The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1895-03-19

- - - 49, 49, ~ - NY
mother's last years comfortable; and
ahi the pleasure, the selfish pride l.
took in remembering small persanaf
wishes and gratifying them BIT by bit,
while suspected
IL was an easy matter, too, through
agent, to buy the very paper on
which / wrote to slowly dismiss the
men who were q disgrace to Ii, to pro-
mote and engage men whose work
made 1t a great voice soon, and through
1t slowly TO win the public confidence
and work my will, little by little
among the affairs Of the city. Such u
splendid game 1T was TO arouse public
enthusiasm over some free baths. or
chiidren's playground scheme Dr.
other, to start subscription lists, and
~coyertly bead them myself; TO machi-
nate safely and quietly through my
great pages, and All the while having
my cory refused halt the time. and
the other fellows wondering how /
kept my place.
All this, and mach more, was easy
and exciting more of a triumph and
u Joy even than l had ever imagined
1t would be; but my pet scheme of
schemes hung fire q little. Fred got
his new position, in a perfectly natural
manner; he vas y good fellow and
deserved 1t. Still there was no sign
of q engagement between him and
my Cousin Mary. Then l thought,
being an independent girl, she might
be waiting to have something of her
own and after as pretty a bit of inesse
own invention-and small wonder, for
had l not schemed at such pleasant
miracles since / was eight years old p
l managed to provide her with q neat
little fortune of her own. Still no
result. So one day when / was home
II did not GO often, for mother would
always lecture me on my habits, and
somehow / never could entirely get
| over the hurt of it, big as | was-I
CHANGED to be alone with my Cousin
Mary for as much OF an evening Us she
would be willing to bear my company.
| felt very happy to see how bcauti-
fully she was dressed in these days,
how her hands were white already,
and grown smooth again where the
delicate fingers used to be rough with
countless needle pricks. The house
was a comfortable II now, my mother
was far easier in her mind and thore-
fore a sweeter companion.
Everything looked pleasant around
Mary, and | told her how glad | was to
SEQ it.
l did not tell her how glad | was to
see her, how in all the rich and varied
joy Of my present position, as In all
the Vulnerable WEAKNESS and dulness
of my former state, to see her was the
keenest delight [ ever felt, or ever
hoped to feel. Calm, strong, beauti-
full that she was perfect in
loneliness of face and form aud charac-
would BIO a poor triumph,
after all, If L could not contrive to
m"ke her happy.
1T watching her, and she watched
'"'~~ ""'""s of fire; and /
what possible
into the happi-
"a en.aiu be hers, when all
at once she rose and came to my side.
cousin Tom" she said in that de-
licious voice of hers. "Why don't
you amount to more-why don't you
do yourself justice in some way? Is
it and here she blushed beautifully
but the cousinship gave her courage
money to make q start with? Because,
you know, [ am quito rich now-be-
cause | want you to let mc-youll for
give my awkwardness. won't you? to
let me give you some of it, Tom, q
whole pile of t."
That blessed, generous, self-forget-
ting creature! Shc looked so lovely as
she said it hat my poor brain swan
dizzily.
mo-" said !, at length, cit is not
lack of money, my dear Cousin Mary,
but sheer personal incapacity that
prevents my amounting to anything.
| am an ordinary, stupid fellow at
best, and my family are too clear
headed to give me that blind loving
faith which makes even stupid fellows
do very well sometimes"
You are not stupid,' she cried,
NOR ordinary-I know you better
than you think. You could be some
thing SPLENDID If you chose. Why
don't you choOse?"
And then she looked at mo with
such an earnest, tender believing
glance as fairly drove me to her feet.
oh, Mary, you blessed angel y |
cried to her I" could you-would you
ls 1T possible hat you, after all, can
find it in your sweet heart to make u
place for such o useless gOod-for-
nothing as II"
And then my Cousin Mary just came
into arms and comforted my sore
heart with a thousand tender words of
hope and faith. And she said the
sweetest joy of joys to her was that
now she was really able to help me
with her precious little fortune. And
since she values it so much | have let
her help me with it always. Az if any
fortune, great or small, were to be
mentioned in the same breath with hcr
love