Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1901-07-18


almost undoubted case OF affinity,
! the deaconess said, but the deyil
tersely called It love at first sight
And 50 matters ran on for half a
year, she growing more winsome and
| loveable under the rays Of that silent
but all-preyailing love; he dropping OIL
his faults and follies as he had his
foul smelling garments and daily
developing in manliness of soul ana
body. Still he did not speak with his
| lips, and the rest of us became i'm
patient for the denouement. It came
In part but not as we had expected.
One Monday morning M. Quod did
not appear, but each time the heavy
street door banged the angel gave a
pretty start and flush, but no step on
the stairs could fool her. though his
once tagging pace had changed to an
elastic bound.
The day passed, the next, a week, a
month and then the angel disappeared
and we were scarcely sorry, for as
stealthily as happiness had come to
her so stealthily it went away and
now she was like a wrath of herself
and laughter and light words In her
presence seemed sin.
The boss alone had been blind to the
whole affair and now he grumbled
nightly because he had lost two sucn
good hands.
Reckon he's gone back to trampen,"
the devil sald--"a tramp once a tramp
alters" and so we all concluded.
It was all very disappointing, this
sudden loss Of the pretty web OF
romance we had so alphabetically
watched weaving, for, though he had
come in the guise of tramp, we had
settled it that he was a born gentle
man and good enough for anybody
| even the angel.
Almost another six months passed
when one morning it, too, CHANGED to
be on bad Friday ringing step on the
| stairs was followed to be M. QuOd' $
| Ease in the Doorway face wholly
unlike the one of a year before. His
glance swept the room, beginning with
| the freckled-faced girl occupying the
angels stool and ending there. A
swift spasm Of pain and disappoint-
ment contracted his features, but he
pulled himself together to respond in
kind to the cordial greeting of the
boss, passing on a little later for a
hand shake and word with each Of us
old hands.
81 say Quod," cried the devil q BIZ
irritably, what ye done with the
angelo"
THE very question | was about to
ask, my boy"
The tone was meant to be steady
but it was not.
And then we told him of her de
parture and that all we knew was that
she had complained of headache and
gone to her home in another town,
"Heartache more like" mutterea
the devil, but II the man heard he
made no sign. He jotted down the
name of the town and swung off much
to the disgust of the boss, who had
some dinicult job work on hand and
could not see any sense in smart
fellow running off after a chit of a
girl like that anyway. The boss was a
dyed -the-wool bachelor,
Some two months later the real
dcnouement came when M. Quod-or
as we then learned Maurice Quodman
Lelgh-and his bride, nee the angel,
walked in handsome and radiant, and
the whole Office force was given a holi-
day, and the groom ordered grand
spread Mt the best hotel, and in an
after-dinner speech told of his leaving
a home of luxury in II fit Cf anger at
his father in whose large newspaper
establishment he had served a
thorough apprenticeship of his head
strong bent for ruin until saved "by
the face of an angel" Unworthy
even to tell her of his love he said:
Il went home, was reconciled to my
father, became a partner in the bust
ness and then came back to sue for
the love | feared might never be mine
You know the rest"
As he finished he lifted the hand OF
his bride to his lips and | saw shining
thereon a gold crclet set with a
maltese cross of pearls.
She told me afterward that it was
| ri, - 4, 4 t,,,r aFtrt 10. Ia