Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-09-26
Lefty Leigh.
Continued.

they came from. Could he have seer
her, as she crouched on the rug be
fore the fire, her dark face flaming
her gray eyes dim with scorchlne
tears, he might, perhaps, have thought
a little more of the heart and LITTLE
less of the fortune of this woman he
had come down to marry.
When, little while after, Mr.. Leigh
tapping at her door, asked, with a
touch Of irony in his tone, if he should
send her boxes and parcels to the sta
ton, Lefty, steadying her voice as well
as she could, replied, NO" She was
not going to Huston that day. He
erton in the hall.
81 told you how it would be-" he
said; Lefty would not dream of dis
obeying me-"
mo, the dear girl would not" she
replied, smoothly; your word was
enough
''Oh, quite enough" said Mr.. Leigh;
land it was the same with her
mother
He seemed quite to plume himself
on the absolute control he possessed
over his daughters will, and Mrs.
Anterior did not break the illusion,
though she knew very we'll that, but
for her Womanly shaft sent straight
and surely into a tender part, Miss
Lefty would not have been so easily
conquered.
A letter had to be sent off to Huls-
ton, saying she could not come, and
why, and then Lefty dressed, and
went down to entertain Mr. Deyereux
Very little was left for her to do in
that way; no man knew better how to
be easily agreeable than Ernest Dew
ereux, and today he was doing his
best to shine. There was something
in the frank, upward glance of the
girls eyes that drew the truth into his
own; some spell there must have been
in her low, clear voice that brought
the manlier ring to his, and the hon
ester words. Perhaps never had Ern-
est Devereux been so nearly a good
man aS when in the presence of Lefty
Leigh.
The short November day passed rap
idly and more pleasantly than she
would have believed any day could
pass for her now, and so many after
days, till it grew into weeks, and
Christmas was near at hand
Mr.. Leigh purposed giving a num-
Der of select parties, to which the
elite Of tue neighbOrhOod should be in
vited in turn, for his rooms were too
small for ore grand assembly, such
as his proud old heart would have de-
lighted in. No one whose coming
could add to the tone of the pleasure
of these gatherings was forgotten by
Mr.. Leigh, who himself made out a
list of those who were to be asked,
Mrs. Atherton ably helping him; and
while the rich were being remembered
by them, Lefty, in her quiet way did
not forget the poor.
Ernest DeyereuX following as eS-
quire, and watching Lefty day by day
as she went among the people, began
to think there must be some subtle
pleasure in doing good that so bright
IA.
he was fast learning to look upon as
beautiful. He had seen ladies stand
ing behind stalls of bazaarS and fancy
fairs, selling off at fabulous prices
useless articles that their own fair
hands were supposed to have formed,
and smiling their sweetest as they
coaXed the gold out of tightly but
toned-up pockets in the name of the
destitute poor of London or elsewhere
He had seen them leaving their car
riagAs stand in by-streets, while they
themselves stepped daintily over s0iled
pavementS, in search of some favored
seamstress, whom they had heard to
be in want and on the impulse of
their own warm hearts. had come to
relieve. He had stood by while a lady
signed q check on her banker for a
good round sum, and handed it over
for the benefit of some charitable in
stitution, and he had known the same
lady give up many of the pleasures,
we had almost said duties, of her sta
ton, to attend meetings and form one
on committees, assembled forrthe pur-
pose of helping these same poor.
On New-year'S-eve a pleasant party
was gathered in Mr. Leigh's rooms
not a very large one-and mostly
young people. 1t promised fairly to be
q success.
Lefty had never been so nearly
beautiful as she was that night, in her
pure white silk, with its sweeping
train-for Lefty delighted in extrav.
agantly long dresses; her cheeks q del.
icate rose-color, her dark gray eyes
alight with pleasure and excitement
and a twinkling bunch of holly Der
ries in her shining hair SO deep grew
the flush on her cheeks as the nigh
passed that one lady, sitting near the
door with her three pale daughters
growing paler every hour with spite
pered TO the eldest:
II shouldn't like to say ii to anyon,
but you, Tilda, but I do think Mis-.
Leigh paints
Tflda, feeling the blood settling il
the tip of her nose instead of In he
cheeks, threw a reSentful glance a
Lefty, radiant in a circle of admirers
as she answered.:
Il dare say. She looks very like a
If she did,
The Misses Topham were not fame
n1 ACynY r>c