The Lambertville record., 1898-09-07
CONSOIEl).

CONSOLED.
1t was the winter before viii and
l were married that Richard Deering
became engaged to Miss RhoadeS, Will
and Richard had been almost insep-
arabic from childhood, and tho latter
was an old friend of mine also.
We did not know Miss Rhoades, hut
Richard assured us we could not fail 10
ike her and viii said his opinion WAS
To be considered. for of course it was
quite impartial.
To tell tho truth, on meeting Miss
Rhoades we did not share Richards : en-
thusiasm. She had reserved manner
and was not particularly pleasing i'll
any way And she did not seem sutll
eiently in love with Richard to suit mo
Indeed | went SO far as to say that |
did not believe she cared for him Mt all.
| had To admit that she was fine look
ing, though not handsome and she WAS
older than Richard. He confded To
" III Niitth iit WIS IltNb tAlt dSp W ~ AZ
traeted simply by pretty face, and he
had no fancy for girls i'll their teens
Richard was 2S.
Our worst fears were soon realized.
One night my betrothod did not come
to SEQ me, which surprised mo much,
for il was important | should consult
with him about the new house
Tho next morning | received telo-
gram from VIII
could not come Inst night Richard In
trouble. Engagement hrol,cn.
1t was two or throc days before saw
Will, and then he came in at noon for
n hurried call lie locked worn aud
harassed, but patiently replied tn the
countless questions asked III regard to
Richard 5 affair 1t seemed that Miss
Rhoades had been mistaken III the na-
turo of her regard for him. as she eN-
pressed IT, In other words. she had not
really cared for him, bat tried TO do So
urged by her family and tempted by
his wealth. VIII thought thorc was an
other lover in the background, but
Richard did not suspect it. The poor
fellow was complete wreck, and for
the next few days VIII was constantly
with his distracted friend and had no
time to givo to me. When ho did come,
it was tn say that he had prevailed upon
Richard to go away for awhile the lat
ter consenting on condition that VIII
would accompany him.
My lover could i'll afford to leave at
this time. and his absence would bu
most trying to me, as | wanted his adj
vico concerning the house. However,
neither Of us felt that we could urge
any claims of our own in tho faeo Of
Richard dire need. So we reluctantly
bado each other Roodby. The trip bcne-
fitted the hCartbrollen lover, and ON his
return he consented to take up his resi-
denco at home, and after II time resumed
his customary visits to our house,
though he scarcely spoke and looked
the picture of despair It was a little
wearing for VIII and mo. for out Of
courtesy to poor Richard we did not
like to speak Of tho wedding or any Of
the arrangements when he was present,
and as our minds We're naturally occu
pied with the topic in question our con
yersation was sometimes rather forced.
We had expected him to act as best
man at our wedding, but it seemed
more than doubtful that he would feel
equal to tho position in his present
state of mind We were anxious to
know how ho felt about the matter, and
at last VIII touched upon the subject.
1T is evident that you know nothing
If my feelings, said Richard in an in
jured tone II shall probably never at
tend Wedding again as long as | 1.-Two.
1t would be torture, agony simply un-
bearable. 1 would do great deal for
terly impossible. ="
VIII humbly apologized aud hasten
ed to ask his cousin to act as best man.
Ito accepted with alacriy.
Will's sister Dorothy, a girl Of 18,
was to be my maid Of honor Sho had
been abroad for tho last three years,
finishing her education. Whom sho went
away, she was schoolgirl. and not
realizing tho change that year or two
can make at her ago we were surprised
to receive photograph showing her to
bo Il pretty and propossessing young
lady, with quite tho air, as we imagined
from her pose, Of society woman.
1t was two or three weeks after
Will's conversation with Richard in re-
gard to tho matter Of best man that one
evening our afflicted friend seemed
little less rnoroso than usual lie pick
cd up Dorothy'a picture, which was
lying on tho table.
"What a pretty girl I" he exclaimed
who is she;'
lyon ought to know her, " replied
Will. "Yon and she were fast friends
once. She's no other than my sister
Dorothy"
iiThat handsome girl my little friend
porothyl Why, | thought Of her as
still child. by Joye, but she's
beauty" said Richard, with moro ami.
nation than he had displayed since his
engagement was broken.
1t was relief to see him something
like his old self, il only for moment,
but ho surprised us by couyersing quito
eheerfully the rest Of the evening.
A few days later VIII appeared in
most eScllsu lIdliie Oh lllHn, ilcihfu
was at the house at the time, but VIII
did not notice him as he rushed in ex-
claiming:
"Such i'll luck, Cousin Henry is
down with the mumps. Did yon over
hear of anything so ridiculous, and tho
Wedding next week."
What is to bo done?" l asked
blankly.
"That is more than know" replied
Will. II dashed over to SEQ Sylvester,
but he's off to Florida next week, and
then asked Tom Flanders. He thanked
me politely for my courtesy and said he
hardly cared to act as stop gap.
Agreeable chap, Tom, but that was al
ways his way-must be first Or no
where | think 4 will telegraph my