Herald and tribune. [volume] (Jonesborough, Tenn.) 1869-current, 1897-06-30
A GOOD GIRL.
Looking Backward Into a Mans Life His.
tory,

Looking Backward Into Mans Life His.
tory.
AS the reporter was passing a marble
yard man whom he knew to be promi.
nent in the affairs of q church and the
society clustered about it came out on
the street and joined him. They were
members of the same congregation.
and, as far as one man thirty years
older than another is on terms of com.
panionship with each other, these two
might be called companions,
Come back in here with me" said
the older man, and the reporter went
with him into the shop of the cutter
until they stood before plain table of
stone bearing the ordinary inscription
OF name, birth and death. followed by
the words "She was Good Girl.n
The reporter looked questioningly at
his friend, for the name was not that
OF any member of his family, and the
date showed that the dead person was
nearly 70 years old
You don't understand what it
means, of course" he said, leading the
reporter back to the street and walking
away with him. But I do, and I
want to tell you what only a few of
my friends know, and what my wife
has known since she knew me. When
was young man of twenty l was
engaged as an under manager of fac.
tory which my father owned. 1 WAS
silly sort Of chap about girls, as most
young fellows are, and the daughters
of our workmen were not at all back.
ward in accepting attentions from me.
"Of these was one, a very handsome
girl, several years my senior and to me
q most attractive girl, I devoted NV
self to her, and though she had no so.
cial position and the other girls in the
factory and of its society would not
associate with her, it made no differ.
ence to me and proposed to defy my
own people, the factory people and
everybody else and marry her. At thes
time OF my appearance she was re
ceiving the attention of we'll to do
farmer, who had been waiting to marry
her for two or three years, but she was
having good time and would no.
listen to him. She was am bilious. too.
and as between the other men she
and the farmer there was gulf she
realized. and she would only take him
as a sacrifice. Her father was most
anxious that she should marry me, and
he and were on the best of terms, and
| dip him many favors.
"Of course, the girl was fattered
and at first fiattery seemed to be all
there was in it for her, but after few
months could feel that she loved me
with nobler and higher feeling than
had ever come to her heart before.
Later she used to talk to me about my
her and offering objections
because of the conditions about her.
But would not listen. One day saw
her coming out of my mothers house
and was 40 surprised that ran after
and caught up with her. In reply to
my inquiries she told me to call on her
that evening and she would tell me
something. | did 30 and she told me
in the presence of her father that she
would never marry me. insisted that
she should and her father became SO
angry that he threatened to kill her if
she did not. She smiled at that and
said she had provided against such
and she told him to kill
her If he wished to, but that would not
make her my wife.
"She thereupon handed him a mar
riage certificate showing that she had
been married to the farmer that after.
noon as the only way she could render
me service she could not possibly
render as long as she was unmarried
AS another man's wife had no claim
on her, neither had her father, and l
was free to choose wife more suitable
to my family and my age.
That ended it, of course, for saw
there was no use fighting the fates, and
the farmer. Her father preferred that
she have the farmer to no one, 80 be
the situation when he saw he
had 1t to do, and as for the farmer, he
was the only person OF those immedi.
ltely at interest who was perfectly
with the arrangement. How
ever, as time went by we were all better
satisfied, for she proved to be most
wife, and she certainly was
q beautiful stepmother to his three
children. Whether it was because of
her love for him, or for an ideal, / can
not say. He died ton years ago, leav.
ing her comfortable property, and
when they told me of her death two
months ago, asked as a special favor
that l be permitted to erect over her
grave tablet inscribed as this stone
"She was a Good Girl. ashington
Star.