, 1896-08-01
LOST AND FOUND.


The following manuscript came into
my hands about sc years ago. Ny
friend John Williams, the writer of it,
,,os o+ INV Lo,sa IN, - visit slouId
ro,bor oaI1 hi, ,lo f~;,,d o4 ,rfo.Lo.
: Lo ,oLuaaa
40 Ae "
u MY o"n ne 'ooA " sieut l"Hcl 10
me "heh was Il coy ana olteh 'oid
me his story. One day, when lie was in
Il peculiarly communicative need, l
persuaded him to write tout, which he
did, On condition that it was not 70 be
unfinished dp,iry his lifetime As be
tos o, 1,,d ,. IN Al A..
-
=, iNS NAVY
p"ss'u """H' 'H'fH '"' DC ho lihpfo-
prle'y III on'llIS II 10 the 1ubllc. II Is
scarcely necessary for me to say that,
after Il lapse CT 80 years. it was ncccs-
sary to make q copy Of it, as the origi.
nal ink had faded very much.
l, John Williams, had just completed
my college career, which had been
neither better nor worse than that of
thousands Of others. A slow, plodding
mind was all that nature had given me
within, and red hair, Il freckled face
and a rather unguinly figure We're what
she had bestowed upon me without.
John will never set Tie river atirc,"
was what my father had once said of
me. Dear, kind old man, he did not
know that ! was within hearing dis
lance or be rovcr would have said it.
R1f plthH1ul t1n r.,,r,I- xy,u coll aud
wormwood to me at the time. it spurrcd
me on to ezortion, and l made much
better use CT my time at college than |
would otherwise have done.
Mary Mercer, n daughter of u near
neighbor and intimate friend of my
father, had been my lifelong companion
and friend. We were opposites i'll every
particular. She was beautiful, and !
was ms has been described. She was
graceful, and l was not; but, owing 10
our secluded lives, we had been thrown
much together, and her charitable dis
position had been accustomed to over
o many of my impcrfections. An ad-
miration amounting almost to worship
had risen in my mind when l saw her
after my four years absence at college.
I had left her a sweet, attractive child,
and l found her on my return Il woman
such as my fancy had never pictured.
OF course there could be but one re-
suit. If | had never been i'll love before,
I certainly was now, and l was not long
in making known to Mary my feelings.
Mary's conduct OH the occasion afforded
the first instance in which l had known
her to sworve in the least from what
was the obvious truth. She was con
fused, bluShed slightly and declared
that l had taken her so much by sur
prise that she did not know what TO
say; she had never thought of me in
that light, and must really give her a
little time to think the matter over. l
knew at the time that Mary was iib-
bling.
No woman was ever born with one
half of her sense without finding ont such
things long before they were ever spoken
to her. But there was 10 help for it.
She had the game i'll herown hands and
evidently intended to play it to suit her
sell. She asked for a week to consider
the matter. l insisted that two days
were enough, put she was resolute, and
with n wry face, l had to submit.
one stipulation was that l should not
attempt 10 see her during that time.
though ms was rainier hard n said
3d. pu' she was even more POSITIVE thal
before, ana l yielded with the lest
grace l couiu.
IN order 10 give ner no excuse 1or
turther aciay l see OH inc heSt DAY 10
VISIT " college friend ana staid at ms
mouse ilVe days ~ .ook Il oay TO reach
MS mouse anu ouS 10 return lhus tho
week passed away, siowly enough lol
me- ana ! am altald my 1r'eha FOUND
me " a"ii coh'ptnioh; promptly n1 the