The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1923-07-06
LUELLA TALKS
BY MoLLiE MATHER
% BY Mcclure Newspaper syndicate.)


MFRS. DEMMING, lately returned to
AVA her old home town, settled her
self down in Luella's sunny living room
for an hour of gossip.
Luella, even in the days of her youth,
had been a CHEEKY and interesting dis
penser Of town news.
And what" Mrs. Demming con-
tinued the conversation, became of
that demurely pretty young relative of
yours, who left Brampton when l was
last here, because of her disappoint-
ment in Dayid's not asking her to
marry him? Sort of mysterious, she
seemed to me, l must confess, Luella.
Such a silent little creature, with blue
eyes-can't recall her name, but I
never did forget her face, or the fact
of David's falling in love with her, and
then settling back into his shell, with
out finishing his courtship And where
is David now?"
Miss Luella smiled; but a quick
frown followed her smile. Nancy
Holden's life was almost ruined by the
jealousy Of two men who loved her."
she said. And as you are one Of those
who used to go about wondering re-
garding the mystery Of Nancy, I'll be
glad to tell you her story. She came
to me that summer as lonely and small
a creature as could be. She was so
sweet and grateful and lovable, that
was real glad when David, for the first
time in his life, appeared to be inter
ested, and helped to make her stay
pleasant. You remember, Lydia, how
he began right away to take Nancy
driving and walking, and would sit
listening for hours while she played
on my old piano?
Please the girl said when she
came, don't talk about my past life,
Luella dear, if you can help it; to talk
about it now brings the ache to my
heart So, because / said nothing SOS
other folks wouldn't fall into the way
Of discussing things before her, they
speculated over a possible mystery. I
had no idea OF deceiving David though
when l kept speaking of Nan in the
careless way we have herewith our
dialect-as Mis- Holden. You know,
Lydia, to this day you are Mis- Dem
ming to the townsfolk. So David took
it that Nan was unmarried, and then
he learned later that she was a widow
after Mrs. Spaulding met David
and asked cattfly if Nan had not told
him that she was widowed he came in
stunned and surprised and bitter; and
went away again quickly, after Mans
perplexed acknowledgment. She, too,
poor girl, had thought of course David
knew. So it was then that she went
back to her empty home, as you recall,
desolate and grieved to the heart by
David's unreasoning jealousy-for it
was just that. But by and by he
couldn't bear the lonesomeness for her
for Davids love was true love, you
know-so he gave up his ideal and
went to beg Nan to take him, humbly.
when David came back for my
sympathy was as out of patience
with that girl and almost as disap-
pointed as himself. For Nan had re-
fused to marry David, and why?-be-
cause she'd been reading over some old
letters of her husband-kind of sort
ing out those to destroy, and she had
come across one to herself, written Que
time when he was away, and saying
that he hoped she'd never marry again
If he died-adding that she owed 1t
to HIM not to do so. And when she
told David tearfully, that she did owe
it to my departed cousin to obey his
wish, David came away pretty prompt
I couldn't think how Nan could be
so foolish, and knew, though we had
never admitted the fact between us,
that she had not married her husband
for love.
"One could not blame Nan, for she
did not know love in its true sense.
In her youth she simply married the
man of her fathers choosing, just as
she had obeyed him in everything else.
He. had asked this happiness Of her
during the last days of his illness. L
would know the relief of your assured
future, before I must leave YOU her
father had said. My cousin Timothy
was much older than his bride and
understood the dutiful manner Of her
affection for him. Yet, jealousy, he
exacted all her attention.
while on business trip Timothy
died of heart trouble, and / fancy that
unconsciously she must have been re-
lieved, in her freedom. So, poor David
had no cause for jealousy Of Mans
past Bewildered she had sought me
out-her only relative, and sadly had
/ muddled her affairs. But because it
has ever been my lot to make clear the
way for true love-which 1, myself,
have not Known set about that
night of David's call trying to explain
to him how Nan, with her conscience,
believed this debt of allegiance due
her departed husband, because she had
defrauded him in love, You owe me
this he had written.
"In a sort Of inspiration / went to
my old desk and drew from a drawer
the few letters my cousin Timothy had
written to me. And there was the one,
written the very night before his
death-'and if it is true, as the doctor
says, that my heart is likely to give
out any moment, you, my dear Luella,
will, l am sure, be kind to my dutiful
little wife, and will shelter her, if she
so desires, until such time as some
worthy man may come to claim her as