New-York tribune., 1913-11-23

Ny ATTAIN TOWERS was mountarcer,
NTli ignorant. uncouth; but he had keen
fSN4I sense Of some OF the proprictes. More
IN@Ri than once he had given it as his opinion
ISyG&1 that q man should not wed the second
A941SFl time until his first wife had been dead at
SNS%X least five years unless, Of course, the cir
c,mstanccs were unusual,-for instance
such as oncs being left with a number Of very small
children who could not we'll do without the care Of
mothering hand. In his own case, he remained q
wdowcr for ten years after the going Of Nan before he
allowed the thought Of another marriage TO enter his
head But Nan had not left him with hOusctul Of little
children She had left him with only one tcn-ycar-od
boy boy who had his mothers clear brown eyes and
her firm and jet sensitive mouth.
When he did begin to think seriously Of taking unto
himself second wife there came in the way two bar
rlers-twJ very great barriers they We're TO Nathan
Towers. One Of them was that in his nclghbOrhood
there no unmarried women anywhere near his own
age,-thcrc were q few gray strcaks in his hair and
beard,-thc other was that his Philip now grown
and tappng young giant, had never been at al back
ward IN expressing his views concerning stcpmottrS.
Philip poor Mans only child, was as dear TO the father
heart life itself; even dcarcr, doubt. They had
always been more like brothers, more like chums, than
father and son; they had always been inscpambe.
Nathan spent a long month in wrestling with his
dilemma
Then the laurcls, that chaplct Of the everlasting
NILS, burst into bloom luxuriant, white, fragrant and
he thought Of Sarah Sarah had been his first sweet
heart and he remembered we'll that she had had
passion for the splendid mountain flower. They had
gathered ], together many-oh, many were the times
IN the sweet long ago And she who had once been his
own Sarah Mcbride was now a widow. She lived with
her one daughter on the side of Little Laurel Mountain,
fully seven miles from Nathan Towers cabin on the
eastern slope Of the majestic Big Slaty.
But with the going Of one Of his barriers another arose
70 confront him. ike giant out Of a holc,-Sarah had
married into the Enslcys the hated Ensleys, whom the
ioWers had fought for many generations True the
eud had almost died out but It only because
d majority Of the men each side had been killed or
ial married into other localities.
lie was about to give it up about to resign himself
70 continue life in single bcssedncss. STILL it
ohely No man ever appreciated womanklnd more
,han he Nathan Towers was a home man, and for a
nome woman was required. Philip Philip had always
spoken as sightingly Of marriage Of stepmothers.
lie was sure Philip would never marry.
H. tired 20 persuade himself TO believe that he was
gong over the Little Laurel that warm July day TO
Dy pair Of hotes but deep in his heart he knew that
me main purpose Of his going TO obtain at least
sMnpSe Of her who had once been Sarah Mcbride. He
walked twice past her cabin without seeing either her
VI hcr daughter The homclike aspect Of the flowers
aJ grew beside the path that led from the gate to the
NORWAY OF the honcysuckle that riot over the log
walls oi the oldashiOned the yard, all appealed