The advocate., 1894-01-31

But there's nothing half so sweet in life
AS loves young dream"
MOORE.
AT the opening of the fall term, the
pupils of HaVerhill college observed,
among the young ladies newly admitted
to the preparatory department, beau
tiful and "stylish'' brunette,
For a week or longer Kate was dread
fully homesick all was so new, every
body so strange to her. Never before
had she met single one of those with
whom she was through the coming
months to dwell. But as time wore on
she became acquainted, and the college
began to seem like home. AS she was
we'll dressed and seemed to have money,
it was assumed that her social standing
was fair, and hence, Clarence Diegal
soon began to show her marked atten-
tion. He was a blonde, and, though
below medium stature and somewhat
effeminate, he was dashing, certainly
stylish, young man.
1t was doubtless mere coincidence
that the young lady whom Kate liked
best was this young mans sister
Fanny Diegal, a blonde of some twenty
summers, who was to graduate the
next commencement. Early in the
term she sought Kate'S acquaintance,
and became her self-cOnstituted guard
ian and guide. Kate was full of life
and enjoyed fun; but she was there to
learn, not to make pretense Of 'going
through college," and it was soon dis
covered that, when yielding would
have interfered with her serious work,
the handsome brunette was proof
against all entreaty.
Let us pass over the intervening col
lege days, stopping only to mention
that Kate went home to spend her
Christmas vacation; that Clarence
Diegal escorted her to the railway sta
tion and sat in the same seat with her
till the train was already in motion;
that he risked his neck in the vain eff
fort to wave graceful adieu while
jumping from the moving train; and
that when Kate opened the box he had
handed her she found a beautiful writ
iting desk as a Christmas present, and
inside the desk, some verses, Sucn as
might be expected of such a young
man under such circumstances, and
upon reading which, Kate's cheeks
became very red and Kate herself very
happy. Pass we to the following sum-
mer, when three young ladies in white
dresses and with perfumed essays in
their hands, and four young men in
! black with OratiOns in their memories,
appeared before their admiring rela-
tiveS at HaVerhill commencement, and
the class of '9l left the academic
groves, as the Yaledictorian so feel
ingly and so originally put it, "T0 go
out into the world" The whole affair,
including the essays and the OratiOns,
was much the same as the commence
ment of every other college in the land
that summer, as every commencement
had been in all summers past, and as,
perhaps, all Commencements will be in
all the summers to come. Fanny
Diegal was among those who, on that
memorable occasion, left the college
'to 90 out into the world and being
desirOus of having pleasant company at
the beginning, at least, OF that novel
and perilOus excursion, she entTeated
ate to spend part of her summer
vacation at the Diegal mansion in a
city on the Missouri river.
The head of the Diegal household
was also the head of a loan and in
vestment company which had local
agencies in a number of Kansas towns,
and he had been greatly annoyed by
the "lack of thrift" which had pre-
vented so many farmers from meeting
the interest on their mortgages, and
from keeping their taxes paid up.
Mrs. Diegal was fat, florid and pomp-
Gus; Edith Diegal, still unmarried, but
not because of her yOuthfulness, was
very stiff and formal; but Clarence,
Fanny and otp were a merry marty