Tazewell Republican. [volume] (Tazewell, Va.) 1892-1919, 1902-02-27
MlRANDY'S
ROW
By MRS. GEORGE P. HAsBR0UCK.

1 warn't never given to hankerin'
after city folks an city ways" OBJ
served Mrs. Rightmeyer to Mrs. Ober-
baugh, as they sat together at Widow
Diedrich's quilting party; IAN Griffin S
Corners I'D a-been quite as well off eft
it I'D never heard of such things as
summer boarders."
"That it would" returned Mrs. Died
rich, "ez anybody thet's had 'em
knows. They're that fnnicky over
their victuals, just past bearin'."
"They are tibet, but there's no deny
in they're right smart, some on 'em;
an 1 s'pose thet's what's taken Miriam
dy Nevins."
"Mirandy NevinsP" said Mrs. ober-
baugh.
"Why, amt you heard she's keepin'
steady company wi Arthur Morrison,
what's boardin' down to Mrs. Van
Blum's?"
"Land sakes alive, eff tibet don't beat
all! Mirandy, what's close onto 40,
got city chap for beau!"
eyes, an awfully gone on him too,
they say. I tel you, Mirandy's got to
look quite clipper"
Mrs. Oberbaugh was too much as
tonished to reply, nothing quite so
startling having come within her no.
tice for years.
81 hope he's not after her money"
Mrs. Diedrich remarked, after pause.
"Bless you, no; a rich man like him
wouldn't think shucks of Mirandy's
little bit; but 1 guess he sees she's a
capital manager, an IL make things
go twice ez far ez one of them city
gels"
"An' Mirandy's got beau at last.
Well, well, we'll! 1 hope it'll turn out
good. But, mark my words" conclud-
ed Mrs. Oberbaugh, with an impressive
shake of her head, "you don't often
get much from late settin' but added
eggs"
Eyes, it was true; Miranda Nevins,
who had never felt her heart warm
under the sun of love in her youth, was
now in middle age basking in golden
afternoon. Left an orphan in early
childhood, she had been adopted by a
relative whose exacting ways had
made life very hard for the delicate
child. Then came long years of patient
nursing of the irritable, penurious in
valid, whom she would not leave be-
cause of fancied debt of gratitude.
At 38 she found herself free, and,
greatly to her surprise, the absolute
owner of $4,000, which the wretched
old miser had boarded even when
needing the necessaries of life. Youth,
however, with it's dreams, was gone,
and the delicate prettiness she pos
sessed as girl had been destroyed by
care and toll. AS the people at Grit
fms Corners expressed it, "Mirandy
always held up the heavy end"
Her life had been colorless and sad
beyond expression; not single CLEAN
of love had come into it until she met
] Arthur Morrison. He loved her-ah, it
was impossible! so she told herself.
But had she not said the same when
told of her fortune? All day long the
poor lonely woman, whose empty
heart hungered for affection, repeated
the words, until at last all doubt was
banished.
She hardly listened when her lover
spoke of his wealth, of his handsome
house in the city, of the luxuries with
which he would surround her; he
loved her, and in that assurance lay a
wealth of riches passing all magma
ton. Everyone noticed how the old
careworn look passed away during
those days of her lately found happi.
ness, and when at times blush would
steal over her face, it brought back the
beauty of 20 years ago.
When the first tints of autumn were
on the woods Mr.. Morrison departed,
and Miranda, after waiting patiently
for that precious thing, her first love
letter, wrote herself to the address he
had given her. Every morning the
neat little woman with the patient
eyes would drop into the general store
and post Office and make a purchase
while the mail was being distributed,
and though she never ventured to ask
if there was letter, her lingering
steps and wistful looks were perfectly
understood. This had gone on for
some weeks, when one morning Miriam
da received letter from the dead let
ter Office, and found within it her own
to Arthur Morrison, scrawled over
with different street numbers and the
statement that no such person was
known. For an hour she sat, with
the letter before her, trying to un-
ravel the mystery; it was easier to be-
lieve that the whole postal force oi
New York was in league against her
than that her lover could be false,
She would go to New York, she would
find him-ill, perhaps; poor, it might
be; dead, even; but false-neveri
Grifin's Corners had, according to
its custom, taken the liveliest inter.
est in the progress of Miranda's love
affair; but the little woman had been
very reticent, and speculation had had