The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1898-03-23

adorning themselves. He acknowl-
edged that he liked to see a girl we'll
dressed yet he felt that it was very
wrong for a girl TO spend all her earn
ings upon her dress. He had not the
slightest intention of marrying an ex-
travagant woman. Miss Rosie made
her own dresses; his landlady had told
him that on the stairs.
Now while Mrs. Clarke was full of
praise of Miss Rosie and her birds and
her flowers and her domestlc and eco
nomical ways, she laughed more than
once over John Powel's box of clover.
There are whole fields full of it out
in the country" she said. "Why, if
he must have flowers in his window,
didn't he get pot of geraniums at the
horist's?"
But early on the morning of the
fourteenth Miss Rosies pigeons fut-
tered about the box of full blooming
clover-heads, aud gave little pecks at
the contents as If they fully apprecia-
ted country bloom.
John Powel's hand shook nervously
as he cut off the three finest clover
heads and tod them together; but he
cried out "Pshawr' when he grasped
his pen to write aad wrote firmly
enough the words: "Wear these for
me, please. John Powell.
He had never before written any
thing like that to q girl. A strange,
pleasurablo emotion took possession
of him as he wrapped the note about
the stems of the clover-heads and
carefully secured message and bios
SONS under the wing of Snowdrop.
Half an hour later he caused Mrs.
Clark to smile at him upon the stair
when he asked her if she would take
him that evening to call upon Miss
Rosie.
"To be sure" said the delighted
landlady. "You young men, you
ought to go to see the girls more than
you do; the girls want some pleasure,
too, after the days work; but L tell
Miss Rosie she works all the time, in
the store aud at bone, too"
All the comriacency had deserted
John Powell as he turned his back
upon his smiling landlady and walked
away from his lodging-house in the
direction opposite to the store. He
wanted to think. Certainly he could
have no objection to marrying a girl
who worked in a store; moreover, a
girl who worked both in store and at
home in order to keep her mother
comfortable; but there was great
bitterness upon him.. He had always
considered himself just man; yet he
may, in his thoughts, have wronged
he girl who worked patiently day by
day at the ribbon counter in the store
of Jones & Cashall. What right had
he to determine that girl who worked
in store would not possess the quail
ties suitable to make a home? How
did he know that this girl who was
never late at the store was not also a
treasure in her home? How did he
know that she, also, did not support a
mother? He had called her extrava-
giant. Perhaps she fashioned her own
hats and her own dressesl They
would be beautiful and delicate if
she had fashioned them. What
pleasant, honest eyes the girl
had, what true, sweet
face! She was so little and white;
surely she must have a mother; that
was why she never missed a day at
the store, never complained of head
ache. How proud her mother must
be of her He had reached one of
the city parks, and he sat down upon
u bench and brought his hands to-
gether, acknowledging fiercely in his
heart that he was a man who was in
love with two girls, a most detestable
being. He felt, indeed, as if he were
false to the girl whom he had known
personally for the past three years.
He had talked to her often; he had
let her know that he liked to talk to
her Did she, in turn, like to talk to
him? He groaued audibly. To Miss
Rosie he had never spoken, but he
had sent her written messages. He
had seen Miss Rosie's written "Thank
you," but he had heard the other
girls. What a sweet musical voice
she had! He had been unfair to the
little girl behind the counter. He had
fallen in love with Miss Rosie's home
and Miss Rosie's pigeons before he
ever thought of Miss Rosie herself;
but he had never made himself ac-
quainted with the other girls home.
Suppose he had done so? Suppose
he had found it meager and plain;
suppose it had been bare room in a
lodging house and that she had got
her meals several blocks away at a
dining-room. A mist swept before
his ,eyes. He would like to have
taken her away from it; girl with a
face like that, with gentle voice like
that, with such grit and industry,
ought to be given the chance to make
true home.
The poor fellow started and stared
into vacancy. He had sent valen-
tine to the wrong girl. He had asked
her TO wear the red clover heads.
There was no going back after that.
In the evening his lsndlady would
accompany him to the home in the
third story of that corner house, and
he would make his best bow, and
after that it would all be plain sailing
John Powell took out his watch and
looked at it and rose hurriedly. For
the first time during his engagement
at the store he would be late. He
laughed in light-hearted way. He
had never known Miss Merriman to be
1nA