Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1900-08-15
childllke and affectionate. SHE and

Ben had been school children To-
gether, and perfectly devoted to each
other ever since they could 60 alone.
They grew up and entered society
here, and their love for each other
was so much q recognized fact as thas
Of any married couple la the place.
1 think Ben would have died for her
any hour, 80 perfect and Self forgetting
was Ais devotion. But when he
was % and she is, and they the
prettlest couple you ever saw to.
getheT there tip,s y Stranger to this
place-A sdH1some, stylish man, with
plHNty of airs and graces that he had
brought from far away New York ana
seemed delighted to make an exhlbi-
ton of in our little seaport towh:
He came upon official busiiiess==some'
thing cennttted with the custom
Touse-ahtl did not heslthte to an
nounce AS frequently as possible that
he was American CONSUL somewhere
had been appointed and approved by
high officin! Authority and was TO
leave soon on a brilliant tour that
was to bring him much fame and
honor, not to speak of wealth, which
was n secondary consideration to him.
Squire Nlarsden waB Immensely
flnttercd by The attentions this
magnificent minister plenipotentiary
paid to his pretty daughter, ahd
when the nlan, perfectly Infatuated:
asked for her hand II marriage, that
she might aT%1mpany him on his won-
derfM tour, the old man gave him his
blessing and sanction at once.
"He declared Ben had never said
anything to him about marrying his
daughter and / think It quite possible
that he never had, for they had taken
everything 50 much as n matter OF
co,irse that they probably had not
paused to put it in formal words,
thinking that it was sufficiently wen
understood without such f0rh1ality:
$50 when the cid niah told Minnie
what he expected of her she looked at
him III amazement. think the girl
was lattered by the strangers atten-
tions, but she had not thought that
anything could possibly interfere Win
her love for Ben, and she had no
thought of giving him UP.
"BeM VAS proud and sensitive.
He knew that Squire Marsdcn was
wealthy and was inclined to look
down upon bis poorer neighbors; still
he had put up with this, as he could
for Nlinnie's sake; but now. when the
old man came and told him that but
for him Minnie could make d brilliant
match anu be received In fereigh
courts as the first American lady OF
the land Ben made up his mind in m
instant md expressed 1t accordingly.
Minnie is the dearest thing on
earth to me- he said, but heaven
knows will never stand in the WY
of her happiness And so, with ohe
brief farewell, he left her.
"I saw thcln together that night. l
heard him talking with her in tones
that he tried vainly to make calm and
firm. l knew that with Minnie Mars
den he gave up all hope for the
future. saw him hold her In his
arms for one minute, and then-ah,
we'll, ought not to talk of this to you,
girls; but Ben went away and soon
afterward Minnie was married.
"If her bright dream Of pride and
wealth and foreign courts was ever
realized there was certainly no evil
dence of it in the pale, sad face Bhe
brought back to our native village
scarcely year luter. She went
home to her fathers with her hus-
band. He proved to be an idle, specu-
latire man, his head always full Of
some great. plan-some magnificent
prospect-soon to be realized. He In
volyed the old man In speculations
that took his broad acres to liquidare,
and then he died, leaving Minnie no
home and no fortune.
ut was then that Ben came back
here, and 1 told him how poor Minnie
and her children were. He gave ME
money for them, but he refused to
see her. He has never seen her
since; but every year, when her hus-
band goes to Washington and she
comes back here with her little ones,
Ben gives me money to see that she
;c xyeII corpd for during the winter,
and he goes away, that he may not
see her face"
The two girls were weeping quietly
as the lady ceased to speak, and
Fannie, clasping Mabels Land. whis'
percd softly:
"He has a heart"
."Yes. he has," said Mabel, sitting
a quick little sob in her throat.
She did not guess why Mrs. Wiley
had told them this story.