The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1900-07-07
Tortured BY N ervous Diseases,

L 81
another part OF the house during the.
hour for Georges morning sparrow.
After he had been out n little while
he would come briskly In. sit down in
the sun and wash his face. purring
loudly. 1t sometimes happened that he,
did not succeed In catching sparrow,
and then he would be cross, the black
imperial giving an added sternness to
his countenance. I think he appreciated
the fact that there was a secret be-
tween us.
One afternoon Miss Mullen had a call
er, a gentleman. and I induced her to
make him stay. to tea. The rest of the
family happened to be. away, so we
three sat at the table together. Mr..
Coleman was a pleasant man. and as l
looked at him I had a feeling that i had
seen him somewhere before. At length
It dawned upon me that he was George
of the tln-type, though he did not wear
an imperial now. My decision was con-
tirmed when George the cat came in.
This is my cat, Tommy, Mr.. Cole
man." Miss Mullen said. and she gave
me defiant look. Several times she
spoke TO the cat and called him Tommy,
and could but admire her ability to
remember his new name. Mr.. Coleman
took but little interest in the cat, but at
length he showed Miss Mullen picture
OF his dog. .t
"Oh, she's a smart little dog. Midget
is" he said. proudly
Miss Mullen passed the card to me.
"They always make me think, of ;linty
dishcloth, poodles do" she said.
ut is very fine photograph" I said.
ut must be professional work." and
turned 1t over to see the photograph
er's name. Across the back was writ
ten, Flora. Taken Jan. IS, '9S."
AS handed the picture back to its
owner his eyes met mine. and his face
said as plainly as II he had spoken,
Don't give me away"
'.There is some mystery here" told
myself, and the next day I said to Miss
Mullen, 1T is funny. don't know your
first name" s's-.,S - ~
ut Is Flora" she answered. "and
never liked it"
Once, when something was said about
Mr.. Coleman, she blushed n little, and
said, I'VE used to be pretty good
friends, but We had serious quarrel.
and for years we did not speak to each
other"
For several weeks 7 went around with
the three secrets-George's, Mr.. Cole
mans. and Miss Mullen's-heavy on
my mind. then one of them Slipped from
me. Miss Mullen saw George CATCH "a
sparrow. rshall. never forget the ex-
preston on herSfnce,, and the struggle
that could see going on there-thc sor-
row and dismay at Georges crime and
the Decentralization at the death of
Passer Domcsticus.
"Oh. George!" she cried, in n low tone
of remonstrance. 81 am surprised at
you. What shall do to you? You
ought to be punished, but 1t would not
do any good" a pause. while her eyes
were full OF reproach; then she said
savagely, THE abomInable little pests
ought TO be killed. and II you don't do
anything worse than catch them l
won't say word" In moment more,
with feminine inconsistency, she said
pitifully, "oh. the poor little Bird"
Mr.. Coleman called at our house Of
ten after that first time, and once he
said to me: when I've been here and
then go home, 1t does seem lonesome to
have nobody but dog waiting for me:
though Midget does the best she knows
how. ! suppose"
1t was after Miss Mullen found out
Georges secret that she seemed little
troubled and unhappy In Mr.. Coleman's
presence. At length. one evening. she
spoke out quite abruptly. you were
right, George. and was wrong. \ cat
cannot be trained not to catch birds.
I've tried It ever so many times. and
now even Tommy has failed me-" Her
eyes We're downcast and she did not
see Mr.. Coleman's face. I did. and l
got up quickly and left the room.
And all those things VIC used to
quarrel over-thc English sparrows.
You Know, Flora. Well. you were right
and was wrong" That was all I
heard us went out and closed the door.
IL Is year now since Miss Mullen
left us. George and Floral should
say Tommy and Midget-gct on har-