Waterbury evening Democrat., 1895-08-03
A WOMAN'S HEART.

l bAAAANo S1AAAAA "OlA t5SV AhtsA1 HUI akAt' or all"
 "They will if marriage is to be their lot, " rejoined my nearer briskly live seen an heard lot of strange things in my time, miss. Did ever tell you about my cousin, Ann Elizabcth?"
 "No," replied, looking mp with 2 considerable degree of interest. Mrs. Hopwood was famous for her stories, and this afternoon, as we sat and had tea together in a homely way in her l clean little kitchen, our conversation somehow turned upon the old but never wornout topics of love and marriage. told her one UT two strange instances | which had come under my own observa- l tion, and now l was 0repared to listen l to her.
 Well, it was funny thing. I must | say," began Mrs. Hopwood, settling | herself moro comfortably in her chair and smoothing down her white apron by way of preliminary. "TO begin with, must tell you that Ann Elizabeth was ill service with two old ladies-real I ladies they were. By some means or an other they had become very much re- ! duced in circumstances, an only kept one servant where they had previously l kept half a dozen, but they lived in q nice little house an amused themselves by doin light jobs an potterin about the garden. Ann Elizabeth was happy enough with them, I can tell you.
 "They took her when she was quite q ! girl, not more than 15 or l6, but as she | d. | learned the work, fallin into their ways, until some of the rest of us young ones used to laugh at her an tell her she was bccomin as old maidish as the ladies l themselves.
 | But Sho soon showed us that she | wasn t goin to hear her mistrcsseS made fun of. She was very fond of 'em an respected an admired 'cm in a Way that seems to have gone out of fashion among servants nowadays
 l "Well, things went on very quiet for some years, but when Ann Elizabeth was about three and twenty she got a l young man. A very steady, respectable | young man he waS-if he hadn't been, l Ann Elizabeth wouldn' t have looked at him. He was a rural pOstman, which was of course regular work, an he was | able also to earn d nice bit of money by doin odd jobs, for he was a handy fel- low, who could turn his hand to almost anything-in the middle of the day l when he Was free from his post work.
 "The ladies mover raised any objec- tion to him-for they weren't like some old maids. who, because they have never been married themselves, never want l anyhndy else t0 be-but they advised l Ann Elizabeth not to be i'll a hurry.
 "'I shan t be, says Ann Elizabeth. l I know when I'm well off, tn I'm not guin to throw up good home all in a minute just for the sake of havin hus- band l don t mean to be married until ! both him an mo has saved bit of mon- l cy, an if he isn't willin to fall ill with my v:Cws lie must leave me an look out for somebody else.
 But Rubcrt-Rohcrt Jones his name ] was, mlSS-s;lid he Was quite willin to wait awhile, an that he would do his best to work an save so as to tako Ann | Elizabeth to d comfortable home when I she became his wife.
 ''So things settled down again, all went on as quiet as they had gone be- fore. Robert went every Sunday regu- larly an had tea with his sweetheart. Then they walked to church together all had an hours quiet talk ill the kitchen when they came back. The ladies were | always very kind, 3m Robert seemed to fall into their ways as natural as Ann Elizabeth had done. Everything went on i'll such a steady groove that at last l thought they had got fairly fixed ill it an never meant to mako any change.
 For ten years slipped by ill this fash ion. Ncs, you may well laugh, miss; so did good many of the rest of us. Most of them who had been Ann Eliza beth x companions in childhood had marr!rd ;n settled, while Ann Eliza brth's long cnurtship became quite a ! stanlin joke.
 But it was a joke we kept to our selves, for if y0u ventured on half a word to Ann Elizabeth she would say nothin. but just look at you in way that made you feel you had better mind your own business.
 II think, though, that Robert got chat1ed d good bit, an at last he seemed to make up his mind that he had wait ed long enough. know that he had of
 
 be married. but she had put him off, sayin she didn't like to leave the old ladies an would prefer goin on as she was bit longer.
 But, as I said before, Robert at last became deth"miNad that their courtshiE should end. Both he an Ann Elizabeth had by that time saved a nice bit oi money, an there was really nothin tC wait for. So he talked until he got hel ill the miEd, an she promised to marry him as soon as things could be got ready.
 "The ladies felt the prospective part. in with her good deal, but they were too kind an unselfish to raise any objec' tion. They helped Ann Elizabeth in ev. cry way they could an bought'the wed din dress-a gray silk fit for any lady to wear
 "It was arranged that Ann Elizabeth should stay with her mistresses right up to her weddin day. When the morn in came, she put on all her nice new clothes, an when she Was quite ready drove to her mothers house, where sht expected to find Robert in readiness tC take her straight to church.
 "Now must tell you. miss, that Am Elizabeth was always what we called rather odd. She had some queer way an ideas of her own, an she though plenty of herself, do assure you.
 "I know she was fond of Robert very fond of him-but she always fel that he ought to be very much obliged to her for havin him, an she made hin treat her in a respectful sort of way thu seemed bit comical to me.
 ''I had been invited to the weddin, & can tell you exactly what took place Twas at my aunt s when Ann Elizabetl v drove up, an gettin out O the convey ance came into the house. Very nice sh looked, must say, in her silk dress al | white bOnnet but before any of ms ha,