St. Tammany farmer., 1908-02-22

plain IdCGS, anu ulduG ldGlu 1o1 IiO
moment really beautiful.
They were not old in years when
this duty was laid upon them; but
their life from childhood had been so
grave and repressed, that the neigh
bors in speaking of them always called
them Squire Martins old maid
daughters" and the young people and
children somehow looked upon them
as belonging naturally with the older
and more sedate part Of the commu-
nifty.
The years slipped by, and now the
boy was fast growing into young man
hood. The days were near at hand,
as the sisters sadly realized, when he
must leave them to enter upon the
college life, to which he looked for
ward with the eager longing Of youth
and inexperience, while in their hearts
were mingled the dread of parting and
the natural desire of every loving
woman's heart to see her own "respec-
tic like the lave"
He passed through the successive
stages of college life, his sisters never
failing to share his hopes, his fears,
and not infrequently his mistakes and
blnnders And thanks to this unin-
terrupted intimacy, they, as well as
he, grew TO a better knowledge of the
world outside of their own little vii
lage, its breadth and wisdom, as well
as it's snares and pitfalls.
And the great day came at last
to which, in all those years of patient
waiting, the sisters had looked for
ward with mingled emotions of hope
and fear. If Boy should fail at the
last moment, should blunder or STAN
mer, or be seized with stage-fright be-
fore all those people! The thought
was too dreadful to be cherished for
| a moment, and yet-he was only hu-
man after all, young, and inexperi-
enced in public speaking, and it would
be q terribly trying ordeal to stand
| up there and speak before all those
staring eyes and critical ears.
In her last letter, Miss Amelia said
| not word of their projected visit,
only winding up with tender words of
encouragement, urging him to do his
best, and speak just as boldly as if
he had only his sisters for an audi
ence instead of that gaping crowd of
uninterested strangers"
Perhaps if the sisters could have
seen their boy, laughing and chatting
with the prettiest queen" in the bevy
of sisters, cousins and sweethearts
assembled to do honor to the gradu-
| ates, they would have put aside their
fears that this handsome, self-possess-
/ ed young fellow would be in the least
daunted or troubled with stagefright
/ when his hour should come.
Miss Carlotta was radiant with youth
and beauty, and the pleasant conscious
! ness that her squire for the occasion
was not only one of the finest
looking, but one Of the brightest stud
| ents in his class. Her mother, too
looked indulgently upon the pair, for
the fact that Jack was the possessor
of a comfortable fortune had some
how reached her ears through chan.
nels known only to the chaperon OF
the society girl,
Old Yale was at its best and bright
est, with students ana their lady
friends everywhere. Everybody seem
ed to have somebody to talk to ex
cept a couple of middle-aged ladies'
evidently from the country, who had
just alighted from car, and now
stood solitary and bewildered, evident
ly at a loss to know where to go and
what to do in the confusion of the
gay crowd.
Miss Car1otta, with girls quick
instinct for the odd and incongruous
first noticed them.
do look, Mr. Martin. at these two
funny old bodies over there! They
look as if they had stepped out of &
fashion book century Old
she laughed lightly. but as Jack
turning his head. caught sight of the
solitary figures, his face suddenly
frightened, and hastily excusing him
self, he hurried away, e1bowing his
way through the crowd toward them
"What-~Who?'
And Miss Carlottas pretty lip wore
most becoming pout, although he
eyes never left the group that wa!
slowly making its way through thu
crowd to where. she sat
Il my sisters, Miss Hamilton" ant
while graciously acknowledging intro
duction, Miss Carlotta kept a sharI
eye on the young man. to catch th'
! faintest indication of embarrassment
on his part. Had so much as shade
of deeper color crimsoned his cheek
the least tone of irritation crept int
his voice. she would have secretly pro
nounced him like all the rest o
them and dumped him, metaphori
cally, into the waste-basket of the OF
dinary college student, in her estima
I ion
But the tender attentions to thei
comfort, and the frank pleasure tina
he showed in introducing them to hi
college friends, right and left, a