Middletown transcript., 1897-02-06

4
that the chief parties concerned were
at all suited to each other-I never
troubled my head about such minor de-
tails. 1 have always been fond Of in
terfering with other peoples affairs
not for their good at all, but simply fol
my own pleasure. lhave the greatest
sympathy with people who put their
fingers iato neighboring pies, provid-
ing they confess they do it for their
own enjoyment and not for the advan-
tage of the pies; men do not kill foxes
for food, but from love of sport; wo-
men interfere with their neighbors for
exactly the same reason. Put your
| fingers, dear ladies, into one anothers
I pies, by all means; but remember that
it is the finger and not the pie which
derives pleasure from the operation!
Having so much to see after in import
ant matters, Providence seems some
times in need of local agencies, to
manage minor affairs in remote country
districts-at least so l though in my
young days-and I was more than
ready to undertake the Office of Provi-
dence's local agent. Therefore I de-
cided that Uncle James should marry
Miss Stubbs.
We met Miss Stubbs while we were
travelling in Switzerland. She was a
little, timid, washed-out old maid.
Her besetting sin was gentleness; she
was too gentle for anything. Once
when my brother Tom was little boy
he was naughty, and mother thought
her wisest course lay in the proverbial
soft answer. Tom bore mothers soft
answers as long as he could, but he
was but youthful flesh and blood after
all. and naughty at that; so at last he
exclaimed; II wish, mother, you
wouldn't be SO silly and gentlel''
Miss Stubbs always made me recall
that early remark of Toms; she was
50 very ''silly and GENTLE" Then she
added to her gentleness gentility,
which is also trying virtue to onlook-
ers. What with her gentleness and
her gentility, she spoke SO softly that
one could only hear half that she said,
and that half was by no means slim
ulating mental food. She had pale
hair and pale eyelashes aud pale ideas;
but underneath all that, the sweetest
most unselfish Lature that woman ever
possessed. At first | laughed at her,
she seemed so dumb and colorless; but
as grew to know her better I dis
covered many virtues and no faults in
the faded little woman. She took a
great fancy to me-because was SO
young and strong and full of life, she
said and told me all her dreary his
tory. Her parents were gentlepeople
of good family, and late in life her
father came into a small estate for
which be bad been waiting for years.
But the estate was so greatly impov-
erished and SO heavily encountered that
he was rrined by his succession to it;
and be died of the disappointment,
leaving his wife and only child with a
miserable piltance; while the estate.
which was strictly entailed, passed on
to a distant cousin. Mrs. Stnbbs sur
vived her husband several years, but
now she too was dead, and Miss Stubbs
was as lonely as she was poor. There
was something very pitiful to me about
Miss Stubbs; she seemed to have missed
all that makes life worth living-to
have sat alone on the bank while the
stream flowed by; and it has always
seemed to me sadder to die of starva-
tion on the bank than to be dashed to
pieces by the current.
"My DEAR" she said to me one day
when we had become intimate with.
each other, ''don't say you want to see
life--seeing is dreary work. I never
wanted to see life, wanted to live life,
but have never done either"
/ took her thin hand in mine, and
stroked it. "Were you unhappy when
you were young2" asked.
"OhI no, not unhappy, my dear; but
not happy, either. 1 am not complain
ing, for every one was very kind to me,
and ready to give me little scraps of
their lives to share; but no one seemed
to realize that ] wanted life Of my
own.n
'Poor Miss Stubbsl" I whispered.
SIT is kind Of you to be sorry for nae,
my dear Madge, but really am not.
complaining. I have had very peace-.
ful lot compared with many women.
But have always had the feeling that
there is such great deal to be got out
Of life, and that I have somehow
missed it all: There is plenty going
on somewhere, but am always out of
| it,
! II think | know what you mean; it
1t is dull to sit in the boxes when one
wants to be on the stage.''
Exactly; and ! have never even had
the boxes; l have had to be content
with dress circle. I"
"But did you never fall in loye?p /
asked, with extreme boldness.
The pale blue eyes filed with tears.
"Yes, dear Madge. And should like
to tell you about it. only there is moth
ing to tell. p
"Ohl please tell me as much as there
is, even II there Is nothlng.D 1 coaxsd
illogically.
II there were more to tell, ! think
I shouldn't mind 50 much." said Miss
Stubbs sadly; "I'd rather have a sad
story than none at all. As it is, /
haven't even the right to be unhappy;