Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1893-10-09
By Mutual Consent.

after he a Quarroleu WIN DIS WIG
for half an hour over the breakfast
table-stit j" Uery plain to me we are
quite incompatible!"
81 fully agree with you," retorted
Mrs. Blummer, wiping the tears of an
ger from her pretty brown eyes. eve
are not at all congenial!"
son this point" observed hummer,
Jelly, 1--WE seem to have nc difference
of opinion. We were utterly mistak
en- in ever imagining we cared for
each other enough to-"
"You are right" the little woman
broke in, determined he should not
gain the least advantage. cit was
silly of me, and I shall never cease to
regret it."
~ made a blooming idiot of myself"
Blummer brutally declared. "But
then, you were a rather pretty and
stylish girl when I met you att"
sob, you are really growing compli-
mentary! So I was a rather pretty and
stylish girl -a0hen you met me! That
was just one year ago. I suppose I
have grown old and dowdy in a year!
lie so, the life I have led with you dur
ing the last six months is the cause of
it'll"
She was growing hysterical again.
II have lone all I could to make you
happy, but you are the most unreas-
enable woman [ ever saw. I thought
you an angel, but I have found you
possess a temper-like-like-a cold
wretched failure"
Then he very deliberately attempted
to take a drink of coffee from his egg
glass.
t'There is a remedy for our wretch
edness!" exclaimed the little woman,
decidedly, a look of resolution on her
flushed face.
eyes," he nodded. "This remedy is
separation. It would be a glorious
thing to be a free man again."
She leaped to her feet.
"That settles it, Mr.. BIummer!''-
I'll not live another day with you after
this! I shall enjoy my freedom quite
as much as you will. The only thing I
dread is the horrible disgrace of being
seen in a divorce court"
"You need not worry about that,
Mrs. Blummer, unless you wish to
marry again, for we can live apart by
mutual consent, and there need be no
divorce. AS for me, I shall never
marry again"
"Nor I. Once is enough for mel
We will separate quietly"
She sat down again and they talked
it over, finally arriving at an agree
nent.
Mrs. hummer went away to a re-
mote little resort amid the mountains
where she could spend a quiet sum-
mer. She stopped at a picturesque
old hotel, where she was known as a
widow, as it happened she affected
black. And a very gay little widow
she made, for she was determined to
obtain utter forgetfulness in the pleas
ure to be extracted from the passing
moment.
And SO it eame about that she made
the acquaintance of s'perfectly love-
ly' old doctor who took a great inter
est in her. He was SO very kind and
attentive that he seemed like a father
TO her.
Day after day Mrs. Blummer and
the doctor were seen together, and it
was not long before the other guests
began TO gossip mildly about them.
"She is awfully lucky!n declared
one gushing young thing. "He is
really in earnest, and he's SO awfully
rich! No sensible girl would mind his
age, for he's aWfully handsome. But
it's always the widows that make the
lucky catches"
One day the doctor and Mrs. Blum
mer were alone in a coy little nook
beside the mountain stream, where
they had come for the ostensible pur-
pose of fishing. But their rods lay
idly on the ground, and they were
seated quite near together on the soft
moss.
e'Mrs. Blummer," said the doctor,
securing n of her hands, II love
you, and | want you to marry me. I
am a wealthy man, and will do every
thing in my power to make you hap
py-"
Her tender brown eyes filed with
tears, and she tried to release her
hand.