Middletown transcript., 1906-05-05

seemed able to supply no end Of
variations.
| am very fond of jim Harcourt
of course; he and I were chums at
J college, but | confess / grew a
little tired of hearing of his many
perfections. The Jim Harcourt
knew was a very decent chap
all round, but the Jim Harcourt
whose acquaintance | made dur
! ing that memorable drive from
Brightsands to New York was u
quaint mixture Of saint and hero,
such as no mortal man ever was
except in the eyes of the woman
who loved h m.
Father is really awfully fond
of him too, though sometimes he
pretends he isn't, particularly
when he has a specially bad fit Of
gout, she assured me, earnestly.
Then | wonder your father was
so obdurate about giving his con-
sent to the marriage, l suggested.
He certainly is obstinate on
that point, but then he thinks 1t
/
would be much wiser to defer the
wedding for few years; but Jim
says he doesn't see any good in
waiting to get married till people
are quite old fogies, | don't
think | do either, she added,
smiling. What do you say, Mr..
Stratford?
] can quite understand that
Jim didn't feel inclined to do
anything so foolish, said I, though
! your father
Oh, dad will come round right
, enough when the thing is irrevo-
cable. His bark is very much
worse than his bite, you know.
lam very glad to hear it, said
|, recalling the old mans trucu-
lent manner of the previous day.
It's mostly question of gout,
and I shouldn't be surprised now
this spell of dry weather has set
in, if father was quite pleased at
Jim having taken the matter.into
his own hands. Otherwise, I'm
not sure that I should have felt
justified in giving my consent to
this runaway marriage, she add.
ed with a bewitching smile.
Jim could hardly have got mar
ried without it, I suggested.
Oh, l don't know such things
have been done, you know, and
there are lots OF women
But only one Miss Alice Bar.
ton, said l with a sigh.
Something very like a frown
passed across my companions
lovely face as she glanced search
ingly at me, before she said softly:
am very glad you like Jim $
future wife, because you and lie
have always been such friends.
We were strangely silent after
that, and l WAS glad of the in.
creasing traffic that kept my at
tention fixed on the steering gear
and gave no leisure for even IL
glance at the bewitching face at
my side. |
Then we turned down side |
street and came suddenly into |
the echoing silence of city !
square, in the corner of which
stood the gray old church. where
Jim Harcourt's wedding was to
take place. We were five min
utes before our time, so Jim Har-
court was not there to meet US, u
fact which somehow gave me an
amount of satisfaction quite out
of proportion to its apparent
cause.
| do hope my roses are quite
fresh, she said, unlocking the
bonnet box, and taking therefrom
huge posy Of crimson roses.
Jim loves red roses, she added,
burying her pretty face in
the scented petals as she seated !
herself on u stone bench III the '
porch of the gray old church.
Jim is not the only one who
loves beautiful things, said |;
most men do. only some get what
they want and others don't. Now
my wants at the present moment
are modesty itself. | only ask
one rose-will you give it to me?
l added softly as I held out my
hand.
The beautiful eyes glanced up
from the posy in her hand to my
face and then back again to the
flowers, while a lovely blush
crept from chin to brow. and l !