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Show j EOSES. AND PEARLS..- Susan Wilde was in a deep quandary. Her aunt, Mi's. Gladstone, was workman work-man embroidery pattern at the opposite ml of the room. On a stand in front of iusan lay a necklace of pearls and a imple white rose. The rose and the pearls were each accompanied ac-companied with a separate note. They t ad both been presented to her by special messengers within the last half hour. Pear Si'sax Will you wear this rose on your f'jsom this overling, it tbere is any room for hope lor ono who loves you truly and devotedly? Henry Jot. The second read as follows: Dea Hiss Wh.de If you feel that you can prerlove mo with one-half the ardor and Intensity that I do you, please acknowledge the sweet truth I s accepting tho pearls nnrt wearing them at Mrs. tadstonc'8 reception this evening. Arthur Floyd. your morning's correspondence. Can't you see that your good aunty is dying with curiosity to learn the contents of tho notes?". - Susan looked up confusedly. "Will you read them," she asked, "or shall I?" "You read them, deary. You see I am ' busy just now with this embroidery pattern.' pat-tern.' , , Susan obeyed, reading aloud what we have already submitted to tho reader. "What am I to do?" she questioned, with a look of evident annoyance, although al-though it was plain from the blush that accompanied it that she felt not a little flattered. "Why, you silly little innocent, replied re-plied Mrs. Gladstone, laughing, "it is ngainst all rules of propriety to keep two strings to your bow after they have become0 be-come0 so importunate. The only thing vou have to do is to consider the respective respect-ive claims of these two daring aspirants, before marriage, Mrs. Joy surrendered all her property into her husband' hands, and he immediately set tip for himself in a limited way intfio same line of business as the Floyds. .". As Susan had prophesied before their marriage, his business grew, and its growth proved a healthy and profitable one. In five years Susan's $12,000 had multiplied to $30,000, and Harry Jey was beginning to be spoken of as oue of the "heavy men" of Springvale, But during that five years a great change bad come over the fortune of Arthur Floyd. -' vr ' His father bad died, leaving him In full control of his extensive business. For a while things seemed to go on as smoothly as ever with Arthur, though prudent people observed that he was becoming be-coming daily inoro fond of the wine cup and the disreputable company of fast men and professional gamblers. He left his business go at loose ends, trusting to the integrity of the salesmen he employed, and they robbed hint He spent much of his time in the city, and a rumor reached Springvale one day that he hai lost $20,000 at faro in ono night nearly twice the amount of money that Harry Jov had had to commence business upon. the heaving bosom of the fond object of his heart's worship. "I could not afford such a costly present pres-ent as-Arthur sent you," he said, "and therefore I had scarcely dared to hope. Had I not loved you so wildly, so madly, I should have hardly ventured to make the bold proposition to you that I did." "I thought it a model of manly delicacy deli-cacy and cleverness," responded Susan, blushing, and permitting him to squeeze her hand in a most demonstrative manner. man-ner. "I felt myself very much in Jhe condition condi-tion of a drowning man," said Harry in a tone of happy triumph. "The faint hope I had of winning you from such a rival as Arthur was the straw, figuratively figura-tively speaking, at which I grasped, and lol it buoyed me up and I gained the haven of my desires.- Oh! Susan, darling, dar-ling, you don't know how happy your sweet promise has made me!" "You know, Harry," said Susan, quietly, qui-etly, "that 1 have always aimed to be a sensible and steady minded girl When I chose you, dearest, I did not do it without with-out reflection. In the first place I was fully sensible that I loved you tho best-that best-that there was more, in fact, worth loving lov-ing in your character than in Arthurs. I have heard, on very good authority, that he sometimes drank more than was good for him; that ho preferred associating associ-ating with gamblers and roughs to sober, so-ber, honest young men of his own age a class whom that set characterized as 'old fashioned' and 1 have often heard it whispered that he, too, indulges in the pernicious habit of gaming. "Considering these defects, the intrinsic intrin-sic worth of your character-for I have been assured by those who know you that your record is a spotless ono weighs more in my humble, womanly estimation than ail tho wealth of the world associated asso-ciated with a tarnished name. "I duly considered all these things, as well as my decided preference for you, and the result was, though contrary to my good aunty's advice, who had not the faculty, as she said, to discover any of these bugbears, I accepted the rose in preference to the pearls." "Bless you. darling!" cried Harry and decide between them. Tho choice cannot be very difficult, of course, when you consider their relative positions in a worldly sense." "I know; Arthur is rich and Henry ie P"Yes; and the former is certainly not srreatlT inferior to the latter in point of beauty and intelligence. Of course you will discard the rose for the pearls? 'I am not sure, aunty, dear. I have been pondering the matter deeply for the last five minutes. I have always prided myself that I am something of a judge of human nature. To be sure, Arthur Floyd is rich and can lavish pearls, even diamonds, upon the lady of his choice; but in my knight of the white rose I rec-ognize rec-ognize a natural superiority that wealth alone cannot confer. My decision, aunty ought not to be governed wholly by the prlent situation, for riches, you ino. have wings, and aside from that I find in my poor admirer more sincerity, more strength of purpose, and a great deal less v3 and selfishness than may be found Tapped up in him who is represented by"Crely you would not be so insane my deaas to resign Arthur Floyd, wUh ZJ. " tive wealth and recognized so- From this time Arthur Floyd became more reckless and dissipated than ever, and cautious people began to whisper of impending bankruptcy. An officer from the city arrived one day and closed down upon everything. Tho next morning afUr that ruinous, but to some extent unexpected failure, Arthur Floyd was found suspended by the neck to a great beam in his own I barn, and quite dead when discovered. Susan Joy had just received a call from her aunt, Mrs. Ola. tone, wfcm the sad news of the suicide reached them. "Where should I have been now had I accepted the pearls?" was all that Susan said. "Indeed, deary, y-u were wiser than 1 j after all," confesses Irs. Gladstone, with a sigh. M. S. in Nv Vork News. ; deeply impressed by the sensible discrimination dis-crimination of his promised bride. "If I ever disappoint you in your hopes or expectations regarding me, it will be because be-cause I lack the ability, not the will, to ctin rtm role I have marked out. And tlieje two missives were the source i'f the quandary into which Susan Wilde, the acknowledged belle of Springvale, lad so naturally and iusensibly fallen. Arthur Floyd was of the firm of "Floyd & Son," dry goods merchants, while Henry Joy was simply a salaried clerk ;n tho establishment of tho aforesaid 'inn. The young men were of about the seme age, both intellectual, well educated edu-cated and good looking. They had been ' lassmates at the same university, and young Joy owed his present position in Hie establishment to the influence of his friend, Arthur. Both were madly in 'ore with Susan Wilde, the beautiful orphan niece of wealthy and aristocratic Mrs. Gladstone, who had come to reside at Springvala after the death of her husband, hus-band, who was reputed to be worth his millions. Mrs. Gladstone was still of a marriageable age, being but a trifle over W, and remarkably healthy and young looking. Mr. Gladstone had left his property equally divided between her-selfand her-selfand step son, a sophomore in Har- Susan was an only child of an elder sister, who had died some years before, leaving her offspring to Mrs. Gladstone's care. Her father had left some property, which her mother, through . tact and economy, had very materially increased, so that at the time of her death Susan a' left quite an heiress, having an unencumbered un-encumbered farm and some four or five thousand dollars at interest. Neither of tue young men had concealed from the ther his passion for Susan Wilde, and reasoning between themselves that she could make but one of the two happy in matrimonial 6ense, they had jointly h't upon the above novel method of as-g as-g aining which of the two might claim ner preference, each promising to abide y the young lady's deciSon. Susan had read both of the notes care-JWl.v, care-JWl.v, and was now deeply pondering. T"ey had evidently brought the younj S'fl to a profound sense of reflection jnd she saw that she must decide betweei 'he two. Arthur Floyd, aside from his persona attractions, had abundant prospectivi wealth to recommend him, while Henrj Jy had onh- intellect, beauty and fim Physical powers to plead for him. Wit! uost unlimited means at his commani "ie former could place her in the mos txalled position in society, while the lat ter. with no other resource than his sal ary' could only expect to support a wif C0rtably, not ostentatiously. well," said Mrs. Gladstone after i mewhat lengthy silence, "you seem t tousuallyredwed on the subiect o i iSg. for apoor. clerk in hUern-ploy, hUern-ploy, with nothing but his good looks to recommend him?" . "I might, aunty. A young girl is Bometimes supposed to consult her heart 1 S than her ambition in these matters mat-ters and surely, if I allow my heart to Eve V. it -ill plead most potently ' toWeTlIHbave"no power to contrf ; youfion," responded Ifa . OM stone somewhat impatiently. 1 cai ' S advise you as I think for e best 1 Yo-i are of course, your own mistress, ' b?t aryouV8ynrbed'MmU8ty0" expect to lie," ' There was but little more said upon T l lor sLn h turned his 1 Glar'ith an appropriate declination. 9 PTn ThfafS Indeed, Arthur I rKvatly flattened himself that the s had Pnvate'1(i be awarded to him, m I I consideration oi n 1 cirtadtlyhirinTeriorinaworld-" cirtadtlyhirinTeriorinaworld-" f010-" was a source of deep effinaldmoAiflcation to the young mHenrv Jot, on the contrary, was in an 1 JIof happiness at sightof the simple "I have the most perfect confidence in your ability, dear Harry; and to show vou that I have I shall place every dollar of my little fortune some ten or twelve thousand in all. if the farm can be disposed dis-posed of to advantage entirely at your command, which wUl enable you to commence com-mence business on your own account-not account-not so extensive as the Floyd's to begin with, of course; but you will grow to it The man I marry is not to be cramped in his aspirations on account of my fears for the money I might have lying idle in some savings bank." The lover could only express his emotion emo-tion of gratitude by a tender pressure of the hand as they strolled back and once , more mingled with the gay company. ! The next morning 8usan informed her aunt, Mrs. Gladstone, that she and Harry Joy were to be married at the expiration of a month, and preparations for the approaching ap-proaching nuptials were immediately set on foot. ' , , Everything was in readiness wjen the time arrived, and a very costly and sensational sen-sational display was the legitimate result of Mrs. Gladstone's clever management Agreeably to tn. promise eiven Dim |