Savannah courier. (Savannah, Tenn.) 1885-1979, 1896-12-10
THE CHAPLAIN'S STORY.

'Vse'ner IN the classical (honors)
. schooi' and were ordained together by
,ne bishop of L---, as curates for his
uiocesc. Here our paths separated for
some years, and when next we renewed
our Old friendship was the vicar of the
towh. Still single at "a, and Jim was
+ The chaplain Of the famous Jail in the
same town, and married.
we were talking in my study rs in
oldcn times. Somehow the conyersa-
ZION drllted to the subject OF recent
newspaper articles: "Ought Married
leople to Have Any Secrets from Each
Uthcr said NO. Jim said Eyes"
We both smilingly stuck to our text.
why. Jim," said /, you would have
peon the last person / should have ex-
pectcd to take that line, for am sure,
! from what Ihave seen, that If ever two
folks were happy and loving, they are
Eiia and yourself. l can't conceive of
your having any secret which you
would not want Ella to know"
"Ah," retorted he, with peculiar
smile, that's just it. Well, Howson, Ill
tell you one, II you like, though" he
added, lit must remain secret between
us Vwo.. have never spoken OF it to
anyone in the world, and never shall.
except to yourself"
Thanks, Jim, you need not fear n e,
rs you know. l am only desirous 10
Know the case" and / assumed an ut
titude OF eager attention to Jim's story.
"lwas the chaplain at Lowmarket, as
you are we'll aware, before | came here.
1t is a pretty place, and one wonders
Whatever made the government build
jail there. However, there it is, and
: there was |. The amount of society
that one got in Lowmarket was perfect.
~ astonishing Had had the time and
inclination for it, l might have turned
out regular society clergyman. As
1t was, l had full amount of lectures,
soirces, parties and entertainments.
Among the people got in with lone
were nicer than the Yorks. Miss York,
maiden lady Of 80, lived in large and
beautifully furnished house called
The Cedars,' in the best part of the
town. She was known all over the dis
trict for her charity, Kindness of heart
and pure life Everybody had good
word for her. Nor was her niece, Miss
York, any less popular. People in low
market fairly worshiped both of them.
u was 2s when l first saw Ella York,
and at once succumbed to her charms.
For weeks her praises had been in my
ears, and now, on acquaintance, found
. her beauty, her manners, her Kindness
OF heart, not one whit less than report
stated. i loved her. OF course, could
not say so at once; and whether, after
two or three meetings in the course of
my work--for Miss York the elder took
great interest in our sphere of labor
she guessed my love, and reciprocated
1t, | could not then say. found, upon
judicious inquiries, that Miss York
Ella-lived with her aunt from child
hood; that she was now "a; that her
mother was dead, and her father lived
on the continent for his health also
that she was her aunt's sole heiress.
These facts were Of course only learned
by degrees, MS one cannot go to the
fountain head for such information.
after much heart-searching and de-
batting within myself, thought ] saw
that Ella York was not wholly indiifer-
ent to Inc, and l resolved to ask her to
be my wife. / need not go into details
MS to how ] did it, beyond saying that
II was one summer morning rather
more than five years ago, when, having
gone to see her aunt, who was out, met
Ella in the grounds; and after talking
as we walked along on various subjects,
somehow it came out unexpectedly, and
almost before could comprehend what
itall meant, Ella York had promised to
he my wife, subject to her aunt's con-
sent.
N"But her aunt didn't consent l re-
ceivcd n dainty note that night-how
tenderly regarded it, Howson!-
Ella, saying that she had spoken OF my
visit to her aunt, and had told her was
coming tomorrow for her approval;
Miss York had been very kind, but acted
rather strangely, and said she would
see me, but she could not consent, as
she did not wish to lose Ella. My dear
girl went on 10 say that she had in vain
tried to get from her any more than
this.
Il was in curious state of mind rs
i went next morning to see Miss York.
What could her objection really be?
Surely not to me! My position, my
family, my life here were, hoped, be-
yond reproach. Even were II qucs-
tion of money, had enough private
means, as you know. AS for Miss York,
well, Of course, it would be lonely with
out Ella at first, after SO many years
companionship, but surely she didn't
expect her never to get married. Itwas
preposterous.
II was destined to know her objec-
tion. AS I approached the lodge the
porteress met me.
"'Oh, Mr.. Bourn, this is shocking!"
u was more puzzled than ever! Why
my engagement to Ella should I've
shocking couldn't see; and l no doubt
expressed it in my looks.
$50 sudden, too, sir' said the won,-
an. Nobody expected it,
'Whatever's the matterT said l.
Why haven't you heard that Miss
York is dead? No! Oh, dear! Poor
thing; had fit in the night, doctor
says; was quite unconscious when Miss
Ella got there, and died at nine o'clock
this morning.
MY heart sank; / felt faint and giddy.
1t was some minutes before l could
move. You will never know how it
feels, Howson, unless you should have
such blow, which / hope you never
will. But ! am bound to say that my
one thought was: My poor, lonely
1nrlinrr EI1oD