The Opelousas courier., 1901-06-22

may DG COhSlOSESu 0ACuSh D1S IN me III
felt almost light.headed when I sud.
denly Inherited a little fortune of $40.
900, but the dizzy sensation was pro.
duced by pure joy, and In no sense by
conceit, or any form of the evil de.
scribed by the apostle as being "puffed
up" or "Yadnting ones SELF"
Twas already an old maid, that Is to
say, 7 was nearing thirty, and the one
romance of my life lad been my en-
gagement to Oscar Eckstrom. He was
a clever young Swede, of good station
IN his own country, and Of marked
ability as an engineer, by which trade
he had hoped to make a sufficient In.
+: come to permit him to take on himself
the expense Of a wife, ana q mother
inlaw; for my dear mother, who was
q helpless invalid, had so long been a
part Of me that the man who married
the daughter would be obliged to con.
slider the mother as a part Of her while
she lived. This often troubled my
dear mother, but I would not allow her
to speak of it, or indeed to think Of 1t,
either, SO far as I could prevent 1t.
Oscar and I had now been engaged
Tor about five years, but although he
was steady and industrious, the time
when we could appoint wedding
day had not yet come, and I still re-
tained my position in the school where
/ had been first appointed to the pri-
mary department, when I was not yet
fifteen years Of age. My salary made
q comfortable support for my mother
and myself, and Oscar was each week
laying a small sum In bank, and we
confidently looked forward to better
and brighter days to come.
And behold they came-in q way we
had hardly anticipated. My Uncle
Samuel, after whom, as he had been
my mothers only brother, I had been
named, died in some far away place in
Australia, leaving me what at first
seemed the almost fabulous sum of
$10.O00i
Perhaps a girl who had been dow
cred with the name Of Samuella really
deserved a compensation of that sort,
but I don't know II I thought that way
about 1t, being just SO happy and CRATE
full that / was simply light-headed,
and my joy was not even tempered by
sorrow at the loss Of my uncle. fer I
had never seen him In my life.
Tn ouoru mo ~ 7 <1ac ufoR orH ~va4o
full over my inheritance.
In the first place Oscar and I could
now be married; In the second place
long years in the school-room, and a
series of vacations spent In the hot
city, had taxed my strength more than
] dared confess to myself although
the doctor had commanded a rest, and
q summer in the country for both my
mother and MYSELF, and lastly, I could
indulge in the extravaganza Of having
my one girl friend come and pay me a
visit.
! had long known Of a cosy little
house In the country, which / could get
on easy terms at any time when l was
in the position to bid for It; my first
act now was to take advantage Of this
lucky chance.
( ! then sent in my resignation of my
position In school, and procured q SUBJ
stitute for the balance Of the term, for
! was not going to sacrifice the early
spring beauty of the country the
months of April and May, which had
always seemed to me the true holiday
OF the year-and then Oscar and I had
q little talk about our 1ong-delayed
Wedding-day. At last we decided on
the first Of September, and ! gave my
self up to the luxury of a few days of
shopping, not mere looking In show
windows and pricing of goods, but
genuine shopping, for / had my mod
est little trousseau to prepare, and ex-
cept my wedding dress and bonnet, /
mad determined to make everything !
required with my own hands.
By the end of q week I was settle,t
IN my dear little cottage home; and
though Oscar had complained Of the
long time to wait, / soon realized how
wise had been to put off my we'd
alng-day for several months to come,
lor what with the gardening to do and
my sewing, it was well If I would be
quite ready by September.
Three evenings In the week Oscar
came to see me. The railroad journey
vas about half an hours duration, and
Y allowed him to remain from $50 till
ssSO, and though the three bright hours
new by almost like minutes, the men,
ofy OF them fingered with us both dur
ihg every moment Of the time between,
ana each time when we met again we
resumed our conversation almost at
aae word where we had dropped it on
the evening before.
OI course ] had long since written
Y Clare, and she had promised to
come TO me as soon as I was settled in
ay new home, and though she had not
sss named the day ON which I might
expect her. I was not in the least sur
psised when she appeared one evening.
= t1e middle of May. in company with
oscar. knew her in a moment. and
W 81, though I had not seen her for
ssafss and I thrilled with delight to
egg mat she was as pretty as ever
psestieF. Indeed, as I o decided
Saen 1 became once more accustomed
g her face.
VIZ arrived from different points Of
- compass at the same time, almost"
aas exclaimed, gayly, "and / was still
,aqnlfing my way when Mr.. Eckstrom,
4safing your name. and guessing at
a.lae' was 50 good as to take charge
= me and bring me here, and one ct