The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-10-25

l
And spend your whole time, instead
of part of it, in aiding and abetting Mr..
Follett, as you used to do?"
"And spend my whole time" said
Jane, with her shy smile, "as selfshly
and uselessly as any human being liv-
ing"
"Impossible!'
"But l can assure you Of it, Mr.. Mo
hun. I am not near as industrious or
praiseworthy in any way as was at
fifteen. The fact u.s. have really moth.
ing whatever to do. I don't visit much.
Mr.. Follett and Miss Brown and every
body else care great deal more for
Miss Lynch's conversation than they do
for mine; and as to- duty, dare say l
should like it very much indeed if it
happened to come in my way, but, un-
fortunately, it never does, and so am
idle"
What q dreadful condition of life!'
ITO a well-regulated mind, no doubt;
but I am sorry to say am perfectly
contented, and never find any of my
days long enough. If every hour OF
them was filled with some appropriate
duty-as all the books on education say
they ought to bel am quite sure l
should not be happier than I am in my
idleness."
lam glad anyway that your idleness
brings you here" said Clifford; and as
he spoke he threw away his half
smoked cigar and most unmistakably
prepared himself to walk by James
side. II hope you-and-Miss Lynch
ofen come here in the summer even
ings, Miss Grand"
II come here about five evenings a
week, Mr.. Mohun. My favorite walk
indeed 1 think the only very pretty
walk we possess-is through the woods
to Haldon. am going there now
would you mind my going, too"
"Oh, thank you! I should be very
glad iudeed!" but she colored very
forcibly again. II am only surprised
at your being here, not in the village,
on such an evening as this
And then Clifford, with good deal OF
warmth, entered upon all he had gone
through since that morning in the way
of speech-making and congratulations;
and how thankful he had been, at last,
to steal away by himself into the
woods c'little thinking whom I should
find here, Miss Grandp); and Miss
Grand, her shyness gradually leaving
her, confessed that she, too, had
stolen away, because public festivities
oppressed her-especially festivities at
which everybody felt called upon to
make rapturous speeches about the viz
tues of somebody else-and then they
began to laugh together over little
childish jests. Of former days; and Gif-
ford asked her, gravely, If she ever got
valentines now? And, if she did, he
hoped the spelling in them was better
| than in some that he remembered writ
ing when he was sixteen; and, final
ly, by the time they reached the moor,
both had thoroughly and forever over
come the constraint of their meeting
and were talking almost with the OLD
boy and girl frankness CT five years be-
fore.
1t is fearfully easy thing for a man
to fall in love at twenty-one.
Before they had sauntered together
| for half an hour upon the moor, Gift
ford's pulse was beating faster and
faster with every look Jane threw to
him from her soft eyes. He had ac-
knowledged to himself that she was
precisely the one woman above all
other women whom it would be pos
sible for him to love; had thought over
several of his friends who had married
as young as twenty-one, and formed
rapid but strong conclusions as to the
wisdom OF following in the same steps
without delay.
Miss Grand knew nothing of the
world and was very little vain OF her
own charms. But, in whatever else a
woman may be ignorant one thing she
! always knows-the precise extent to
which any man has lost his head ABOUT
her. AS Mohun lay on the smooth
heather beside the stone where she had
seated herself to watch the sunset.
Jane knew perfectly, and without look
ing toward him, how intently and with
what boyish, outspoken admiration his
| eyes dwelt on her face; she felt how
his voice sank as he answered. her;
q nd like q true, although very innocent,
daughter of the common mother, Miss