The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-02-05

Miss Jcnima had not long to wait,
and YET 1t seemed an age, before tho
distribution, was over, and she felt
rather than saw her brother moving
In her direction.
Bigger an purtier one n ever for
Aunt Minnie this timc-looks to me
like" he said. as at last he laid the
great envelope upon her trembling
knee.
Don't reckon us anything extry--
in particular" she answered, not at all
knowing what she said, as she con-
tinued her work, leaving the valentine
where he had dropped It; not touching
il, indeed. until she presently wound
up her yarn In answer to the supper
bell. Then she tOok It. with her works
basket. into her own room, and, drop
ping II into her upper bureau drawer,
turned the key.
The moment when she broke the new
envelope each year-late at night. alone
In her locked thGmber-had always
been n sad one to Miss Jemlma. aud
tonight 1t was even n sldder ordeal
than ever. She had never before known
how she cared for this old love token.
AS she sat tonight looking at the
outside OF the envelope, turning It over
ind over In her thin hands, great hot
tcnrs fell upon Il and ran down upon
her fingers. but she did not heed chem.
II was. Indeed. q meage- little emhod-
hnent OF the romance OF a life, but such
~ 1t was. she would not part with 1t.
She would never send v out from her
aEaln-ReveF. never, never.
VIVA ntsoR 1nnPaP NOW fhnN
before, after this recent passage
through her lovers hands. At this
thought she raised II lovingly and
laid u against her cheek. Could he have
handled It and passed II on without
u thought OF her? Impossible. And
since he had thought of her, what must
have been the nature OF his Thoughts?
Was he jealous-jealous because SOME
btly was sending his old sweetheart a
valentine?
This years envelope, selected with
great pains and trouble from a sample
catalogue and ordered from O distant
city. was fine affair profusely decor
nted with lovely symbols.
For u hong time Miss Jemirna sat en-
1oylng the luxury OF nearness to her
lover that the unopened envelope had
brought her before she felt inclined TO
GOulEOlEk tHe EdE-AhAy AuAhhNEs W.
fed by the yellowel sheet within. And
yet she wanted 10 see even this again
TO realize It's discovery.
And so. with thoughts both eager
and fearful. she finally Inserted hair
pin carefully In the envelope, ripping
r open deIlcaSely on two sides, soithat
II might come out without injury to
its frail perforated edges. Then care
fully holding Its sides apart, she shook
II.
And now
Something happened. One of Gods
best traits is that he doesn't tell all
lie kuOws-lnd sees.
How Miss Jemlma felt, or acted
whether she screamed or tainted. no
one will ever know, when.inStcnd OF the
familiar pictured thing. there fell lBto
her lap beautiful brand new valen.
tine.
Il was certainly n long time before
she recovered herself enough to take
che strange thing into her hands, and
when she did 80. Al was with fingers
that tyenbled so violently that n fbIt OF
paper that came within the valentine
Auttcred and fell beyond her reach.
There II lay for fully several minutes
before she had strength to move from
her seat to recover It.
There was writing on the iluttcrlnF
bit OF paper, burt what II was aud why
Miss Jemlml wept over u, and read 1t
again and again are other triillnE
things that perhaps God does well not
to.teii
The details of other peoples roman
ces are not always interesting TO cut
sldcrs.
However, in this particular case, It
NN.a 20 -
woman who took charge of the old
investigating way with her. produced
seven or eight torn scraps OF paper coll
lecttd at.thls period from his scrap bns-
kct, on each one OF which was written
in slightly varying terms, bits OF
rough sketch OF n note in which oc-
CURED broken sentences like the fo.-
lowing: "-sellluE you this now val
entiue Just GS hearty as I sent tho old
one eighteen years"
You slia'Ht never want for a fresh
one again every year long ms live,
unless You take"
III you want the old one back again
and me along with It.
one OF the lowest things that even n
very dcnravcd and unprinciplcl person
ever did Is to collect torn scraps from
them. To print them or otherwise
make them public is n thing really too
contemplate to contemplate In ordi-
nary circumstances. But this case, II
intelllGcntly considered. seems some
what exceptional, and perhaps II Is
well to 10 so. for. be II borne In mind,
all these gcrapp. without exception, and
n few others too sacred 10 produce oven
here, are tho things that Ell Taylor.
postmaster. did not send to his old
sweetheart, Jemlmn Sprnguc.
Miss JcmIma always burned her
scraps, and so, even were II well to con-
descend to seeking similar negative
testimony from her concerning her
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS reply, II would
have been quiet Impossible. Certain II
H.. however. that she posted note on
the following day. and TINT n rood
many interesting things happened Ia
quick succession inter this.
And thcn?--
There was n little wedding, quite
mildle-nged, in the church on Easter
Sunday. II was the old lDvcr'n idea to
have II there. MS he said their happlncfg
was n resurrection from the dead, and
belonged 10 the Easter scnson, and
there whs no one to object.
Miss Lcmimu showed her new valca.
tine to the family before the wedding
came OF. but tn optic Of MI their coax
inE md begging. she observed rigid
rcticencc In regard to NIL thoHc TINT
had come between that and tho old ono.
and so. seeing tho last one actually in
evidence. and rejoicing In her happi-
ness. they would only smile and whia-
per TINT they suppose he and she Ind
been quar'lin' It out on them valentines.
year by year, and on'y now got 10
the place where they could make up
Tho old man, ELL IN spite Of his In
domnitRbfc pride. had come out Of his
long silence with nll duo modeaiy.
blaming hlmHelf for many things.