The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1893-08-26
HOW HE FOUND HER.

time" q
Harold Hastings laughed.
II cannot help it," he said. ut Is
impossible for me to do otherwise. ]
cannot fall in love to order. And II
strikes me that my good uncle's will
Is the most absurd document in exist
ence." /
1T is Il most singular will, certainly
said Mr.. Bellamy. He leaves you his
property-and u fine one it is, too-prv
vided that before the arrival Of your
twenty-fifth birthday you have chcstl
a wife. She is to be- younger than your
self and Of good family. These facts
being proven, you will take possession
OF your fortune Oh y wedding day.
His he told me and told
you, though he has not had them writ
ten down. He would not place his es
tate in the hands of u man without fam
lily. And those Hastings who have
not been married at twenty-five have
AK = UCCA 1lAlkNu SlL AUs LIZ, LIZ
outlivcd wife, son and daughters.
""Three of my brothers remained
bachelors and went to the dogs he
said to me. 'IIarold's father had but
one child. I wish the name to be per
petuated. 7 do not want the Hastings
state to be divided amongst Smiths ant
pr0xrypc 10 IIn~n1l lN,S not Ia .oS
wish I shall found a charity, to be
called the Hastings hospital"
my uncle had u right to do as he
pleased with his own," said Harold
But I have had four years in Whicf
to seek for 4 wife and have not found
One yet. I will not marry i roma I'LL
less I love her, and not one of them
all makes my heart throb faster. II
does not seem to me that the constant
presence of a woman in a mans home
can be anything but q trial.
In fact, ! think marriage is a mis-
take. ] can tiirt for in evening with q
girl, and never wish to e her again
And wives are exacting-they desire
perpetual admiration and attention.
should make mine miserable, I am sure
The next three months will not be apt
to change my opinion on the subject
SO much the better for the Hastings
hospital"
You are a foolish fellow to give up
lifelong ease and comfort for such an
absurd opinion" said Mr.. Bellamy
"As for the wife, give her all the money
she wants, and you'll have no trouble.
Her time will he taken up with her jew.
els, her fincry and her entertainments v
"How I should hate such 4 won@an,'
said young Hastings-and with Il laugh
and a gay good bye, caught UP his hat
and was off.
1t was only 4 common little room,
high up in q plain boarding house, to
which Harold Hastings betook himself.
when his daily tasks were over, but
there he found his books, his violin aud
quiet.
Hither he fed after an evening spent
in society endeavorine to enjoy hiui.
self.
TO men, Harold always knew what to
say. They liked him, and he liked
them, but the conventional young lady
was his detestation.
4 bold woman disguised him; a bash
full girl made him as bashful as herself
in ten minutes.
He neither would nor could dance,
and never paid a compliment to a lady
in his life.
Being handsome and we'll connected.
people always asked him to their af-
fairs, and always complained afte:ward
that he did not do his duty. and us he
had said, the hospital was likely to have
his uncle's money, and he to keep Oh
his hand to hand struggle with the
world and die a bachelor.
"Giye me freedom" he said, rs he
sat down beside his table with his book
and his cigar. Il will never be a slave
to any woman's whims and fancies."
Soon the room was full of the blue
smoke which delighted him. His favor
tie author (best of friends) particularly
pleased him. The invitation to a debu-
tantc's coming out party stood staring
at him from the mantel-pieCe. unre-
guarded. And the hours wore OIL until
the hands of the clock in tho church
tower, visible from his window, both
pointed upward, and the sounds Of foot
steps in the street below grew few and
far between. Then he arose, and ex-
tinguishing his light. threw his window
wide open and sat down beside it.
All the other windows in the street
rectly opposite. Here a lamp burned
upon a table and near it sat q young
girl, busy with her needle.
The fabric on which she was at work
was delicate, pink satin, and she
seemed to be trimming it with ruf1es
of soft lace.
The girl herself was fair; her hair
was drawn into a classical knot at the
back of her head and fastened with q
silver pin. Her dress was a pale-blue
muslin.
The girl, with her creamy complexion,
the pale blue OF her dress, the faint
rose pink OF the satin, the yellow circle
Of light from the lamp, formed a pic
ture which attracted Harold as no tab
leau vivante had never done before,
though he often haunted art galleries
for hours.
After staring at it for awhile, he
sought his fieldglass and, invisible him.
self, watched his opposite neighbor.
'"The sweetest face I ver saw!!' he
declared, soto voce. "A veritable
Greuze."
Half an hour had passed, yet he was
not weary Of looking. Then a voice in
the street attracted his attention. An
intoxicated nan run against q sober pc
destrian and an alteration ensued, the
drunkard asserting that he was insulted,
AS his voice arose the girl laid down
her work, and coming to the window
leaned far out. She seemed to watch
the men intently and pressed one small
hand to her bosom, as il In alarm.
In, a moment more the sober citizen
went on his way, and the drunken man
began to tumble at the door Of the fiat
house, and, having unlocked it, left it
open behind him. The girl took the
light and for a moment or SO the room
was dark. Then she returned and re-