The age-herald., 1898-02-27

must go so soon, eh? Miss Carroll goes,
 and so all must leave us'
 "But." said q thought Miss Carroll
 was to be here until after Christmas?
 "That is how thought-til today. How
 she receives letters, dispatches. What do
 I know, my dear? She is sweet girl;
 you think so, eh? And so good to me ale
 ways. Ask Matilde about her"
 I went and asked Mrs. Alfred for cof-i
 fee and explanations. She said: "oh, I
 don't know, MT. Barker No sugar? l
 forgot. Here comes Mrs. Tivvers That's
 blessing, anyway. Don't ask her why
 she's going. Perhaps they won't all run
 away now. I must say she is just too
 braye."
 And then Mrs Alfred went to receive
 Mrs. Tivvers, while I drank my coffee and
 composed neat theory that Miss Carroll
 had simply refused Eugene Landon.
 There were about twenty people in the
 room at the time. Fewer than usual at
 Mrs. Alfred's Wednesday afternoons None of those twenty have ever forgotten what they saw and many more in our city know by hearsay what happened. Mrs Tivyers brought with her her habitual subdued and apologetic air, and she was. besides, more than usually dis trait Madame was gayly begging her to do something to lift the gloom. Madame evidently did not then, at least regard Mrs Tivvers peculiar gift otherwise than as a resource to mitigate the sadness or American life in general, and, in particu- | lar, of this gene tea party Mrs. Alfred | took hardly less fippant view. l had | seen more of Mrs. Tivvers than either Mrs. Alfred or madame had.
 Not far from the tea table stood MISS | Carroll herself As I watched her l re- | called her friends mysterious encomium | of her nerve for only by careful observa- ton could one see that she was not the happiest and least concerned person In the room.
 "You are the most fattering people l have ever been with," I heard her say. "It is enough to make me dizzy, the way you have all gone on about my leaving. There are scores of girls like me in Chi cago. Oh. yes, we do everything there on a. large scale-two feet to the mile, IT you like" All of which, and the laugh that came with it, thought sounded feverisn and unlike her characteristic self-re- strained mood. She was talking to Jenny Barrett, one of our latest deputantes, ana half a dozen other very young people Mrs. Alfred, bringing Mrs. Tivvers, | broke through the little circle about her visitor.
 | said Mrs. Alfred. "1ouve heard me speak | of her so often.'
 Miss Carroll smiled sweetly, if with | some faint trace of amusement, as though | not taking seriously what she had heard spoken of Mrs. Tivvers. Mrs. Tivvers ad- | yanoed with commonplace about being | glad to meet Miss Carroll. Then the widow went on, '"They tell me you are going to- and suddenly halted as if forgetting what she had intended to say then again. going to-leave us-very
 soon." She seemed to be looking at some one standing behind the strangers left shoulder, in fact, inside the fender. 1T there had been mirror over that mantei' she might have been staring at rehec- ton, but there was no mirror Miss Car | rolPs face took on that polite smile or passive expectancy with which it is proper to receive the opening of an amateur per- formance. The group that had at first fallen back to make way for the last ar rival, now began to gather and watch. There was going to be some fun after all. "Excuse me-" said Mrs Tivvers, now speaking hurriedly. 1T get these things l SO mixed you know. Quite constitutional | infirmity, and it gets worse as l grow old 1 CT. I seem to know that young gentle mans face. An, no! Now l understand. Some dear friend of yours, perhaps" The | smile had quite faded from Miss Carroll | face. Mrs. Tivvers kept looking steadily over the younger woman's shoulder and spoke with touch of sadness. Pale l they generally are. Yes, my dear Miss