Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1899-08-31

y
wish / will not appeal Believe me-. very sin
cercly your, GERALD HAYES
After sending this note he felt very
miserablc-so miserable in fact. that il
did not seem to him he could exist
without consolation. and 80 he went to
see Mrs Milliccnt He made so many
cynical rema,ks 10 her in the course Of
his visit about the faithlessness Of wom-
en that she had very good idea what
had happened and was intensely
amused. She sang TO him, and he seem
ed to quite enjoy all the melancholy
ballads. reveling especially in one with
the pleasing refrain. when love is a
lie and hope Is dead.
lyon re feeling down tonight. aren't
your she asked after she hard finished
singing.
Eyes. he answered. biting the ends
of his mustache and glaring savagely.
I've had rather a blow today.
He would have told her all in a min
ute. but she would have liked him less
| if he had. and 50 she headed him off
''Do You ever read Browningg" she
was going to say. but the absurdity Of
the question struck her. and she
I changed it to:
goes
''Grow old along with me
The best Is yet TO be
The last OF life, for which
The first made.
Our times are in his hand
Who saith: A whole planned;
Youth shows but half.
Trust God all, nor be afraid
81 think that fits your case. The
best is yet to be- You've only seen
half hardly that See it all before you
decide it's so worthless -
''Do you really think one can get
over ones troubles and forget them and
and be happy without the things that
one wants -
II think you can, she said smil-
| ingly. Il know you can. Ii isn't the
time now to write and so they lived
happy ever afterward' at the end Of
your story Ii would make the story
too short. too stupid. But it will be
written there yet. never fear.
Il think | shall go away, he said
gloomily. I'm feeling rather seedy.
and little change does fellow such a
| lot of good -
"Oh. don't 90 now'' she answered.
"I'm expecting Miss Sherlock from Vir-
ginia and her cousin to stay month
with me. I've rather depended on you
to help me entertain them. They're
nice girls. both of them. think you'll
like them.
VERY well. he said. rather detected
ly. In put it off for the present
You've been so good to me I'd like To
help you if | can.
The mice girls didn't appeal to
him in the least. but he went home
slecrel by Mrs. Millicent's sympathy
ind words of encouragement
"Oh. you big handsome. silly fel-
low" she thought when he left her
"You think you're 20 miserable. and
| you'll go to sleep the minute your head
| touches the pillow. But she. who had
really known trouble. lay awake half
the night thinking of many things
Her guests came after a few days.
| and they really We're nice and very
| pretty too. Gerald saw them daily.
and before the month was over he was
madly in love with Miss Sherlock
| that is, he didn't call it ''madly" to
himself. He felt sure that Kittie had
broken his heart in the most unfeeling
manner and that he would never feel
| again as he had felt toward her But,
| after all. life went ON. He was not
| especially happy, and here was charm
ing, congenial girl who made him hap
/ pier whenever he met her. Why couldn't
he make the sensation permanent in
stead of 30 intermittent So he reasoned,
and so one night. when he and she
| were alone together, he reached over
and took her hand.
She drew il away with frightened
little manner that staid the words on
his lips.
~ beg your pardon. " he said simply.
"Your rings are very beautiful She
held out her hand TO him. the celOr
warm in her cheeks.
''Yes, she said with a little gasp,
81 do not always wear them. but this
one / ought to-I should"- She falter
ed and stopped
His face was crimson lyon mean -
Eyes, it is my engagement ring.
She spoke with sort Of tumultuous
energy, as if each word had gathered
itself for leap
There was "A short, awkward silence.
"Do you think that s fair 7" he blurt-
ed out Mt Inst.
81 don't understand you.
Eyes, you do. You know what / was
going to say. You stopped me with
this Don't You think your confession
Is little later
"How could / known How dared /
imagine such things1 Do you think
girl believes every man she meets will
fall in love with her unless she wears
danger signalr | never dreamed-I
never suspected-I hope now il isn't
true d" The tears rose in her honest
| eyes, and the sight of them gave Gerald
the first real pang he had felt
Never mind. he said with n sort
Of pathetic dignity. II dare say its my
fault I'm good deal of fool +"
"And you'll believe, she said. look
ing at him with sorry. shining eyes.
81 shall believe nothing but good of
you.
He raised her hand to his lips and
kissed it.
A good woman is very apt to exag-
geratc the pain she gives man by re-
| fusing him. She measures his grief by
her capacity to love some one else and
finds his loss great and terrible As a
matter of fact most men have been re-
| fused at one time or another and very
few of them have been blighted in the
process.
This girl, for instance. cried good
deal over her carelessness and heartless-
ness She felt deeply remors<ul for
what she had done. But Gerald bare
the blow with composure and without
any bitterness whatever.
OF course he did not go to Mrs. Mil
licent's SO often until after her guests
had Departed but then he fell into his
old ways of dropping in to see her, Of
listening to her singing. Of taking her
to drive. She sOothcd him and rested
him. She began to seem to him the one
woman in the world who never exas-
perated.
One night he told her he loved her
He made the confession little shyly,
for she had always treated him with
certain matronly kindness. as If she
were very much older than he.
Gha If1 Mt .ygv...x e. -.