The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1896-07-28
- Nee, OH Sf1ry.

your w experiencey Anything hat
holds u tiny spice OF romance, you
know"
John looked at her for a moment,
and seemed inclined to speak. Then
his mind apparently altered, and he
shook his head,
"Ohp cried Mary disappointedly,
"that is too bad. You looked exactly
as IL you he'd an idea"
WE'LL" said John slowly, ga faint
g~limmering did seem to Gene to me,
but I'm afraid you would think 1t
silly"
5Do tell me p exclaimed Mary. 81
shall be 80 grateful"
And / don't know that 1t Is parti-
cularly new" went on John in the
same doubtful way.
a s %Ws = nsysr w %ind'" % ssia ar Msry se III
depends on the treatment OF the sub
ject. Sometimes q very hackneyed
theme can be made to sound quite
/ fresh. / have noticed IL in several in
stances. Go on, John"
She fixed her eyes ON him expect
antly, and u smile dawned In the young
mans eyes as he looked at her.
Is it humorous ?" asked Mary in
nocently, as she saw the smile.
81 don't know" aswered John, re-
lapsing into gravity. "That entirely
depends upon how you regard il.
ferent minds, don't they Z"
"They do" rejoined Mary prompt
ly. Sometimes Ihave written things
which l thought were funny, but other
people entirely failed to see the joke !;
and on the other hand, / have been
laughed at for sentences which were
penned In perfect seriousness. But
let us proceed with the subject in
hand. / wish you would begin, John,
for the time is getting on, and I shall
be miserable unless / succeed in maxi
ing a good start this morning"
"There's q lot in making u good
evident anxiety.
"oh! great DEAL" said Mary. cit
is often the most difficult thing pos.
sible to start. Once fairly begun the
work is comparatively easy, because
one thing seems to lead to another"
81 SEQ |" replied John refectively.
Then q long silence fell between them.
"Do go on p' said Mary impatiently,
at last.
"Well, the factis, Mary, I"-with
considerable emphasis on the pronoun
:" find u difficulty in starting. |
think could go on, II tho subject were
only begun"
LET me help you out" said Mary,
with an air Of resignation. "There is
a girl in it, l suppose ?"
decidedly. "There is d girl In it and
an uncommonly nice girl, too"
Good - said Mary. cit is all easy
enough. Describe to me her APP.
pearance, character, and surround.
ings. Tell me what she did, and how
she did it. Then explain where the
man comes inT-for there Ia IL man in IL,
| suppose ?"
"Oh, yes" said John, as decidedly
as before. "There Is a man in It,"
"Well what about him ?' asked
Mary. Dear me, John! might as
we'll invent u thing myself, and have
done with it, II you can't tell INC
straight OFF,"
"Ill tell you !" said John, with the
air of a man determined to make tho
plunge. "Only-Mary-promise me
one thing. Don't laugh at my story.
"Can laugh If it is funny % rejoin
ed Mary.
cit isn't" said John. "Well, no
!, exactly. Erin fact, 1 don't know
how it will strike you. 1 mean, dom
laugh at my clumsy way OF telling it,
"Of course not" replied Mary
kindly. "And I'm sure Pm very much
obliged to you, John, for taking al
this trouble"
"Well," began John, "this girl-the
girl l am thinking of, you know-livet
!, at home with her mother and sisters
The father had died some yeals before
leaving just enough money to supply
their bare wants, but no more"
81 quite unders and" said Mary, il
a tone which had agood deal of 'felloW
feeling" in it.
$50, of course" went on John, "iife
was more or less of a struggle with
them. But, happily, one of the girls
this special girl L began to tall
about-developed quite talent for
"For what {" asked Mary rather
!. "For painting" returned join
quickly, "She used to paint quito
lovely little things, and sell them t.
the shops"
Yes" said Mary. "But wher
does the romance begin, John 2"
81 am coming to that" replied John
Give me time, Mary"
"Oh, Of courae," said Mary amiably,
So after a brief pause, John went or
again
"Years before, when these girl.
W6rc Qulbo llUJle, Jnelf IaCnef mac
shown a great kindness to an almost
friendless boy"
Mary started, and q faint color crept
into her checks: but John took nc
heed and his voice became firmer and
clearer.
ITO the action of that good man
the boy owed whatever success came
to him in after life. He never forgot
this, and he often wondered how he
could best repay the debt he owed"
John paused, bit Mary did not speak,
And as time went on he found the
debt increased rather than diminished.
For though his first benefactor had
passed away, he had left kindly hearts
behind him. And as the boy grew
into manhood he priced more and more
the welcome he ever received from
those good women, and felt that In the
world there was no spot SO dear to him
as the One they called home"
Again John paused, but Mary made
no effort to break the silence.
HE loved them ALL" satd John
"but here % new Tenderness crept
into his voicc"-"hc learned at last
that for N Of them he had the love
which q man only gives to ono woman
in the world. She was not, I think
quite understood by her mother and
sister, much as they cared for her
She had q talent which she was glaC
to turnto useful account, but tho other.
hardly realized that the task which
was generally q pleasure, might al
, times become very hard and HeaTf,
nnrna mr., s NIssk.kA 10