Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-05-15
HIS GREATEST MOVE.
BY EMMA NJ. WISE.

After the fifth year of Mrs
OsgoOd's widOwhOod had passed
away every body in Lebanon com
menced to say it was shame that
she didn't marry agalu. There had
been time half a year before when
1t seemed as though there was a
possibility of her doing such a
thing, and then the vacillating
public had thrown uplts hands in
horror and had declared that to so
desecrate the memory OF q loved
one in such a short time was sacrl
lege pure aud simple, and that no
nght.minded woman would think
of bestOwing herself as a help.
mate upon another before the Ia
mented OsgOod WAS cold in bis
grave. Fout years and a balf
aas hardly sufficient time
for a person to attain a state of
frIgldlty, reckoning by Lebanon
standards. But when her cOusin,
who had been visiting her for a
short time, went back east and the
severely consured widow very
clearly demonstrated that her in
tentions had been entirely misun
derstood, Lebanan, collectively, be
gan ~ lean toward the other side
of the fence, and it wasn't long
till it had jumped clear over and
was equally loud in It's reauncia
tions of woman who was selfishly
withholding the light of ber comely
cOuntenan3e from some poor way
farer whose path might need Hum
lining by her presence.
Perhaps the one person in al
Lebanon who was most sincerely
grIeved by Mrs. OsgoOd's oft re-
peated and evidently meant as
sertiOn that she had no desire to
renounce her wIdOwhoOd was JOS
eph Lawrence. Lawrence was
retired politician, who for some
twenty odd years had served his
country in one capacity aud anOth
er, but who had at last grown
tired of originating and executing
schemes for the party's aggrandlze
ment and had settled down on The
proceeds realized, which, though
large, we're not commensurate
with the prodigiOus amount OI
work which he had cOnscientlOusly
performed. He had long looked
with covetous eyes on Mrs. o.
good, and even when the re-
port that she had pronounced
her ultimatum in regard to
second marriage was trip
ping from tongue TO tongue, The
natural buoyancy of his nature
prevalled and he boIsteIed up his
spirits With the hope that th'
widow had wisely declined to seI
up the true secret of her heart tC
be pecked at by social DAVIS. Hope
did Dot aIlay suspense, however,
and in order to relieve the troubled
state of his mind he decided t
content himself no longer with
second hand decisions, but to ap'
pIy directly to the court Of justlc'
as administered by the widow for
verdict.
| Mr. LawreDce's experience as
p)litician had bred IN him an al
of extreme urbanity when in the
preseuce of women and childie
taken as a collective part OF
voters possessions, but dealin.
With one of the opposite sex a
close range and as a distinct ii
dividual was something rarely e'
saysd by the erstwhlle willy mana
ger and the morning when he cal
ed on Mrs. OsgOod to learn whetf
er or no there we're COOL ground
for the rumors then afloat his mai
n,r gave evidence OF a trepidaiiO
sncb as he could not remembt
ever to have fiOundered IN befol'
The candid greeting which hi
hostess always extended to callers
instead of putting him at his cas-
only served to bewilder him ii
more and, with bluntuess who
would have filed his diplomat
| soul with horror in a political moN
he went at the subject that WI