The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1905-08-29
Last Of the
Cwelve
BY
Lucy g. hampton
COPYRIGHT. 1901, by Lucy e. Hampton

today, won't your
mo, because you will only laugh,
and don't feel like being laughed at
tonight" A smile came in spite of her
effort to hide 1t, and then a sigh.
Its strange you should have forgot
ten it. Dick, when you always do re-
member It, Oh, mean my birthday,
If you can't guess. You know, Dick. to-
morrow is the Sth."
by Jove, little girl, so 1t is! But
would have remembered, of course.
Have l ever forgotten?
She smiled again and leaned toward
me-
You know l don't mean about the
roses. You'd never forget them, be-
lieve, If l lived to have a thousand
birthdays. It's always very sweet of
you too"
l must explain that ever since Eliza
beth was a graceful little fairy of
twelve and l an ardent admirer of,
well, several years her senior | had
sent her a bunch of American Beau
ties, her favorite flower, one for every
year she was old on each birthday
Lets see how many is it this time
-twenty-three, twentyfour. Why,
Bess, it will be an even two dozen
this time, won't it?"
h-hush-don't tell-will you?
That's what | meant awhile ago about
your not remembering. | hope when
l keep getting older and older some
time you may forget just how many
years old | am. I'm ashamed even
now to have any one know I'm so
ancient 1 can trust you not to tell,
l know"
She was SO serious l did not dare
to smile, so l sat wondering just how
long this mood of hers would last.
Usually she finds 1t hard to be serious
longer than five minutes at time. As
she sat there, her bright head in the
shadow, her eyes half closed to con-
ceal something she did not care to
have me see, know-whether mis-
chief or something really serious |
couldn't tell couldn't help thinking,
well, of many things l have no right
to think since one winter several years
ago when Elizabeth decided we were
to be only friends, but the very best
friends that ever were. And so we
are.
"You don't know how terrible it is,
Dick, to be girl and to have twenty
fourth birthday so near. Don't laugh.
Aunt Alice says she believes l am go
ing to be an old maid"
In spite Of her warning l had to
laugh now, trying to think of her as
an old Elizabeth the beautiful,
as she was called; Elizabeth the be-
loved of all who ever knew her; Eliza
beth the envied of all the girls, and
Elizabeth as an old maid.
My mirth received a check when she
remarked next in the most cheerful
way:
'Mr. Harrington was here last night"
Another silence, not so pleasant as
the last do not like Mr.. Harrington,
and Elizabeth's Aunt Alice does. Be
sides, Mr. Harrington Is considered very
desirable He is rich, he is well liked
by mothers and aunts at least, though
I am frank TO say do not know why
exactly-and he is very fond Of Eliza
beth. For this l admire hts taste, but
1t does not tend to make me noticeably
fond Of him.
Poor old duffer! Did he-er-propose
again for the third and last time, Ell,
Bess ?"
HE isn't SO old, and you don't need
to call him names, Richard Wells! He
doesn't need so much sympathy either
perhapsr' She flashed a look at me
and drew herself up in such naughty
manner that l Immediately subsidized
What did she mean? Surely she-she
couldn't have
1t was my turn to be serious now.
please, Elizabeth" l began-'please
look at me and tell me you refused that
man for the last time. You know you
cannot love him"
'Why, you see-well, I-Pm ashamed
l don't care enough for him to marry
him, I'm afraid. But he happened to be
the last-well, I'll call him the last OF
twelve"
1.-THE last of twelve = whatT l de
manded YOU don't mean to tell me
Elizabeth Denton, that you have had
twelve separate and distinct lovers in
your short life of twenty four yearsT
Most of them did not count, they
were so long ago; but they were just
as serious as the others while they
lasted. You can't guess who was my
first lover, Dick. Billy Trenton! He
proposed to me one night at a party
l was only fourteen, think l remem-
Der we had some sort of games, and in
one of them he chose me as the one he
loved best, and afterward came the
declaration in the conservatory. Only
a short time after this Cousin Frank
proposed. You never knew he was one
Of my old lovers. did you? He wal
very desperate for month or so and
vowed he would die If l refused him
Then he met Grace, and / was forgot
ten
well, who came nextY l was get
ting interested.
THE college boys, believe. You
know a girl was not considered at all
popular In college there in the west
unless she had at least one proposal a
year."
You were there a year, as l remem-
ber." l interrupted. land you averaged
how manyT
"Only two, and lots of the girls had
four and FIVE With Billy and Frank,
the two at college made four, and not
one counts so far, you See"
Just when and where did they be
gin to count, may l ask?"
She ignores my question as she
comes to the fifth on her list.
Il had almost forgotten the cousin
who visited Grace the winter after ]
came home from school He was SO
funny. He must have proposed to
every girl he met that winter, and ]
came In with the rest Let me see
who was next? Oh, the doctor, and be
really did count. for he ives big
man. and-I liked him"
She waited so long to continue her
story that l grew impatient.
DO go on" entreated. you see
we have had only one that counted
30 far"
"Well, we went to the mountains fol
the summer; the loneliest place-no one
around, excepting two men and one
of them was semi-invalid. It was
the moonlight nights and-and-there
were no other girls there"
Elizabeth looks SO innocent and free
from guile when she Is pleading hei
own cause that find 1t rather hard
70 scold her now. But bold up atghi