The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1896-02-04


hook and quite another to be the bud
maiden wears-0ns thing 70 be To-day
and another TO be Yesterday.
one thing, indeed, II was 20 own u
vellow. time-Btalned valentine. ana
quite n different thing to be OF the
iimpled throng who crowded the SiInp-
linsville postofilce on Valentines DAY:
II reckon them young ones would
think II was perfectly rc-dic'lous CT !
was to get valentine Mt my time OF
iIfe," Miss Iemima said, aloud, TO ner
looking glass onem orninR. II was the
dag before ST. Valentines OF the year
following her day OF tears. 80
"Rut III show 'eint" she added, win
some resolution, as she turned 10 her
bureau drawer.
And she did show them. on the next
day great envelope addressed to MISS
Ieinlma Martha Sprague came In with
tho package of lesser faYOrs, and MISS
,Jenimn suddenly found herself the In
toregting centre OF d new interest-an
Interest that after having revolved
about her awhile blew on In suspicion
toward every siiperannunted bachelor
or wldower within a radius OF thiry
miles OF Simplsinsvillc ,,
II had been great moment for MISS
JemInn when the valentine came In,
md a trying one when with genuine
oidstime bushes she refused to open
Il for the crowd.
How she felt an hour laterwhen In
the secrecy OF her own chamber she
took from It's new envelope her own old
self.sent valentine, only He who mas
tender knowledge OF mnidenly reserves
and SORROWS viii ever know.
There was something In her lace that
forbade cruel pursuit Of the subject py
her family. and so, after little piayfui
bantering, the subject was dropped.
one condition into quite another In the
family regard, and Miss Jemima found
herself uncOnscously living up TO
younger standards.
But this was ten years ago. and the
mysterious valentine had become
yeariy fact
There had never been any explana-
lions. When pressed 10 the wall. Miss
,JemIma had, indeed. been constrained
10 confess that certainly every vaIen.
tine she had ever gotten had been sent
her by man chow sweet and sad this
truth)
MS your lovely old one, Aunt MtmieY'
To this last query she had carefully
replied: ~
every bit an grain es purity cz that one
mot a one"
IAN why don't you show 'em to us.
them"
Such obduracy was indeed hard to
comprehend,
II, as the years passed. her brother
began TO suspect, he made no sign OF
II save tn added tenderness, And, OF
course. he could not know.
on the anniversary upon which TINS
little record Of her life had opened the
situation was somewhat exceptional
The valentine had hitherto always
been mailed in SimpklnsYllle-her own
town. This postnRFk had been noted
and commented upon. and yet II had
seemed impossible TO have II otherwiSe.
But this year, in spite OF many compll-
cations and difficulties, she had re-
solved that thesenvclope should tell n
new story.
The farthest point from which, with.
in her possible acquaintance. 1t would
naturally hail from was the railroad
town of-let US call II HOPE.
The extreme difficulty In the case lay
in the fact that the postofilce here was
kent by her old lover, Ell Taylor.
Here for ten yenrS he had lived his
reticent bachelor days, selling plows
and garden seed. and cotton prints and
patent medicines and keeping post
office in n small corner OF his store.
Everybody knows how n spot Eazed
nj lntently for n long time changes
color-from red TO green and then to
whlte2
As Miss Jemima pondered upon the
thought OF sending herself valentine
through her old lovers hands, the color
OF the scheme began to change from
impossible green to rosy red.
The point OF objection became In the
mysterious evolution Its objective
pCut.
Instead OF drcading. she began ar
IDENTIFY TO desire this thing.
By the only possible plan by which
she could manage secretly to have the
valentine mailed In Hope--a plan over
which she Ind lost sleep, and In which
she had been finally aided by nm illit-
crate colored servant going there, to
return next day--it must reach her on
the day before Valentines. This day
had come and Eone-and her valentlpe
had not returned TO her. Had the negro
failed TO mall It? Had II remained all
night In the postoflice-in possession OF
her lover? Would she ever see II again?
Would her brother ever, ever, get
through his triflInE with the children
and finish giving out their valentines?
(To BE COScLuDED)