Freeland tribune. (Freeland, Pa.) 1888-1921, 1898-12-26


ity had arisen from the fear of seeing
some exhibition Of terrible sorrow,
she had alarmed herself needlessly.
No signs of tears, either past or pres
ent, was visible in the young mans
eyes. They were hard and bright.
Hard, also, was his face, and the
clenched lips like adamant.
He took the thick envelope off the
salver, glanced at the clerkly writing
and at the back, upon which was
stamped in blue letters "W. Robin
Son & Co." Then he flung it on the
table, and as the servant left the room
the sound of harsh laughter broke
upon her astonished ears. She fed
to the kitchen and with scared face
whispered that she though poor Mr..
Ord must be going mad.
Small wonder, perhaps, if he werel
He had written o few days before to
William Robinson for those patterns
that he might choose the materials
for his wedding suit. What a weighty
matter that choice would have been!
May was so particular about what he
wore. He used to be little careless
about his dress onee-going about in
coats with creases in them, and far
mer's boots. Then, in his endeavor
to gain Mays appreciation, he had
overdone it in the opposite direction,
sporting collars of absurd height, and
impossible ties, enduring like a
martyr the pinch of patent leather
shoes size too small for him and get
ting himself little chaffed by ap-
pearing in suits unmistakably in ad-
vance of the fashion.
May, with gentle tact, had changed
all this. Never hurting her ardent
young lover by open condemnation of
his apparel, but by artful suggestions
had first reused him to an interest in
his attire, then toned down his some
what crude tastes, AMI finally schooled
him into that quiet perfection of dress
ing which is the attribute of gentle
man. He had written for the pattern
from Robinson's few weeks before
the important suit should be needed,
as lie wanted to have Mays opinion
with regard to the materials. Already
the little, laughing, gay girl had be-
gun to be more than mere piece Of
loveliness for his admiring eyes to rest
upon. He consulted her about every
thing. He had no sisters, and until
the last year-when the death OF an
uncle and the Inheritance of fortune
had made him his own master-he had
lived solitary life in q remote coun-
try town with tho relation by whose
sudden death he was enriched. May
Garden, one of the first young ladies
he came across in town, had taken his
heart by storm. The mixture of
frivolity and sound practical sense in
her nature was exactly what he need
/ ed. The one broke the crust of GER
tain moroseness born Of an unloved
life, and the other steadied the pro-
pensities to extravaganza of taste and
living which unexpected wealth had
not unnaturally aroused.
After that laugh cf harshness, which
had so startled his servant, Laurence
Ord went back to the study of Mays
portrait. 1t was indeed veritahle
May" face. Cheeks like young
roses, hair brown as hawthorn twigs,
lips which were akin to the deep pink
buds of tho apple blossom, and eyes
| Tinct with azure, like two crystal wells
That drink the blue complexion OF the
skies.
These latter laughed back as if in
hooking merriment to the hard gray
ones which were looking down on
him. A sob of anguish broke in O
groan from Ords lips. He tried to
realize that these dancing eyes were
closed forever. Tried-tried as many
and many bereaved one had striven
in vain to do-to grasp the fact that
the dear lips would never speak again !;
that no more until the day of resur-
rection would so much as the faintest
color tinge the still white face, The
picture before him, bubbling over as
it was with life and mirth, gave the
lie to such thought. The idea of
May-May, the merriest little person
in the world, lying cold and silent was
too much for the young man who last
had seen her having wild game with