Meade County news. [volume] (Meade, Kan.) 1900-1918, 1905-10-26

The sunshine never had looked SO
bright to Amy as on this glorious Sep
TENDER day, as she stood on the
yineclad porch Of her coy cottage
and contemplated the thriving garden
and the velvety lawn. The city with
its distant haze of smoke blurring the
sky seemed far away. The great
world itself seemed to have retired
an immense distance from her little
Eden, and all the noise and the strife
and the trouble seemed wholly away
and apart from the new life into
which she had come.
And all doubts and fears had van
ished, for there was Fred, strong and
tender and true, to stand between her
and every harm. All, Fred, and her
eyes grew tender and an ecstasy of
joy filed her whole being. OF course
she was still almost bride, but the
months since the springtime wedding
had been so full of happiness that the
entire future was rosy-hued.
While she still reveled in these
delightful day dreams she glanced
toward the street and was surprised
to see the figure of woman leaning
against the fence. The woman was
poorly clad and bore on her face the
unmistakable marks of erring and
marred womanhood. She leaned
against the fence as though in pain
and her face showed much pathetic
evidence of sickness and weakness
that Amy involuntarily FASTENED
toward her
You are ill.," she exclaimed. Cant
help you?"
The woman turned a sullen and de.
f1ant face toward the dainty lady on
the pretty lawn
Amy did not fail to notice that be-
meath the hardness and badness and
illness, the face had lines of beauty.
"She must have been very pretty
girl once thought Amy. and she
is yet young. She cannot be much
older than l."
But covering all the lines of beauty
and of youth were the lines of dis
sipation, of wantonness, of brazen
shamelessness. and over all like q
mask was the expression of pride and
defiance.
"Such as you can't help such as
me-" she replied sullenly to Amy's
proffer Of help.
But you are ill.," persisted Amy. as
spasm of pain twitched the hard
features and the woman leaned more
heavily upon the fence.
You'd be i'll yourself if you'd gone
through what l have" she replied. 81
amt slept for two nights, nor had a
decent bite to eat, either But I'll get
into the city tonight, and then
reckon I'll be all right. I've been
walking for two days and I'm pretty
well fagged"-with an expression of
apologize weakness.
ooh, dear, how dreadful" responded
the young wife with pretty sympathy.
'You must come in and rest and I'll
make you pot of strong tea. You
never can walk into the city in your
condition. It's good ten miles,
Come in there?" faltered the wom-
an, pointing toward the house.
Eyes, indeed" replied the other,
land lie down a bit on the lounge
while l make you some tea and fix
you up lunch
Lie down in your pretty cottage
while you wait on me?" And the
woman laughed harshly. But the
laugh ended in a sob and she broke
down completely.
Nom, l won't do that. But wish
you'd let me just kiss your hand"
and she grasped the others hand i'm
pulsively and raised it to her lips.
tits the first kind words I've heard
for many month";" she sobbed
Mrs. Dennison gently pulled her
within the gate and before the wom-
an knew it she was lying on the COM
Portable lounge in the bright little sit
ting room.
Tired nature asserted itself and she
dropped into gentle slumber which
lasted for two hours. When she
awakened a dainty luncheon was on
a little table by her side, and the
young hostess who had been watch