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Show A BELATED ROMANCE By GERTRUDE E. WRIGHT. I MmmS the train puffed oft from r T 11,0 111110 s,nt,on' n I,ort I 7C I Ij'i well-dressed gcntlcmnn I XI. J seated himself in the wait-Tkffia wait-Tkffia lug cnb, took oft bis Fnu-, Fnu-, - " nma jmt( nmi mopped his perspiring brow. The brow lind broken from Its oldtlmc limits nnd reached nearly to the back of his head. He was clcau shaven and ruddy a lino specimen of well-preserved years. "Whnr jott want to go, sur?" The negro cabman stood with hts hand on the door nnd bowed obsequiously. obse-quiously. This was Just the kind to give n half-dollar and ask no charge. "To Whitley's Hotel." "Wlialey's Hotel I Good gracious!" The negro stepped Wick and beckoned ,N to another driver. Then bo turned re-' re-' V spect fully to his passenger. "Dey nlh't .' ' no Wlialey's Hotel now, sub, but n passel o' rocks nn' n ole chimney. It done burn down, suh, 'fo' 1 was born, I reekon." H "lira ml" The stranger was evl- Hfl; dently disconcerted. "Well, tako me IB 1 to some hotel." BB As the negro gathered up the lines, BB' Ills passenger put his head out of tho HB window. "Driver, do wc pass by the C Presbyterian Cliurclt?"' "Yobs, suh. Go right down Main Bf street." HB "Stop when you get there. And HE liere HB "Tiiankce, suh," said Jeff. He had HB jiot mistaken the species. HB "Don't drive too fast. I want to see BB the places as I go." BB Judge Uiushford was passing through BB nn experience that, under the most HB favorable circumstances, Is never with- HB out Its pangs. He was, revisiting for BK the tlrst time the scene of hts early HB manhood. He liad been educated In flB this little Missouri town. It was on- Bf cleared to lilm by many tender nssocln- BJ Hon. He bad left It a youth of twen- BBT ty and now was returning, forty years Bfl later, expecting to II ml everything tin-Bf tin-Bf changed. As he leaned back In the BB; carriage and closed Ills eyes, blessed BJ ' 1 memories were forming a picture of BB the little old and bare church, which HB had been the gate of heaven to his HB HB "Hyeall's dc chu'cli, suh." The car- BB rlagc stopped before a handsome brick BB edifice with cathedral glass and stone BB steps. BB "The rhurcb!" The judge sat up- BH right nnd looked bewildered. BS "Yuss, suh. DIs dc I't'Isbyte'lan BB Chu'ch. Maybo you was tbinkln' 'bout Bj do old one. Dat done pull down long BV time ago, sub." HJ Judge llushford experienced 'a feeling B of keen disappointment. "Drive on," BE he said briefly. BJ He was looking out Intently as they fl passed down the street. "Yes," he H said musingly, "there's the old ctitalpit B in the Itlley yard. That's the tlrst B familiar thing I've seen;" and there B came Into' his mind n whimsical recol- I lection of Holmes' words: Bj "There's nothing on earth that keeps Its Bj youth, jmt So far us 1 know, but a tree and truth." VI "Stop at tho next comer, boy," said H the judge. Tho next corner would be B the old Dyer place. It rose before him V ns If he bad been It yesterday, the big, B '"square white house with a brick pa veil ve-il incut leading up to It. Set In this walk was a generous heart filled with flowers, flow-ers, "painter's brush" and "golden buttons," but-tons," pink and portuluca. lly the side of the parlor window on the east was a smoke tree, nud a grape arbor was Jit the gorden. Tho carriage stopped. I'llycnb's do corner, sub." 1' It bad been transformed Into it com-monplaco com-monplaco business block. Not n vestige ves-tige of smoke tree or (lowers left. "Drive me to tho hotel," said tho passenger, with a kindling sympathy for Itlp Van Winkle in his heart. He felt bereaved. The depression that had fallen upon him deepened as be talked with the landlord after dinner. It seemed to lilm that be had returned to a placo of tombs. The "boys" were gone; the "girls" had passed away, it was some minutes before, he could bring himself to the point of asking that for which lie had come back. S"And Colonel Cnllborne's family?" he said at last, interrogatively. "What lias become of them?" Tho landlord shook his head. "Most of (hem are gone. The old Colonel died twenty years ago, I reckon, and his wife soon nfter. John, you roinciu-..her roinciu-..her John, the youngest boy; well, ho iJ'irttH killed. Ills girl lives here with Miss Itettle now; she raised her. Mighty pretty girl she Is, too. They say she Is going to marry young Kales, Yon remember the Folesos, don't ynuV" And Mi" voluble landlord switched off to a ednvorsallonal sidetrack. The judge did not follow lilm closely. He had the Information that lie most do-Mlss do-Mlss Itettle Cullborne was at that precise moment making "strawberry preserve, "I won't put up ninny," sliu iyis thinking rather drearily, us she measured put the sugar. When little Itettlp's gone there won't be any. body but Delpby ntjd me, and I'm afraid we won't have much appetite." Life looked a little gray to Miss Itettle. Itet-tle. Little lic(tlo had been discussing only the night before, the nrrongements for her marriage. All of this called back n flood of memories to Miss nettle, net-tle, as she sat In her own roohi late In the day, rocking gently In the moonlight. moon-light. Little llettlc's coulldencc had made her heart strangely tender. Did she ever love anybody? Ah, she rose from her chair, lighted the lamp, nnd opened n bureau drawer. Life from generation to generation Is but a repetition of tlfe old. In every lonely woman's heart there Is a secret drawer, nnd In It Is n faded picture or n bundle of letters, or n withered rosebud, rose-bud, mcnnlngless to nil but her. Miss nettle's secret drawer was only n little pasteboard box. As she raised the lid, the scent of Juno roses tilled the air. But one solitary letter, token from among notes nnd faded flowers. Interested Inter-ested Miss Itettle. A tender, troubled look came Into her eyes ns she unfolded un-folded the paper, yellowed with ngc. "How strange It was!" she mused. "How very strange! 1 will uever know why he did not come!" The letter was replaced at last. Then Miss nettle knelt down to say her prayers. Dear, sweet Miss Itettle! Such a fragrant, beautiful flower to have been so long ungn'thercdl The Jam was going into the glasses when tho doorbell rang. Delpby ushered ush-ered the visitor Into the dim, shaded parlor, nnd left him to gropo for a seat nlonc. After stumbling over an embroidered em-broidered footstool or two, Judge Ulnsfiford, for it was he, sat thankfully thank-fully down on the horsehair sofa and looked around. He renohed over and turned the Venetian blind with nn odil feeling of acquaintance. It had been a long time since he lind seen Its like. He could not hnvo told for tho life of him wbnt that parlor once held, except a beautiful blue-eyed girl who had blotted out for him all lesser things, but when the sunlight fluttered through the slats It revealed a strangely familiar fa-miliar scene, A big figured bmssels carper, a marble-topped table on which "gift books" nnd "annuals" and little piles of family daguerreotypes were primly placed around the family Bible In the centre; a smnll square piano with flowered cover, surmounted by a wax cross under un-der a glass globe, these were the sal-lent sal-lent features that met his gaze. For mural ornaments tbcro was a long mirror over tho high mantel, nnd a wreath of hair flowers. Ho rose and went to whero the wreath hung. Ho remembered It well. There was the same roso that he and nettle Cnllhorne had laughed over in those old days. It was made of Sallle Miller's red hair. How radiantly beau, tlful Bottle had been In those days! Of course she would be changed, that was unavoidable, but such color its hers could hardly There was a slight noise, and ho turned. An elderly ludy with a nweeUwrlnklcd face stood before be-fore him. Her hair was almost white, and there was a stoop to tho shoulders. Tho Judge started. He was sure the landlord had said Hint Mrs. Callbornc was dead. But he advanced to meet her. "Mrs. Callbornc?" he said Interrogatively. Interroga-tively. ".Miss Cullborne," she returned in a voice that thrilled him with Its familiar famil-iar sweetness. "Miss nettle Call-borne." Call-borne." Judge Blashford gasped. Ho lind n strong Inclination to run. At that moment mo-ment happening to raise his eyes, lie caught slIit of bis own bald head and rotund Hguro In the glass. He bad forgotten that time stands still for no one. "May I aRk your nnnif-?" said Miss nettle. "I think, perhaps, I ought to know It." "1 am William Blashford," he said "Will Blashford!" Miss Bottle steadied stead-ied herself by a chair It Wns the name signed to her letter. And till was the man that tho slender, curly-headed curly-headed collegian had grown to ho! She bad always thought of him ns young and slender. Miss Bettle felt as If she had been personally br,rcuved. When the first embarrassment was over, they entered lotdlnlly Into conversation. con-versation. They sjt together on the worn horsehair sofa and talked of old times and old Mends, They were glad to meet; they laughed and chatted merrily; but each held a baud close upon the secret drawer. Kach thought that the other had forgotten all about It. Judge lllashford stayed to tea. Miss Bettle had stolen from tho room when little Bottle had comu In, and hurriedly donned her new black and white o;-gundle o;-gundle and pinned a Queen of the I'ralrle rose on her breast. I'orhups IKwos the hurry that brought a flush to'br faded cheek, but as she sat behind be-hind the silver coffee pot and poured our delicious coffee, Judge Blashford !o(ik"d at her with deepening Interest He wns beginning to see a little or the Ilettlo of old. Miss Buttle wus a capable house I keeper. Judge Blashford was experienced, experi-enced, enough to know the signs. Those hot waffles and broiled chickens went straight to the lienrt hidden beneath hts capacious Vest. He had not had such a meal since well, for somo years. Miss Bettle certainly looked much younger than he bad thought at first. They went out on tho porch nfter supper, nnd little Bettle enmo out with n crocheted shawl and reminded her aunt that she would bo having neuralgia If she were not more careful, care-ful, and Judge lllashford remembered that he had been a good deal troubled lately himself with rehumatlsm, nnd they 'fell to talking nbont symptoms and remedies nnd preventives. Strange to say, n sense of coumradcsblp came upon them with this Interchange or elderly confidences, that hod not accompanied ac-companied the recalling of youthful escapades. They had grown old alike, nnd It did not seem to be a matter ror unmixed regret. They begnn to talk, now, of the sober, sad tletnllR of lire. He spoke to her or the wire or ills youth, pr their separation by death, or tho children who bad left lilm one by one, until now his home wns n dreary place, nnd she listened with only pity In her eyes. Then she thought of little Bettle, nnd confided to him that sho hnd never let the dear child know how she drended to have her go away. Finally the Judge took n letter from his Inside pocket. "Miss Bettle," be sold, and his tone wns very sober, "do you remember n letter I sent you on the day berorc I left college?" Did she? Ah, could she ever forget? It wns the one she had read only the night before. .j, "Yes." she said. "You wrote an answer to It." Miss Bottle's bend dropped assent. After all these years her cheeks flamed io think of that answer, and how it had been Ignored. People used to say that Will Blashford hnd a way of playing with girls' hearts, but she had never believed It. He held n letter, yellowed with nge, In his hand. "I sent my letter by mall. I expected expect-ed tho answer In the same wny. You gave It to Henry Illllard and asked him to give It to me." Miss Bettle remembered. His letter bad said In closing, In the' romantic rushlon of their nge, "If I may hope, send me but one word, 'Come.' " She hnd written that word. She hod sent It by Ills friend, for sho would not trust It to the uncertain malls. But he had not replied. The next day he had gone away and ,she had not seen him for forty years. "I did not receive It." he said quickly. quick-ly. Miss Ilettlo, looked nt him wonder-Ingly, wonder-Ingly, for it wns her letter that he was holding In his hand. "I did not receive re-ceive it," ho repented, "for Just seven years. Then Henry sent it to me with n humorous letter of explanation. He hod laid It away In his book nnd forgotten for-gotten nil nbout it till he ennic across It by necldent. He did not know what was in It. When it came I was mnr-rlcd mnr-rlcd nnd had children about my knees. It wns too late then for explanation. 1 put It nway in my safe, and it has been there over since." He stopped, but MJss nettle could' not ralso her eyes. He waited a moment, mo-ment, and then went on: "I would not hnvo you think that this blasted my happiness. Lire is largely made up or substitutes. I hnd n loving, faithful wife and a good ramlly. They made ror me a true home. I have had all the Joy or domestic lire. You, 1 trust, hnvo not been unhnppy." "I have had much to be thankful for," she murmured. She would not say more just then. "But while this Is true," lie continued, contin-ued, "it Is no disloyalty to the dead to say that the miscarriage of this letter has changed life entirely ror both or us." She could not speak. She was thinking think-ing or those sad, sad years or waiting beroro hope died, or the girl who thought ench morning, "He will come to-doy," and each evening, "Ho will surely come to-morrow." And It lind been to-morrow, nnd to-morrow, and ino years nan passea away. uo nan had a useful, busy life; she hnd been content; but still she pitied that girl sho knew so long ago. The judge wns speaking agnln: "Miss Bettle," ho siilJ, "wo hove not many more years of life, you and I. Wo arc on the downwurd slope; but" He stooped over and took her thin, blue-velucd hand In his strong one "shall we not walk together the rest of tho wny?" A mist wns in Miss Bottle's eyes. It hid rrom her the portly judge. The loviV or her youth was bosldo her. Juno roses were blooming nValn. The question sho had waited ror so long had come at last. "Will you not speak to me, my dear?" said tho judge. And Miss Bettle gave him the answer an-swer that had been In her heart for forty years. Florida Agriculturist. |