The Laurens advertiser. (Laurens, S.C.) 1885-1973, 1921-11-16

"Sit down and rest awhile" said her
mother. "Im afraid you play too
hard when Patty and the boys are
here. Do sit down quietly and rest
yourself little while" And rs Flor
ence obeyed Mrs. Atwatcr turned to
! her husband rcsuming, "Well that's
what | said l told Aunt Carrie I
thought the same way about 1t that
you did or course, nobody ever knows
what Julias going to do next, and
nobody needs to be surprised ut any
! thing she does do. Ever since she
came home from school about four
fifths Of all the young men in town
have been wild about her-and sos
every old bachelor, for the matter Of
that"
"Ycs," Mr.. Atwater added. every
old widower, too"
His wife warmly accepted the
amendment. "And every old widower,
too" she said, nodding, Rather! And
of course Julla's done exactly as she
pleased about everything, and natural
ly she's going to do as she plcases
about this"
"Wcll, OF course it is her own nf-
fair, Mollie," Mr.. Atwater said, mildly.
"She couldn't be expected to consult
the whole Atwater family connection
before"
"Oh, no." sl." agreed, II don't say
she could. Still It is rather upset
ting coming so suddenly like this,
when not one Of the family have ever
seen him-ncvcr even heard his very
name before" "a
"Wcll, that part OF it isn't espe-
cially strange, Mollie-whcn he was
born and brought up in q town three
hundred miles from here. I don't see
Just how we could have heard his
nnmc--unlcSS he visited here, or got
into the papers in some way"
Mrs. Atwatcr seemed unwilling to
yield mysterious point. She rocked
dccorously in her chair, shook her
head, and after setting her lips rigid,
ly, opened them to insist that she could
never change her mind: Julia had
acted very abruptly. "Why couldn't
she have let her poor father know, at
least n few days before she did?"
Mr.. Atwatcr sighed. "Why, she cx-
plains in her Letter hat she only
knew It, herself, an hour before she
wrote"
"IIcr poor father" his wife repeat
ed commSeratingly.
"Why, Mollie, don't see that faith
cr's especially to be piticd"
"Don't you?" said Mrs. Atwater.
"That old man, to have to live in that
big house nil alone, except few ne
gro servants?"
"Why, no! About half the houses
in the ncighborhood, up and down the
street, are fully occupied by close rela-
tives Of his; I doubt If he'll be really
often said he'd give great deal If
Julia had been plain. unpopular girl.
| I'm strongly OF the opinion. myself,
| that he'll be pleased about this. OF
course It may upset him little, just
Mt first"
Eyes: I think 1T Wilt" Mrs. At
water shook her head forebodingly.
"And he isn't the only one It's going
to upset"
'To, he isn't" her husband admit
ted. seriously. That's always been
|
bear to seem disappointing; and so, Of
course, suppose every one Of 'em had
special idea taat he WINS renlly about
the top OF the list with her."
Every last one of 'em was positive
Of It," said Mrs. Atwater. "That was
Julia's way with 'em!"
eyes, Julia's always been much too
kind-hearted for other peoples good" !"
Thus Mr.. Atwater summed up-and
he was this Julias brother. Addition
ally, since he was the older, he had
known her since her birth.
"If YOU ask me-" said his wife, "I'li
really be surprised If it all goes
through without n suicide"
"Oh, not quite suicide, perhaps" Mr..
Atwatcr protested. "I'm glad it's a
dry state, though"
She failed to fathom his simple
meaning. "Why?"
"Wcll. some Of 'cm might feel that
desperate at least" nc explained.
"prohibition's safeguard for the lis
appointed in love"
This phrase and a previous one
stirred Florence, who had been sitting
quietly, according to request, and
"rcstng": but not resting her curl
osity. who's disappointed in love,
papa?" she inquired with an explosive
cagcrncss which slightly startled her
prcoccupicn parents. "What IS all this
about Aunt Julia, and Grandpa goin'
to live alone, and people committing
suicide and prohibition and every
/ thingf What IS all this. mama?