Year: 1875

Ierhaps the young minister was not
aware that he still held Bessie's hand but
Bessie was She essayed to withdraw it,
and then the grasp tightened. She blushed
red and redder; she telt an arm stealing
round her. and then, looking deiiantly up,
there was the minister's face bending be-
fore her. She knew what he was about
to say. She didn't want to hear it; not
yet, at any rate, did she want to hear it.
But she did hear it. That arm held her
close, close to plunging heart; that
voice was murmuring in her ear: those
lips, they sought her own and her own
yes, indeed, Mistress Bessie-half eager,
half unwilling, were answering them
were answering them! And suddenly, al
most as if she did not know what she did,
she had lifted her hand, with the willow
switch in it with which she had been play
ing, and dealt the horse beside them
swift little blow that startled him into
rear and bound, tore the bride from
MIR. Beckwith' S other hand, wheeled Mr.
Beckwith shortly about, and sent the horse
off at a gallop There was nothing for
MIR. Beckwith to do but hasten after the
horse-so valuable creature, and not his
own-and then there was nothing for the
wayward, wicked Bessie to do but sit
down on a stone and cry, and to 60 home
at last all de dew-be-draggled, and dash past
the family room like wrath, up the
stairs to her own nook, bolting the door
with resoundng echo that might have
dispelled any fear Of the supernatural.
She sat down in her dark room then alone,
but safe. She loved him-yes, she loved
him, she was afraid but he was a minis
ter, and she didn't want to love a minis.
ter. She was half promised to him, but in
her thoughts there in the dark room she
defied him to exact the promise.


What in the world is the matter with
the girl ?" said her mother.


But the father only nodded his wise
head, and bade the mother leave her
alone. He looked at the absurd little por-
trait of his short-waisted aunt Dorothy, of
whom Bessie was the image and SUPER
scription. and remembered the story OF
her courtship as he had heard her tell it.
ut will all come right, MOTHER he said


"lt's all wrong now," said the mother
And these tantrums will be the death of
me if they don't come to an end soon."
Perhaps Mr.. Beckwith thought they
would be the death of him. Ii he did, he
could devise no way to overcome them.
Half promised as she was by those melt
ing lips of hers, he could not arrive with
in sufficient distance again of the re-
bellious little maiden to exact the rest of
the promise. That his power was felt,
and not only felt now but recognized, was
evident enough, or she would never have
tried to escape him so. In the mask of
holden, or in the mask of nonnette,
whichever way it was, she was equally in-
accessible.


If there was to be picnic now in the
parish, an occasion where all were on q
level, this young woman announced her
intention of going, before Mr.. Beckwith
had the chance to invite her, in the COM
pany Of another suitor, and nobody in that
house had ever been much in the habit of
gainsaving Bessie Allan. When evening
meeting was over, she was not the one to
wait for the minister; she caught her
fathers arm, and said, "Qu;ck Don't
let anybody take me-" And after that
mark of confidence, the proud and loyal
father, happy slave of a spoiled mistress,
would not have surrendered Der to the
minister himself, who was, it was very
likely, plodding on behind with her mother
and the lantern. Wien the sewing circle
closed its session, Bessie said Yes to the
first spruce young Corydon that stepped
forward. And when three weeks had
passed after that twilight in the lane, Mr..
Beckwith had not spoken one word with
her.


But, tor all that, there was change in
Bessie. Nobody ever heard her voice
caroling out of the window now: nobody
heard her old sweet laugh, like the music
OF brook; there was curious little
frOwn between her eyes when on her mad
dest escapade. Mr.. Beckwith, looking at
her unperceived. with his longing pain,
felt that if he did not conquer soon,
it would be the worse for Bessie. He
knew well enough now-after the in
noccnt kiss whose remembrance so thrilled
him-that she loved him; he knew we'll
enough that it would break her heart
should he abandon his attempt; he know
well enough those hidden springs of feel
ing which reacted so upon the young ma.
ture OF which she was totally ignorant,
and whose first stirring so disturbed her;
he knew well enough that she would one
day wonder at and despise this time of
doubt and fear and this desire for longer
liberty from the great thrall of love. But
not one chance was he finding to make
her learn these things.


1t was just al this season, as it happened,
toward the close of the bright September
days, that flaming handbills were posted
up at every corner and on every empty
fence, proclaiming the approach of Eden's
great Scriptural Show and Gymnastic En-
tertainment, which the villagers were not,
however, deluded into supposing ANYTHING
other than circus. Miss Bessie, of course
read the handblls in common with others,
and straightway announced to her aston
ished family that she was to be patroness
of the great Scriptural Show TO the extent
Of single ticket


go to the circus !" came the astonished
chorus of remonstance.


''lt isn't a circus" said Bessie. "It's q
Scriptural show. There are texts from
the Bible on every cart"


They take the livery of God to serve
the devil in !" exclaimed her father.


IL don't see any such necessity" she re-
joined. 'It's an opportunity for studying
natural history such as seldom occurs, the
bills say"


"Much natural history in those dancing
women and riding mem"


"Oh. as for that part, l shouldn't think