The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1900-11-10

| tuSlC ID uOluluS 10 tell.
oh !! Please tell me as much a
there is even if there is nothing
coaxed, illogically.
" If there were more to tell thinl
| shouldn't mind so much, said Mis-
Stubs, sadly; I'D rather have a sa,
story than none at all. As it is,
haven't even the right to be unhap
py; that isn't, of course, equal to tn,
right to be happy, which some for
tunate women have, but it is bette
than nothing. Why, Madge, my
youth is over, and have nothing lef
to remember it by-not even a love
letter. l think if 1 had just one love
letter, that I could keep and read ovel
and over again, 1 should be content
for then | should feel that 1 had one
flower Bdf sft IS 9qt t IF g tbs wH sbpad 81 tf
1 urged.
Nothing happened. l once met
some one whom 1 loved very much,
and l think he loved me but 1 am
not even sure of that. I sometimes
feel I'd give everything 1 have if
could only be sure of that, but I IN
not. He was young man who had
his way to make in the world and
my dear father-as l have told you
before-thought great deal of our
family and position, and considered
the man I loved was not good enough
for me. So he just put stop to our
courtship.
And you tamely submitted? ?
What else could do? My dear
father was very stern man, and /
dared not disobey him.
"And as I gazed into the timid face
1 realized that poor Miss Stubs had
not needed much coercion to make
her give up her day-dream at her
stern fathers command.
What was your lover like?' I
asked.
oh my dear, he was the hand
soonest man I ever saw, with such at
tractive manners, she replied.
"'Was he tall?' 1 asked. (Being
ive-foot-nine myself, I had a pro-
found contempt for little men).
=" Yes, dear, and such a fine fig
ure; nice broad shoulders, you know,
and splendid carriage
II could not help wondering how
a fine, handsome man could have fall
len in love with such color1ess non
entity of a woman, but-as 1 have
noticed-there is no ac-
counting for tastes.
" I was filled with pity for poor
Miss Stubs it seemed SO sad to go
through life without ever really liv-
ing, as she had done and thus it was
that my great scheme occurred to me.
What good thing it would be if
Uncle James would marry Miss
Stubs, and SO give her some comfort
at the aG end Of her life I said sal |, COM pm
was no longer possible to her; that
had disappeared forever with the van
quished fairy prince of her youth
but comfortable old age is not
thing to be despised, and at present
the little woman was poor and desc
late. l felt that Uncle James was an
inadequate substitute for the lost hero
whom Miss Stubs had described to
me; but, on the other hand, what
man with the smallest pretention to
heroism, would throw the handker-
chief to plain, frightened little spin
ster of an uncertain age?
"Uncle James was mothers only
brother. He was a worthy middle
aged bachelor-rather short and in
creasingly stout, and was the hypoth-
esis of commonplace respectability.
He possessed kind heart and dog
matte manner and he lived chiefly at
his club and thought great deal too
much about things to eat. Tom said
that his highest feelings were arous-
ed only by pork chops, but Tom al
ways was severe on Uncle James.
When my uncle didn't talk about the
food at the club, he talked about
shares and investments, so it was no
wonder that Tom and l thought him
an old bore, although we were al
ways kind to him because he was re-
lation. This then was the victim 1
yearned to offer upon Miss Stubb' S
shrine, and 1 divu1ged my scheme to
mother.
"Mother laughed. I should be
very glad for your uncle to marry,
said she, as it worries me to think of
him all alone, especially when he's
gouty. But how could you expect
him or any other man to fall in love
with that faded old maid?'
"'Oh, don't expect him to fall
in love- l replied; but I should like
to see Miss Stubs comfortably set
tied, and 1 am sure she would be a
good, peaceful little wife. Besides,
Uncle James isn't exactly the sort oi
a person to win beautiful princess
for his bride.
"'Poor James And yet he had
his beautiful princess once, like most
other men.
"'Teu me about it, mother. You
do not mean that that prosaic old
uncle of mine was ever in love?'
4 do, though he was dreadfully
in love once, years and years ago
He used to tell me lot about the
girl and how happy he could be if ht
could only win her, though he hard
ly dared to hope she would ever lool
at him. l never knew exactly wha
happened but he wrote to me that the
thing was finally at an end, and beg
ged ME never mention Annie Lori
mer's name to him again. And
have never done So.
What a pretty name And wa
she pretty, too?
"I never saw her, replied mother
but James used to say she was love
ly; a dainty, exquisite, fairy-lik'
girl, as fragile as a bit of china, will
golden hair and blue eyes and love
ly complexion. She danced beaati