The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1895-01-10

to try to annoy and vex me-"
'Mr Lang! Isee i am getting to
be very old friend, indeed. SO old
that | soon shall be quite forgotten.
You are right. We had better 90
back; your new frienls will be ex-
pccting you"
"Why will You he so perverse and
so cruel, Robert ?"
'At least ! am not cruel enough to
forget you. But that you would ac.
count kindness, / suppose"
Indeed, would rather have you
forget me than think SO unkindly of
me. j had hoped that we might al
WAYS be good friends"
~ think" I replied, with unpar-
donable brutality, "that you had bet
ter invest in n lap.dog. They are
much more manageable.
"You are right" she said, with icy
sweetness; "and thev are at least CRATE
ful to their friends.
Forgive me, Alice !" stammered;
81 did not mean to be such a brute"
"Let us forget everything but that
we are very good friends" she an.
swered, after II moments pause. "And
l want to put your friendship to sell
fish use this very minute"
"You know very we'll that would
gladly die for you"
"Oh, my wants are not so exorbi-
VM az that, she answef8S.. lightly.
~ merely want your Ha<ic5S, as my
Oldest and best friend, in case where
/ can't trust my family to Judge i'm
partially. think you know Mr..
Hamilton-Mr. Richard Hamilton, I
mean." And l fancied that she
blushed tribe as she mentioned the
name. | answered with very bad
grace that had the great honor of a
distant acquaintance with the young
gentleman IN question.
al fancied SO. Now, the long and
short of the matter is, that my people
are very anxious to have me-marry
him; and Aunt Mary in particular has
her heart set on it.
''He seems TO me very desirable
pa-ti, indeed" 1 said, coldly. 81 sup.
pose yoa hardly need my congratula-
tions."
"He, too, IS so silly es to want to
marry me" she went on, without
seeming TO notice my rude speech,
"Hnd | have promised to give him an
answe: this evening. And what
here she seemed strangely embar-
rassed, and became deeply absorbed
IN the figures on her fan-."wha. an
swer shall | give him?"
"What answer?" / cried, as her
meaning flashed over my dull compre.
hension, "why, tell him that you are
engaged, o. course"
just what happened next is rather
hazy in my mind-almost obliterated
by the direful catastrophe which SO
soon followed. l dimly remember
kissing her upturnel face as we stood
in the shadow OF great South Ameri-
can cactus, that screened US from all
observation, and drawing her uure-
sisting form toward n divan that we
hal occupied on the memorable even.
ing when we ha been engaged before.
We knew all the strongholds of her
aunts hoase perfectly.
"How horribly improper I" she ex.
claimed, apropos OF something or
other. suppose that any one should
see us this way"
"That woull be improper, I ad-
nit, / replied, serenely; "but then,
you see, nobody can" The argument
was undeniable, and she let her head
rest against my shoulder with little
sign of satisfaction.
"How absurd to think that we ever
quarrelled, / observed, presently.
ooh, don't talk OF that horrid time
any more / have nearly cried my
eyes out over it. Let's just remem-
ber that We have loved each other all
the while"
For moment there was silence.
"Alice! - l said, severely, as a sud-
den thought came to me; "what were
you intending to answer"
"That, replied Mistress Alice, Sc
renely, "you will never know"
"There, that dance is finished" I
said "the rabble will be out here in
moment"
"The-e is no hurry" she answered,
with the delightful sang froid of wo-
mankind under circumstances that are
trying to masculine nerves. "We can
see any one who pass's the turn of
the staircase.
"Ah, now it is tin \" she said,
Ia h.nol.. d., -. =. liz. AL T