Rocky Ford enterprise., 1901-02-15
Ole Lost
Valentine


Miss Lavinia Oar; waL IN her kitchen
one morning In February.
Miss LavlnIa rarely lost her self
poiSe under any circumstances. and
she had not. ut the age OF forty-sis
years. become the victim OF that STAY
or OF peace and happiness Of woman
kind-ncryes.
She's the easiest person TO fit In
this town." said Miss Dodd. the Har-
Icyvilic drcssmakcr. AN she's dread
full tasty
Then Miss Dodd. having once got
started" on the subject OF Miss LAWN
in. would go on and say: I'D Jest
like to know why she never got mar
ried. I've often been on the point OF
askin' her. but somehow l never could
quite fetch myself to IT,"
II was we'll enough that Miss Dodd
could not quite fetch" herself to the
point OF questioning Miss Lavinin re-
garding any possible lover OF the past.
for there were limitations to Miss La
vinla's patience and gentleness. and
those limitations were reached whsn
one attempted to take liberties with
her private nHatrs.
Presently there was n knock on the
kitchen door. and when Lavinia opened
II the Widow Rice. elderly. uncomfort-
ably stout. and in manifest perturba-
ton OF spirit, entered the kitchen.
Dropping heavily into n small rock
ing-chair near the shining stove, and
allowing the shawl she had thrown
over her head to slip to her shoulders.
she said gaspingly and with n sug-
gestion OF tears in her voice:
II do no what you'll think. Laviny
Dart: I do no what you'll think, but
Il want his fault. He couldn't help
it-poor man! II want his fault that
his sled overturned on the way home,
an he never spoke again after they got
I'm to the house. / don't see as you
can blame him none or me either.
do no when Two been so upset by
anything. Laviny.'
What Is 1t, Mrs. Rice?" asked La
vinia. IL have not the least idea OF
what you are talking about"
81 don't suppose you do. Laviny. I'm
SO upset I hardly know myself what
I'm sayin'. But guess it'd give most
anybody a queer turn to find that they'd
had something ten years that didn
blong to em. an that the owner ought
to of had years an years ago. Thats
what's happened to me, an the thing
I've had belongs to you
ITO me?"
Eyes. to you. Laviny Dart"
"It cannot be anything OF any con-
sequence"
II hone It amt. I'm sure / do. But
this mornin' | went up into my a.','
to look round for more cloth to hnisn
I'D a quilt. / opened an old red chest
that I've KEEP some o my poor nus
bands clothes in ever since he DIED.
because kind O. hated to cut EN- up
or g,;e 'em away an see somebody
else wearing them. The very hrst
thing l took out was the coat my nus
band had worn the day he met Win
the accident that caused his death. Inc
sleeves an collar were so moth-eaten
that / made up my mind that l mlsht
as we'll cut II up an use what was
good of II for the quilt. So l TOOK IL
an, some other things downstairs an
was shakin' them out In the woou-
shed. I picked up the coat an vas
shakin' It mighty hard when tne oia
linin' broke loose in one place an our
dnopped letter! Yes, LaViny DART
= letter addressed to you'll"
ITO mel" ,,,r
"To you! never was so set oach
nv ANYTHING In my life! Topped right
down nm n pile O. wood an trled "
nuyz,e II all out, an It didn't take me
no great while to do 1t. YOU hn ,he
how that, us Twin right across 'N'