Middletown transcript., 1909-02-06

light the eye. There was . NAL
den hair fern in a silver stand
near the window, and a mass OF
pink carnations sent forth a
spicy fragrance. A "cosey cor
ner, . arranged of the latest de-
sign, invited the weary to reposs.
Everything about the room bore
evidence to cultured taste and a
purse of no "Micawber" dinen-
sions. 1t was a room in which
you might dream of your ships
sailing in laden with all the treas
ure Of a South African company
a room where a nightmare
would be impossible. But the
owner of all this white-and-gree
luxury was kneeling on the hoor
with her face buried in one OF
the Wide-frilled pillows that made
the ''cosey corner" a thing OF de-
light; and, iudging from the sobs
that we're making the afternoon
unmelodious, Helen Roberts was
in no happy frame of mind, and
the pillow was on the damp road
to destruction.
The gentle reader will rush TO
the conclusion that Miss Roberts
dressmaker had sent home a
gown that would not be induced
to go into a tit. The ungentle
reader will at once think that
Miss Roberts lover had been be-
having shabbily-that he had, in
a fit of absent mindedness, ad-
dressed a note to her beginning
"My own Susie. But it was
not a misftting gown, it was an
unrequited love that so distressed
her on that bright October after
noon. The latest edition of the
Stiletto was lying on the floor in
company with a cream. bound
volume of verse, and to these
publications Helen Roberts owed
all her sorrow.
Helen's father was a wealthy
doctor who was determined that
his only daughter should have
every educational advantage. So
she was sent to the best univer
sity in the State, where she grad
uated with high honors in the de-
partment of literature. At the
commencement exercises sh e
read a clever essay on ''Late Dis
coveries in Electric Science The
week after the reading of this
production she sailed for Europe,
where for two years she improved
her mind by visiting English ca
thedrals, German castles and
Italian art galleries. AS she had
been endowed with a fair share |
of common sense these twenty |
four months of foreign travel did |
not send her back to Claremont
with a vocabulary ofaffected Eng
lish and un-Parisian French. |
When she returned DR.. Roberts |
looked with fatherly pride on her
perfectly healthy face, and could
not help admiring the touch Of
graceful self possession that in
telligent travel seldom fails to
give.
There were others to admire
this finished young woman. Not
many months had passed before
Harvey Stuart, a young barrister
of Claremont, showed a strong
desire to win Miss Helen's care
fully trained heart for his own.
But Helen was not at all anxious
to give up her lately acquired
freedom. However, HarveyI
Stuart had lighting oIoCd in his
veins and the spirit Of his Scot
tish ''forbears' awoke within him
as he said:
You may have as many friends
as you please, but you shall be
my wife. If it takes ten years
and more to win you ] will do it.
So he walked with firm tread
down the stone steps, leaving
Helen to murmur, with flushed
cheeks,
What impertinence!
But she felt a secret misgiving.
For four months Harvey Stuart
was devotion itself. He did not
refer to his hapless love, but he
studied Helen's tastes and com
fort in every possible way. He
talked well when he chose to ex-
ert himself, and Helen at last
found herself depending upon his
opinion, not only in matters of
literature, but also in such per-
sonal affairs as gowns and gloves.
Most of the young men of Clare
mont were dissipated society de-
votees, and in Harvey StUart's
keen ambition there was well
come contrast to the inanities of
her other acquaintances. He had