The free press., 1893-06-15


kind and indulgent, but very level
| headed, and had been a widower for
some years. When was Is good
looking young chap fir, m somewhere
down the Susquehanna came to clerk
in fathers store. was romantic
snip, and fell in love with the good
looking clerk, or thought I did, and
he fell III love with me. That young
man, it seemed to me then, was the
bravest, most ambitious youth that
ever lived. I see now that it was
only cheek and brag. But he was my
| ideal of a lover, and l believed it was
impossible for me to live without
him.
"Father wasn't long in discovering
the very tender relations that had
come to exist between me and his
self-assertive young clerk, and he
called me to him one day and told me
that he was sorry to see that was such
a silly girl, and that must get over
| it at once, and then informed my
brave and steadfast idol that at the
end of the month he could go back
home. Of course my heart was
broken. Life had lost all its charm.
1 felt / was the victim of a stern and
unsympathetic parents cruel WILL and
1 wished that were dead.
"Now, although this lover Of mine
was clerking in my fathers store for
| 800 month and his board, his father
was a rich lumberman. and he was the
only son. When l was at the height
of my misery over the paternal inter-
ference that had ruflled the course Of
my true love, as think l was in the
habit Of calling it, my idol and l met
one evening, quite by chance, of
course, at the house of neighbor of
ours, and what did my brave knight
propose but an elopement, and what
did my romantic soul do but prompt
me to agree to the proposition on the
spot.
"There was a railroad station eight
miles distant. The last train for any
where left that station at z o'clock
every evening. All We had to do was
to drive to the station, get the train,
go to the county seat, only an hours
ride, get married, and be happy ever
after. We fixed on certain night
this was along toward the middle of
December-and got everything ready
for the elopement. 1t was a good
| hour-and-a-half drive to the station
| over the sort of road we had to travel
on, and so we we're obliged TO take an
early start. The winter had been
very mild. There was no snow. 1t
was just beginning to get dark when l
stole to where my valiant lover was
waiting for me with horse and
wagon. KNEW that the chances were
all in favor of my level-headed father
discovering the whole plot before we
could reach the station, and l was
sure that he would be on our track
with a horse a good deal faster than
the one we had TO depend on. But l
had no fear that he would overhaul
us.
"Before we had gone one quarter of
the way night had set in for good.
but there was moon, and that helped
us along amazingly. We had got
within a mile of the station and had
good reason to believe we were safe,
when suddenly the horse stopped with
a snort of terror, reared up, and tried
| to turn in the road. A cut with the
whip Strengthened him up, but he kept
on snorting and showing evidences OF
terror. / looked up the road and dis
covered the cause of all this. An i'm
mense bear stood on its launches at
one side of the road growing and
snarling and showing disposition to
advance upon us. When my brave
lover saw the savage beast he rose up
| in the wagon, gave yell, and gasped:
"Oh! Jennie, let's 60 back"
al forgot all about the bear.
gazed in amazement at my gai'ah'
knight He was as pale as shee'.
The lines hung loose in his hands.
seized them, jerked them away from
him, took the whip, and, as he'a 'he
horse from turning round, ordered
the COW wardly youth out of the wagon
He crawled out of the back end OF the
-. -. ...J .o.o down the rOlQ as last