Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1894-07-12
MILLICENT's LETTERS.

The postmaster of Chelsea station
| mad conscience. of course. Every
body has. The public servants into
whose hands the governments postal
affairs are intrusted are not generally
credited with being the possessors of
such an announcement article, but the
worthy official of the above mentioned
/ point was an exception to the rule.
An explanation of that statement
may be given by telling you that not
only was Silas Gardiner the distrib-
utor OF the mails, but a deacon in the
Baptist church as well, so although
that same conscience was composed
of many of the ingredients that also
are constituent parts of India rubber
and although 1t oftimes became so
elastic as 10 allow of his reading post
al cards, letters not securely sealed
and so forth, we may be sure that
never was he guilty Of such an OF
Tense without experiencing many Sc
we're twinges OF that troublesome moni-
tor.
One Thursday afternoon there came
an unusually strong temptation. The
four o'clock mail came In, bringing
n letter that sent the blood surging
in crimson waves over Postmaster
GARDENERS face and made his heart
! beat against its prison like trip
| hammer.
} 1T was not very important-looking
i letter; just small, square, white en-
velope addressed in an even business
hand, but it was tn nm hatea1 five
duced the postmaster's paroxysm of
| curiosity. 1t was no remarkable thing
for Miss Millicent Darrell to be- the
recipient of letters but never before
had she received one in the free, dash
ing hand that graeed the envelope
| that lay before him. He well know
that, for not missiye for Miss Oar
rell had passed through the office
4 that he had not examined the writ
/ ing closely.
Through the long hours OF the even
ing while the neighbors had congre-
gated in the little room. there was a
u.
Like the Danish prince, ne was try
ing to solve the question: TO be or
not to be-, TO do or not to do" BY
$40 the little room was deserted. Sc
curely fastening the outer door and
the one communicating with the sit
| tlng-room Of his sisters family, the
postmaster removed the oil lamp from
its accustomed place on the bracket
Oh the wall to his desk in the corner
and once more took up Miss MILL
cents letter.
He held it up to the light; he put
it back in box No. 10; he took 1t up
and looked at it again, and then care
fully broke the seal and removed the
closely written sheets from their Gov
ering; he looked at them a few min
utes as they lay there exposed to
view, as if wondering how he had
dared to be so bold But the Rubicon
was crossed; there was no retreating,
and he pushed courageously forward
and read Miss Mllicent's letter.
The postmasters life had always
thing in his remembrance that had
| ever shed roseate glow over the
commonplace, monotonous expanse Of
years that he had lived through, and
that was an unavoWed affection for
Millicent Darrell. He had worshipped
her from afar, when they had gone
to school together at the little red
brick house at the foot of the hill.
Time had but served to strengthen
this childish devotion. Through youth
and the first years Of manhood, she
had been his star of Bethlehem, as
it were, fully as unapproachable as
though she had In reality occupied a
position in world far beyond the
sphere wherein he dSelt.
She may have been aware Of the
homage that was hers, but had given
no encouragement 10 the admirer,
who was too faint-hearted to give ex-
preston to his regard by word or
sign, but who hopelessly waited for
some one else to win the prize that
i he so much valued. But for reasons
! best known to herself, Miss Darrell
preferred a life Of single hlessedness
| to one of double wretchedness, and
passed contentedly and comfortably
into a state of old-maidenhood. and the
postmaster settled down into chron-
ic. love-lorn melancholy, from which
comatose condition he vas partially
aroused, now and then. by the thought
that she might yet change her mind
and honor some unfortunate being
with her heart and hand.
So that was the situation when Miss
Darrell went down to the seashore one
summer TO visit her brother Silas
GARDENERS heart was filed with mis-
givings during her absence, lest what
he had long feared should come to
pass It was about week afr her
return, In the autumn, that the car
] rier brought the letter, the very APP