clinton, may give Captain Smyth
one of your dances? You won't mind, will
you?"
"Oh, certainly not; give him the lot if
you like" answered blandly.
did not know till that moment that the
sweetest of blue eyes can fash sparks of ice;
but 1 saw them do it then.
'Oh, thank you so omuch.-There, Captain
Smyth; that is delightful; you can have
three more than promised you at first."
And without waiting to listen to my
angry eXpoStulation, she sailed away on his
arm l knew l had been rude, and wanted
TO apologize; and tried hard to catch her eve
as she swan round with the handsome
Captain, who could dance. But never once
were the long, dark lashes lifted, never once
did the old smile play across the sweet little
face.
1 went home utterly wretched All, how
the little paw could wound my big stupid
heart 1 Law awake nearly all night, and
during the long hours 1 made up my mind
to hasten, the very first thing in the morn
ing, to ''make friends" with her. should
tell her 1 was sorry 1 had been rude, but
should also make her understand that 1 con-
sidered L had a good deal of cause to feel
injured.
t'Clinton," she began very quietly the
moment she entered the room, 81 am glad
YOU have come There are some things
must say to YOU. l consider that the
way in which you have behaved
since our engagement has been most humiI-
iating to me.
''To you! do not see what cause you
have to speak, broke out
81 am going to speak," her soft, even
voice went on. 81 consider your unreason-
able jealousy as nothing short of an insult.
If you cannot trust me, you had better bid
me goodby. There can be no happiness III
marriage without absolute trust"
hardly know what said then, whether |
pleaded or upbraided. 1 remember little of
what befell till L found myself striding
through the fields, their corn flowers blue
like those angry eyes, and their poppies
bright like her scornful red mouth.
Was it all at end, then, the dream of
my life? Yes. of course it was-over, all
over! l must get away, away back to the
sea and the wild strange lands; away, some
there, anywhere-from all this. But my
poor old father! 1 could not leave him. 1
must not leave nv work: some of my cases
were in a critical condition. There was no
escape. Here L must stay; meet her con-
stantly; shake hands with her; and yet be as
if the world stretched between lis. And the
dreadful part of it all was that she
seemed not to care one little bit. She was
the same bright, merry, dainty little Great
ure that she had always been. Why was
she so cruel? Why would she not look at
me with a glance of pity, love, remorse?
How gladly, at her smallest overture of
grace, would / have cast myself utterly on
her mercy, and vowed anything she chose
to demand of me- But she gave no sign;
and l was too proud to approach her unless
she herself seemed TO summon me.
What a wretched time it was How
fiercely week by week did 1 try to harden
my heart against her! But everything con-
spired to make that impossible. Hardly
cottage did L enter but 1 heard of her loving
kindness. She seemed to go about like
sunbeam, smoothing coarse pillows,
comforting sad hearts, calling smiles to
parched and fevered lips, and looks of love
to heavy eyes.
How was it that she, who could be so ten !.
der to Others could so hurt the heart tina =
loved her? How could she keep up oul
quarrel all this time, when she must Sc =