Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1897-01-27

S~a4S3A Of the quaint old
N9f x rhyme. Her gown, oi
Nv II course, was new; her
HH 70 veil had decende1 from
"a EGI. her grandmother; her
" " " younger br 10Th er-
rendered unusueAy tender-hearted by
the thought of losing her-had sc c,ured
the town in search of an English six
pence, and there had heen several
maidens benighted enough to vie for
the privilege of supplying The Dor.
rowed handkerchief, and the blue
ribbon she had tied about her arm.
The ribbon was cnt into bits and di-
yided among eager friends when the
bride changed her gown, aud Che
lucky lender of the handkerchief re-
ceiyed back the talismanic article with
reverent Joy. Gertrude stood by,
smiling indulgently during the furry
but making no attempt to share in it..
The last moment had come, and the
bridegroom was waiting at the foot Of
the stairs, when the understanding
ready inher travelling dress, her white
attire strewn aboutthe rpom-sud3en-
ly remembered something, ana suatch-
ing up white satin slipper from the
hearth rug, rescued from the toe a
round and shining article and pressed
il, laughing, into Gertrude's hanl..
"Here's the luckiest thing Of. all,
Gertie," she said, affectionately.
$50 Leilai Howgood of You, dear |
/ will never psrt with it,, cried
Gertrude warmly, and slipped the
lucky sixpence into the palm of her
glove.
And then the good-byes were said !;
the bride went off in o shower of rice /;
the guests began to fade away. Ger
trude, who had been bridesmaid,
was urged to linger and discuss the
event with the family, and she had
almost humored her own reluctance
to leave the flower decked house, with
its excite and festive atmosphere, for
the drea-,uess Of the December day
outside, when she discovered that Bot
Norman had been asked to linger, too.
That altered the matter.
Indeed, / mustn't steal another
minute she assured Mrs. Vierling
awkwardiy.
She sighed as she took last glance
at the Mirror which reflected brown
and wistful eyes in Il piquant face
aglow with color, and dainty pins
gown and an old white cloak-but she
was unnecessarily stif with Mr.. Nor
man when he han,'ed her into the car.
riage. She reflected with little
shiyer, as the door was closed upon
her, how long that carriage had been
waiting and what a bill she would hpssfe'
TO pay for it. But she had determined
that that day should be ike the cid
times !; ;ae tim aes Hghe,n ~ carriages we're
y ma ssse.Sr.,n and prett; pink
gowns rnnked as necessities instead of
snnwarrantable luxuries. And she had
had her wish. 1t had been the cul-
mination OF oil The delightful weeks
during which her position as one OF
Leila Vierling's bridesmaids had
brought her many unaccustomed
pleasures. Amiable friends and rela.
tives had entertained the bridal party
with breakfasts and dinners, dances
and theatre boxes, one following fast
upon another until life was just q
whirl of gayety with only single
thing to remind her OF this work-a-day
world. That drawback had been
Mrs. Vierling's manifest intention OF
indulging her kindly propensity for
matchmaking, with Gertrude and Mr..
Robert Norman for her victims. Ger
trude had been quite innocent at irst,
though she had wondered somewhat
that Mr.. Norman SO frequently ap-
reared on the evenings that Leila had
begged her to come up and talk over
wedding arrangements. And at last
the truth forced itself upon her. For
the same thing happened at all the
festivities-that he sat next her at ta-
BILE, that he was left to hold her cloak
at the theatre, that he was given q
thousand opportunities OF devoting
himself to her, and no chance OF de-
voting himself to anybody else. The
knowledge had caused her agonies OF
shame and embarrassment; end fear
that Bob Norman might think her a
willing party to these maneuvres made
her so stiff, so awkward and 80 whim.
steal in her treatment of him that she
secretly wondered at the good humor
with which he continued to carry out
Mrs. Yierling's arrangements. She, for
her part, did everything to upset
them. She spent fewer evenings at
the Vierling's; she insisted ON hurry.
ing away if Mr.. Norman appeared
there; and when it came to wedding
rehearsals she suspected had
been multiplied solely to give that
eligible young man more opportuni.
ties OF escorting home herself--she
scored point by seizing upon Leila's
brother and, by skillful fattery, in.
ducing that unsuspicious youth to be
her companion to and from the
church. She strove oil the harder for
these small victories because she was
miserably conscious OF the fact that if
matters had been different, if Mr. Nor
mon sought her out, OF his own
accord, it would-well. it would have
been very pleasan' There had been
time when such attentions from him
had filled her with other feelings.
That was in her first season "out, "
when she was nineteen, and, as people
said, so pretty, and he was promis-
ing college lad, with delightfully."- in
fectioas laugh, and high ideals and q
perfect grasp of the waltz step-an
ensemble which Gertrude then consid.
cred satisfactory. They had danced n
good deal together at that time, bu!
sirce, until that present fall, had seen
little of each other. For the loss OF
her mother had caused her retirement
from society next year, and after that
came the crash of her fathers busi-