The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1905-04-05

ard as you could rightly so rfgard me I
wanted you to know that j am capable of
rising above my almless life.
1 have recalled so many times all the
little incidents OF my visit to your home
and lived over those evenings graced by
your presence and lit by n cheerful fire
time and again. Do not think me insin-
cere when L assure you that they were
the most delightful ones 1 ever passed.
II you find time to write II line to one
who is now n worker In the hive instead
of O drone, 1t will be gratefully received
by me.
To II girl with Alice Pages sympa-
thetic nature INC tender feelings words
like these made her feel she was what
she most enjoyed bcing-an inspiration
and help to others. In this respect
Frank Mason had read her better than
she had read him, OF else some fortu-
nate intuition had led linn Alright. She
answered the letter ut once, thanking
him for His fattering words, but for
bidding him 10 Use any moro of them.
81 do not like ilattcry," she wrote,
because no n ever can feel quite
sure 1T Is sincere. | will answer all
your letters If You will promise not to
tell Bert we are corresponding. Not
that L am ashamed of it by any means.
but lie is inclined TO tease me, and l
love him SO dearly | can't bear 10 have
him do so. The little girl YOU sent the
candy TO vas both ~aStonished and CRATE
full. l did not tell her who sent ii, for
the fact would have been all over town
in a week If l had, and L do not like to
be goSsipcd about. l merely old her a
good fairy had sent ii, which was bet
ter
Once II wock thereafter Alice re-
ceived a long letter from Frank and as
regularly answered it.
"Frank is getting along nicely" Al
bert wrote Alice in the early spring.
81 believe he has the making of Il ca
pablo lawyer in him. He grinds away
harder than l ever did when reading
law and has eve yet complained of
how dry and dull it all is. He is q big,
warm hearted fellow, too, and L am
growing more fond of him every day.
He is more devoted to me than II broth
cr, III we AVE made Il lot OF plans
for Il months outing on the Gypsy this
coming summer. / like his family very
much, and Mrs. Mason AID both her
daughters have invited me to bring
YOU down when your school closes to
make them Il visit. / think | shall run
up In Tune and stay over Sunday and
bring Frank with me. ! imagine no
would like to como, for once in awhile
i ovcrhear him humming Ben Bolt"
"a very nicely wordcd little plot, but
don't YOU imagine, my dcar Bert, / do
not soc through IT," was the mental
comment of Alice when she read the
letter. THE young gentleman has
bravely set to work to become II man
instead of n cipher. My brother likes
him; he whistles Ben Bolt;' my broth
er Is to bring him up here again; | am
expected to fall in love with Mr.. CT
phcr that was and help him spend his
money, and L nm to be barely toler-
oted by mamma II both s%istcrS! A
most charming plot, surely, but ii takes
two to make n bargain. / think l
know Just the sort of people mamma
II sisters are. He told me she read
him Il lecture every time he danced
twice with n poor girl, and now / am
expected to walk into the same trap
IL cringc to her ladyship for the sin
of being poor. l guess not! I'll teach
school till l die first, and he can think
of me as having II slab of granite 50
gray to keep me in place"