The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1902-01-09

/ w hat CttIl lIiC SH1t-sAf III
do with us9' Sc s Ter
shoulders. Who kaoQ let
us try what we can 40 Wi, ng-
lish and Danish cons als. all
Paris not a Danish consul we
find, and the Eng.ishman moi
sanguine. Paris mi Z j be
kingdom in Ashanti. he id US
sadly. There are a lol es
gone mad. Do you kna a-an
has complained of being
ed? In fact, blooIshed an, r..e.,y
are rampant
However, he promise . do
what he could for us, WI. / was
nothing, as it turned out.
"When Manon found thar there
was no help, as we wa.ked away
weeping from the grim PRISON, to
my establishment she began to beg
me to lend her my black confrma-
ton suit, made by my mother few
months before and never yet worn
by me. Lend her my confirmation
suit? Not / What could she want
with a boys suit, she, a girl? |
scoffed at her, but she flung her
arms round my neck, and with her
pretty brown eyes full of tears she
entreated me to let her have it. She
only wanted it day; | should have
it back then. What could boy
like me do with Manon's ewes full
Of tears and Manon's arms around
his neck? | yielded very reluctant
ly, but / did yield. She eagerly
seized upon the bundle and ran off
with it.
81 could not help but notice how
pale her face was, how dark her eyes
were as she vanished out of my
sight.
s'That very night my master came
back He seemed very anxious about
Manon and sent me to her fathers
to inquire about her. There, how
ever, no one knew anything about
her. Her father was very angry
with her for neglecting the shop
and promised her a beating when
she did return. There was no news.
however, the next day and the next.
Con the morning of the third day
we, my master and |, heard the
rumbling of the tumbrel behind us,
and there, standing erect, dressed
in nay confirmation suit, was Ma
non. How young and innocent she
looked! Only city peopled by hu-
man wolves and hyenas could have
struck the little curly brown head
from the long, white, slender throat.
Her eyes, full of love, were resting
on my master, for whom she was to
die, and she made him little ges-
ture of farewell, quick little ges-
ture, so slight as to be unobserved
almost. But he saw it and would
have fallen senseless had | not held
him up by main force and turned
off quickly into the street leading
to our lodgings. Before we got to
our destination the tumbrels were
coming back empty, and she had
given her life for him, the aristo-
crat-she who was no afistocrat;
only a poor, plain, common body
like myself"
This was the last tale we ever
heard from Niles. The next morn
ing he was found dead in his bed.
His face, wonderfully rejuvenat-
ed by death, lay on the pillow, his
hands gently clasped rs though in
prayer. AL the place was present
to do shonor to his obsequies, we
children wearing band of Grape
on our left arms, tied there by
Steena.
After the funeral it was found
that Niles had left all he owned to
Steena--the old house, the waste
garden and goodly sum of money.
And Steena, good, ugly Steena,
was an heiress in a small way. She
who was wearied Of single blessed
ness and bad commissioned the
blacksmith and the shoemaker to
get her husband in vain while she
was poor and ugly had lovers ga
lore.
Her choice fell on handsome
young Englishman, dozen years
her junior. In spite of the advice
of her disinterested friends and rel
atiyes, she married him presently.
The only notice she deigned to take
of it was that she was married in
the English church and by the Eng
lish clergyman, and when, in the
course of a year, Steena became the
mother of twins, two blond haired,
blue eyed miniatures OF their fa-
Their, what mother so happy and so
proud as Steena, our Steena?
By that time, too, there was q
neat gravestone to Niles memory