The Globe-republican., 1898-02-10

or OF the scheme began to change from
impossible green to rosy rad.
Instead Of dreading, she began ar
IDENTIFY to desire this thing.
But the only possible plan by which
she could manage secretly to have the
valentine mailed In Hope-a plan over
which she had lost sleep. and in which
she had been finally aided by an illit-
crate colored servant going there. to
return next day-it must reach her on
the day before Valentines. This day
had come and gone, and her valentine
had not returned to her. Had the
negro failed to mail it? Had it re-
NAMED all night in the postofice-
possession Of her lover? Would she
ever see it again? Would her brother
ever, ever, ever get through with the
children and finish giving out their
valentines?
Miss Jemima had not long to walt.
and yet it seemed an age. before the
distribution was over, and she felt
rather than saw her brother moving
in her direction.
Bigger an purifier one n ever for
Aunt Minnie this time-looks to me
Ike" he said, as at last he laid the
great envelope upon her trembling
knee.
Don't reckon it's anything extry-
In particular" she answered, not at all
knowing what she said, as she con-
tinued her work. leaving the valentine
where he had dropped it: not touch
Ing 1t, indeed, until she presently
wound up her yarn in answer to the
supper-bell. Then she took 1t. with
her work-basket, into her own room.
and dropping it into her upper bureau
drawer, turned the key.
AS she sat tonight looking at the
outside of the envelope. turning 1t over
and over in her thin hands. great hot
tears fell upon it and ran down upon
her fingers, but she did not heed
them.
1t was even dearer now than ever
before, after this recent passage
through her lovers hands. At this
thought she raised it lovingly and laid
1t against her cheek. Could he nave
handled it and passed it on without
thought of her? Impossible. And
since he had thought of her, what must
have been the nature Of his thoughts:
Was he jealous jealous because some
hnnv 10 sweet.
heart a valentine?
This years envelope, selected with
great pains and trouble from a sample
catalogue and ordered from a distant
city. was fine affair profusely decor
ated with love symbols.
For long time Miss Jemima sat
enjoying the luxury of nearness to her
lover that the unopened envelope had
brought her before she felt inclined
to confront the far-away romance typi-
fled by the yellowed sheet within. And
yet she wanted to see even this again
to realize its recovery.
And so, with thoughts both eager
and fearful. she finally inserted hair
pin carefully in the envelope, ripping
it open delicataly on two sides, so that
it might come out without injury to
its frail, perforated edges. Then, care
fully holding its sides apart, she shook
it.
And now-Something happened. One
Of Gods best traits is that He doesn't
tell all He knOws-and sees.
How Miss Jemima felt or acted,
whether she screamed or tainted, no
one will ever know, when, instead of
the familiar pictured thing. there fell
into her lap a beautiful, brand-new
valentine.
It was certainly a long time before
she recovered herself enough to take
the strange thing into her hands. and
when she did so. it was with fingers
that trembled 50 violently that a bit
of paper that came within the valen-
tine futtered and fell beyond her
reach. There it lay for fully several
minutes before she had strength to
move from her seat to recover it.
There was writing on the fluttering
fragment, but what it was and why
Miss Jemima wept over it and read it
again and again are other trifling
things that perhaps God does well not
to tell.
The details of other peoples ro-
mances are not always interesting to
outsiders.
However in this particular case, it
may be interesting to know that the
woman who took charge of the old
/. s9a9mlll|,