The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1893-11-18

| lore VIC reached tlcm L was nadly In
love with Ella, and had already in
formed her that this was the happiest
hour OF my life, when to my dismay I
learned that she was Miss Ella Barring
ton, eldest daughter of "Barrington's
Starch" as we called him at the bank,
where he lodged portion of the wealth
he had acquired in the manufacture of
that commodity.
"Barrington's Starch" lived in n
brand new stucco palace he had built
i for himself, near Richmond Hill; and,
although he was not exactly "PerlSyn
Middlewicls," could never understand
how he could be the father of so re-
fined and lovely and fairy like being
as Ella.
Before the gates of Darlington hall,
as he called his brick and mortar mon
strosity, we paused. We We're friends,
dear old friends, by this time. knew
that she was nineteen. and that she
loved nothing in the world SO much as
her bull terrier pup, except her father
and her brother Bob, and she knew
every detail of my uneventful life of
scven-and-twenty summers.
She asked me to come in; papa would
want to thank me, she said.
1 found papa genial enough, albeit
somewhat condescending. ''The young
man from the bank" 1 afterwards
found he called me, although my name,
Ernest Wynter, was known to hlm, and
he himself had begun life as a mill
hand at six shillings a week. Still l
was allowed 10 visit at harrington hall,
and to play tennis with the girls, and
every day grew more abjectly in love
with Ella, whose unaffected charm of
manner no parvenu surroundings could
| impair.
of course l dared not TO speak of my
love to her. In my position, that was
out of the question. could only try
| to kiss the dogs head, just after her
lovely lips had rested there, and to de-
tain her hand AS long as possible in
greeting and parting from her.
Yet she must Have guessed something
of what 1 felt; for she took me one day
into the kitchen-garden away from the
children, and there, looking at me with
lovely, tear-dimmed eyes, she suddenly
remarked
81 am SO unhappy, Mr. Wynter. Papa
wants me to marry Alderman Sir John
Westbury. He is a nice old thing, and
papa says l shall be lady mayoress.
But think he is quite as fond of my
sister Bertha as he is of me, and-l am
in love with some one else"
The look with which she accompanied
her last words was revelation. She
grew very red the next moment and
began rapidly talking of something
else, while l, like fool, stood and
stared at her until her wretched young
brother Bob came bawling down the
garden after her, and so took my
chance of speaking from me.
For the rest of the afternoon Ella
avoided me, and, cursing my own stu
pidity, went home and wrote her the
following letter:
"MY.DEAR MISS BARRINGroN: don'tknow
whether you will think me the most conceited
ass alive for supposing that few words of
yours to-day encourage me to tell you what I
meant to keep secret-that ever since first
met you, three months ago. / have been so
madly in love with you that 1 can think of
nothing else. But as my entire income does
not exceed two hundred ana fifty year have
thought 1t would be presumptuous 10 talk of
marriage to you, even had felt hopeful of
gaining your love will not venture into Your
presence again until / have heard from you
only, entreat OF you, for the sake of our de.
lghtful friendship, if ] have made mistake,
ana 1T is some one else whom you love, not to
write to tell me what fool have been 1 shall
understand ana respect your silence, and,
much as may suffer- will not intrude upon
you again.
always, my dear Miss Darlington, what
you wish me to be-your sincere friend or your
most devoted adorer,
ERNEST WINTER
suppose other men have watched for
the postman before now, but surely no
man ever waited upon his footsteps as
/ did for three whole weeks
Even at the end of that time / should
have gone on hoping, but for the fact
that, meeting Ella and her sisters in
the street, her manner toward me left
no doubt as to her decision, for, whereas
the younger members of the family
were as friendly as ever, Elias manner
was chilling to a degree. She would |
not even look at me, nor would she |
shake hands when we parted.
1 own / was thoroughly miserable,
and developed a faculty for caustic
epigl ans at the expense of the sex in
general, writing several stories, enti-
tied respectively, 'Jilted," mo Heart"
"A Coquette's Conquest" etc.
Then, one dreary November day,
met Mr.. Darlington in the streets of
Richmond He was unusually genial,
and insisted upon my coming home to
dinner with him.
'Never mind about dress" he said.
st is quite an unceremonious oc-
casion. And, to tell you the truth,
shall be glad of a strangers presence
to control the family weeping. My
Ella leaves us tomorrow, as suppose
you know, upon her marriage with my
friend Sir John Westbury, the future
lord mayor of London"
No, did not know, and / could have
gone home and blown my brains out.
But instead, went to dinner with him,
feeling that must see Ella for the last
time.
She was looking very lovely, but ex-
tremely pale, and her red-rimmed eyes
seemed to dwell on me reproachfully. I |
could not congratulate her, the words |
stuck in my throat. Sir John Vest
bury was there, a handsome, we'll |
hammered man, who hardly looked his |
fifty years of age.
After dinner, Ella stole out to take
long farewell to her precious Bull +"
Sir John objected to dogs on IA honey.
moon trip, and she feared she would be |
too nervous TO attend to him in the |
morning.