Year: 1859

Everybody said that Nettie Gray was beau
ty not one OF your polished city bellies, but
d gay, romping, saucy piece of natures Own
| handiwork, yet gentle and affectionate withal,
possessing depth of feeling and sentiment
| which few were able to fathom.


Now ssswcet Nettie Gray as she was call
ed, had long been beloved by one Charley
Grafton-the handsomest young merchant who
kept the only store the village could boast of ;
where he had, for some four or five years,
| dealt out tea, sugar, coffee, tobacco, calicOes,
| silks, pins, needles, hardware, and a variety
| OF merchandise, to the villagers and surround
ing farmers, and had realized quite little for
| tune a part of which he invested in the pur-
! chase OF widow Norton's beautiful cottage
and grounds, which, at the death of her hus-
| band, she had been obliged to dispose Of and
| take cheaper place, where she could live
! less expensvely; while from the surplus of
| the price received for the cottage, she realiz-
ed snug little income. Charley had also ta-
ken the widows son into the store, as his in
creased business made it necessary to procure
assistance. The salary paid to little Johnny
was material help TO his mother, for which
| she was very grateful TO the young merchant,
and she never failed to speak a word in his
/. praise whenever an opportunity presented.


This, with the nuniberless acts Of generosity
which Charley was never tired of performing,
made him the hero of that little village, and
caused him to be beloved and respected, by
both young and old, for many miles around.
To say that Nettie Gray was Indifferent to his
many visits or for the ardent love he enter
tanned for her, would be doing injustice to her
warm, appreciative heart. But the spirit of
mischief seemed to possess her, and, though
she was uniformly kind and gentle in her dis
position towards her lover, and would converse
freely and unreservedly with him upon any
topic, yet, when he approached the subject
that lay nearest his heart. she was of like a
frightened bird. Not that she was afraid of
him, or that the subject w9s distasteful to her,
(for her own heart was equally intereSted) but
she was delighted to tease him, and heartily


enioved his discontinue on such occasions.
She knew he loved her with all the strength


of SOUL and she had no fear of alternating his


affections from herself-an event which would


have given her the deepest pain.


Charley had begun to think seriously OF


marriage and why notl There stood the


cottage embowered in trees, many of which


were bending under their heavy load of rare


fruit, unoccupicd. 1t needed only the gentle


presence of his bright eyed Nettio to make it


a paradise. His income was more than suffi-


cient to satisfy their most extravagant wants,


and why should he not marry Many times


he had visited Nettie for the express purpose


of making known his wishes, but had as often


been prevented from saying what he wished to


saw. by the little mischief's running away at


the first word he uttered on the subject. To


think of supplying her place from the many


fair damseIs in it-who would gladly have ac-


cented his hand was out of the question. 1t


was Nettie he loved, and Nettie only, and he


felt sure she returned his affections, but how


could he ever get married If he was not per-


uitted to propose. "I must resort to strata


gen." he thought, AID he partially formed