Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1896-01-02
miSS miIdTed'S Good GIFT.

Hiss lllQICu ) Muu 6lll.
Sometimes hate Owen Meredith
said Mildred Chesney. as she threw
down with n bang the blue and gold
edition of "Lucile" she had been read
ing.
"Why, Mildredr' exclaimed her wild
owed sister, Mrs. Gresham, who was
calmly doing fancy work at the OppOs-
lite side of the window. II didn't know
that it was orthodox for young lady
In her first season to do anything else
but adore Owen Meredith"
''Well. / don't Now, here is what
i hate; just LISTEN
Yet there's none so happy but what he
hath been
Just about to be happy at some time,
ween;
"'About to be- Do you notice? Not
will be- or is, but about to be- as IL
nothing ever came at the right time. l
call it rank pessimism, and poor con-
SOldtlOu, 100, tniS Is.
And to most of us ere we go down to
the grave,
Life, relenting. accords the good gift
we would have;
But, as though by some strange imper-
lection in fate,
The good gift, when it comes, comes q
moment too late.
cit isn't true, Eleanor. for there are
thousands of people who are happy.
1 have been happy all my life, and 1
mean to be happy until l die. And
what is all that nonsense about the
good gift as if there were only one
good gift in the compass of life. No,
j don't like Owen Meredith"
A shadow passed over the elder wo-
mans face, and it was face that
showed more development in expert
ence than the ten years seniority be-
tween herself and Mildred seemed to
justify; she had lived, suffered and
thought, you could tell at glance,
and she had learned to be patient;
that also was evident. She dropped
her hands in her lap.
1.-THE good gift Mildred" she re-
peated; IL fancy it means different
things to different people. 1t means
amassing wealth to one man, it
means political power to another, it
means fame to another, and to most
women it means their own ideal of
love, for no matter what woman
achieves, she is only just about to be
happy until that love is hers"
snow, that is downright sentmen-
tai, Eleanor" laughed the younger wo-
man. "As If there was any one love
that had to sweep over you like an
avalanche before you could recognize
1t. It's all well enough in poetry, but
Idon't believe in 1t. Now let's be prac-
teal and personal. For instance.
there's our English friend, Fred Dal-
grave. He is goodlooking, cultured.
rich and some day will have title.
He wants to marry your humble SER
want, who hasn't made up her mind
yet whether to settle down or not but
I don't love him any better than I do
most Of my friends. and still, If / marry
him, I expect to he happy-not about
to be happy l think my good gift
will come at once. and not a moment
too late Why shouldn't one be happy
with everything to make her so? 1t
Is a womas's own fault IL she marries
n good man that she liz good friends
with, and then goes off mourning about
being 'unsatisfed' and wanting things
that always come "a moment too late
Nonsensev
"You have been a fortunate girl
Mildred" said her sister. land yet 1t
Is easy to philosophize before one suf-
fers. God grant that your happiness
may be full and complete and in time,
but there are many people who never
reach 1t, save with their finger tips
AS to Mr.. Dalgrave, this is your first
season. and / should he very certain
that 1 loved him more than other men
IL were you; more than-let us say,
for instance-more than Edgar VIII
ton, Just by way of example, you
know"
ooh, Ted!' carelessly answered Mil
bred, although the color deepened on
her cheek; lied Is just Ted. and I've
known him all my life" Then, with
an impatient emotion towards the Of
tending Lucille" she arose to her
feet.
'T'll go downtown right now" she
said, "and get check from father for
the rest of my Christmas list Christ
mas. thank heaven, is one gift that nj
ways comes in the nick Of time. Even
your pessimism, Nell. can't declare that
It Is one of those intangible 'about-to-
hes or that 1t is ever "A moment too
late" and the girl went gayly out of
the room hummIng II Love My Love In
the Springtime" under her breath.
Mrs. Gresham looked after her with
fond eyes that were a little moist.
Nothing has ever come too late for
her yet" she thought "She has never
missed the mother who died In her
babyhood, and all other good things