The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-03-15

painted to look like white men. She
hoped that he and paw and Sally Dows
were happy They hain't yet got SO
far as to put up nigger preacher
in the place of Mr.. Symes, their rector,
but she understood that there was some
talk Of running Hannibal Johnson,
Miss Dows' coachman, for county
judge, next year! No2 She had not
heard that the connie himself had
thought of running for the officel He
might laugh ut her as much rs he
liked-he seemed to be in better spirits
than when she first saw him-only she
would like to know if it was "no'th'n
style to laugh coming home from
church? OF course if it sOas she would
have to adopt it with the Fifteenth
amendment. But just now, she no
ticed the folks were staring at them
and Miss Sally Dows had turned round
to look! Nevertheless Miss 0ctavia's
sallow cheek nearest the colonel-the
sunny side-had taken a faint bru-
nettes flush and the corners Of her
proud mouth were slightly lifted.
"But candidly, Miss Reed, don't you
think that you would prefer to have
old Hannibal, whom you know, as
county judge, than a stranger and a
northern man like me?"
Miss Reeds dark eyes glanced side
ways at the handsome face and elegant
figure beside her. Something like q
saucy smile struggled to her thin lips.
"There mightn't be much to choose,
connie"
81 admit it. We should both ac-
knowledge our mistress and be like wax
in your hands,"
"Yo' ought TO make that pooty speech
to Sally Dows-she's generally mistress
around here. But" she added, sud-
denly fixing her eyes on him, "how
does it happen that yo' amt walking
with her instead of that Englishman2
Yo' know that it's as plain as day that
he took that land over there just to be
near her, when he was no longer agent.
But Courtland was always master OF
himself and quite ut ease regarding
Miss Sally when not in that lady's pres
enco. "You forget" he said smiling
ly, "that I'm still stranger and know
little of the local gossip; and, If did
know it, | am afraid we didn't bargain
to buy up with the land Mr.. Champney's
personal interest in the landladg."
"Yo'd have had your hands full, fol
l reckon she's pooty heavily mortgagcd
in that fashion already" returned
Miss Reed, with more JadiHdge thar
spitefulncss in the suggestion. "Ant
Mr. Champney was run pooty close by
French cousin of hers when he wa
here. Yo haven't got any Frencl
books to lend me, connie, have yo''
Paw says you read Il heap of French
and find IL mighty hard TO keep up m!
practice since / left the convent at st
Louis, for paw don't know what sor
of books to order, and l reckon h
makes awful mistakes sometimes"
The conversation here turning upol
polite literature it. appeared that MIS-
octavia's French reading, through shy
proud innocence and an imperfec
knowledge Of the wicked subtleties o
the language, was somewhat broad ant
unconventional, for young lady
Courtland promised to send her som
books and even ventured TO suggest som
American and English novels not in
tensely ''no'th'n'" nor metaphysical
according to the accepted souther
beliefs. A new respect and plying II
terest In this sullen, solitary gir
cramped by tradition and crushed ratf
er than enlightened by sad experience
came over him. He found himself tall
ing quite confdentially to the lifte
head, ached eyebrows and aquiliu
nose beside him, and even thinldn
what handsome high bred broth'
she might have been to some on
When they had reached the house,
compliance with the familiar custom
he sat down on one Of the lower steI
of the veranda while she, shaking OF
her skirt, took u seat step or tw
above him. This enabled him, aft
the languid local fashion, to lean on h
, elbow and gaze up into the eyes of Il
J young lady, while she with eqh,