I BLUE , OR CRIMSON ?
Hj From HnrpiT'H fJazar.
H It was a momontous question , far
H : morc so than the reader , glancing at
fl * tl e title of tills story , imagines. The
B .young lady standing by the window *
Wm ' "l Btr ° efc costume , gazing nt the
Bflj ' • blooming squares in the little garden
H | " below , was no nearer deciding it than
E | she had been three days ago ; yet it
H | must be settled "that afternoon , and
H | the hands of the clock were pointing
HI ( ton minutes to 5. "Blueorcrim-son ? "
K the words began to adjust thcm-
M selves with annoying pertinacity to
* * * " " " the monotonous ticking the
p on man-
*
} m tcl "blue , orcrim-son ? Yale , orUar-
* jjfl vard ? " and then this further affix ,
M -containing the kernel of the difficul-
B ty , "K ) lfe , or Mars-ton ? Bolfe , or
fl Mars-ton- "
JB "Which should it be ? The clock
: 1 dropped preliminaries and struck to
M "the telling clause with persistency so
? f aggravating that the young lady
a 'knitted her pretty brows and finally
9 stopped her ears , She must think
1 she must think. Here were only fif-
1 teen minutes in which to balance for
I 'perhaps the thousandth time , the
J merits of two rival and declared suit-
. * -ors for her hand , represented by the
jf colors of the rival colleges. "Which
| J -should it be ?
How it was that , though neither of
these suitors had yet been accepted ,
• each believed himself'favored , and
expected his supposed lady-love to
wear his colors that evening , is a
• mystery which only an accomplished
• coquette could . This
explain. par
ticular coquette did penance formuch
( previous flirtation during the mau-
vais quart p'heure at the window ,
trying to make up her mind whether
| 'to purchase blue or crimson ribbon
? : for Elinor Yance's party.
She had put off purchasing either
as long as possible , and had had im
mense trouble to prevent being pre
sented with both. But for this un
fortunate party , which had given
• each admirer an excuse to request a
: proof of favor , she need not have de-
• cided quite yet whether to accept
iKoger Marston , whose dark eyes and
charming manners. had turned the
beads of half the girls in her "set. "
who was handsome , aristocratic , and
' oh , most potent word ! rich , or
Walter Eolfe , the "little lover" of her
-childhood , her playmate and teacher
at once , her loyal champion always ,
and the hero of her earliest day
dreams.
" "Why , Lou , what in the world are
! you standing there for with your
: flngers in your ears ? So you're go-
ilng out ? " with a disappointed ac-
• cent.
J'Yes , 'm. Why ? "
" "Oh , I've just got anotefrom your
Aunt Maria. She's sick , and nothing
* ' 11 do but I must go up there this
evening. And I thought perhaps
you'd make the biscuit for supper.
I can't trust Inga , you know. " Inga
I -was the Swedish "help , " majestic ,
1 -snow fair , picturesque , serene , and as
I .yet innocent of the least details of
1 -cooking. "Can't you be back in halfj
Hj -an hour ? It don't take longtomake
H -a cream-tarter biscuit. "
H "Yes , 'm , " with a despairing glance
II .at the clock , "I'll try. "
11 One would not have said she was
11 trying very hard , noting her deliber-
-ate pace when once on the street.
I "She could have wished the walk to
I town twice as long. How provok-
I ! The " "
ingly things happened "help"
I ! only fit to look at , and Aunt Maria
I isick to-day of all the three hundred
I < and sixty-five in the year ! Oh dear !
If ; idear ! Should it be blue or crimson ?
B Of course it ought to be blue.
B * 'Walter and she seemed to belong to j
fl * each other always. Shehadstanch-
Bj ly believed him , till lately , the clever-
Bj est , best and handsomest boy in the *
j "world. He might be yes , she was
B ; afraid he was a little commonplace , e
! tout he was asmuch a partof herpast
I -as her ' brother Jermey , and seemed c
I. -as much a part of lier future. To f
I eliminate Walter
I But then what girl she knew would c
I think of refusing Boger Marston ? He s
I belonged to one of the Boston families ; c
B 'he had five times Bolfe's property ; he t
I" -was handsomer too at least the t
B- -girls thought he was ; he sang ; he n
Mr painted ; and poor Bolfe was apt to I
I : yawn over "enthusiasms. " Surely c
B no one else would hesitate between c
fl , the two , and yet t
B Here she was at a store door , and t
fl-v 'the clocks were pointing fifteen i
B iminutes past five. She passed that I
B -door , and the next , and the next ;
B then turned back resolutely. What J
B was the use of wavering ? It should *
B be crimson. I
' "I declare , Miss Lou ! " This greeting t
B ; was given by an , irreproachable i
Mr gentleman offorty who was patrolling I
' , the center of the store. "I cannot be-
B , ' lieve my eyes ! For two weeks you i
B * iiave passed without a glance at my i
Bi windows , and now , when I'm in the I
Bj > ; depths of despair , in you walk as if )
r1 . nothing had happened. i
§ r "You see. Mr. Batchelder , " was the
r saucy response , "I couldn't endrue
| " the sepnrationany longerAnd how 1
f fortunate I am to find you at liberty
% ' . % to attend me ! ' " c
* } "What ! You're going to ignore t
. , ; the claims of friendship , are you , and c
g ; purchase some sordid trifle or otht
0i "Kibbon ! Ah ! yes , yes ; now I see. a
; # Why couldn't you have spared my I
| i | , ifeelings and gone to Mr. Ellard's ? s
flji' * He would have sold you a ' ribbon g
. - .without a pang , while I . At the t
fir * , -very thought I feel quite sangui-
fl inary. " • " *
Wpy He had selected , while speaking , a I
g * roll of crimson , and was dexterously
flfe Sopping it as he held it before his t
/ - : ' - " > - . . " - ; \ . „ / - - . - ' * " . ' • ' *
W
customer , who surveyed it and him
with astonishment not unmixed with
unger. It has passed to a proverb
that nothing should be taken for
granted where a woman is concerned.
Miss Jennings remarked coolly , as
she turned to the case : "Perhaps ,
some other color would make you
feel lesssanguinnry. This straw color ,
for instance. "
"Ha , ha ! " still holding up the
crimson. "You see , I'm like Joey
Bagstock , sly , develish sly. "
"Indeed ? "
"Almost as sharp as a Harvard
Senior , I assure you. "
"You have an excellent opinion of
yourself. "
"Well , I'm no Solomon , Miss Lou-
no Solomon. But then it doesn't re
quire the wisdom ofSolomontoknow
that you want a crimson ribbon.
Any Yankee could tell that. "
"Yes ? "
"Only see what a lovely hue ! Your
color , exactly. Brunettes should
wear something rich and bright. "
Miss Jennings returned thanks for
the advice , and allowed the giver to
show her every crimson ribbon in the
case. Finally , she said meditatively ,
"I suppose six yards will be enough. "
"Oh , quite , quite ; yes , yes. "
"I will take- "
"And I'll guarantee the effect over
white will be charming. "
"I will take six yards of "
"And here's a narrower width oi
the same shade , if you want it. " The
storekeeper had let fall his handful ol
bright satin , and was measuring of !
deftly. "Four five six. Six yards ? "
lifting the scissors.
"Six yards of this blue , " the
young lady concluded.
"Eh ! " Mr. Batchelder dropped the
scissors and stared over his specta
cles. The purchaser had hard work
to repress & smile at the discomfiture
of the voluble salesman , who uttered
not another word till he handed the
change ovrr the counter. He had
rallied then sufficiently to remark ,
"Varium "
et mutab
"Don't put the blame on me , Mr.
Batchelder. It would have taken
the wisdom of Solomon to know that
I wanted a blue ribbon , and you're
only a Yankee. No wonder you
made'a mistake. • Good afternoon. "
Miss Jennings' satisfaction did not
last long. No sooner was she on the
street again than she repented hav
ing bought the wrong color just for
spite. Had she not determined on
crimson ? And now here was the de
cision reversed by a gossiping store
keeper. Now that she had the blue "
it quite lost its value in her eyes.
"And why not" this bright
thought entered her mind when she
was about half-way home "why not
buy the crimson ribbon , too ? " With
both colors read } ' , choice could be
made at the last minute.
Immensely relieved at this respite
she [ hastened back to the village ,
made her second purchase at another
store , and reached home , very hot
and tired , at exactly a quarter of six.
She tossed her hat , parasol , and par
cels ' down on the hall table , and hur- •
ried into the kitchen. Appropriating
\ one of the Swede's calico aprons , she
set , that serene domestic at work
making up a hot fire.
"Butter these pans , Inga , " she di
rected as she flew from closet to ta-
ble , "and cut up some cake. "
"Yess. "
"And turn out some of that grape
jam i , and put ice on the butter. "
"Yess. " The bulk of Inga's con-
versation consisted of this monosyl-
lable. ]
The Swede never hurried. Her
young ; mistress , perspiring and disT
dishevelled J , found this deliberation
] irritating. Her temper was present-
ly further disturbed. The door be-
tween -j the hall and kitchen was
thrown and her
open , ten-year-old
brother 1 Bob entered boisterously ,
followed by his dog.
"Ain't supper ready ? Say , Inga ,
get snip something to eat. "
" " ,
"Yess. v
"No , " interposed Lou. "Wait till
supper-time , and go right out of the
kitchen. "
Bob retreated to the hall , grumb-
ling ] ; "It's time for supper now. He
might have a doughnut anyway ,
He'll jump for it. Look here and see
how he can jump , Inga. "
The compliant Swede paused to
see. There was a great commotion J
in the hall of hi's , yaps and barks.
"There , did you ever see a dog a
jump like that ? "
"Yess. "
"Huh ! I don't believe it. Once a
more now , Snip. See this , sir.c
Catch it ! Sst ! hi ! who-o-op ! Oh , my *
eye , if he hasn't got it ! " °
He had indeed ; and "it" was one !
of the packages on the hall table , 1
for which , in order to spur him to Q
great exertions , Bob had invited his |
canine pet to leap. Lou had just
shoved her pans of biscuit into the "
oven , and turned to see the dog dart d
through the outer door with torn ®
tissue-paper hanging from his "
mouth. Bob was in full pursnit , and
his sister joined in the chase withD
out losing a second. A long and ex-
citing chase it was , and it is needless S
to say an unsuccessful one. Snip "
took refuge under the piazza , and "
there , of course , tore his prize to *
pieces.
It was then th.at the-much tired Miss -
Jennings turned upon her brother ,
and gave him a large and very unP
palatable piece of her mind , ending l
thus : "You can go straight to town c-
now and get another ribbon , and s
pay for it yourself. Bemonstrance
and tears availed nothing. Lou "
marched the delinquent back to the °
hall , hastily examined the other J'
pakage to see which color was fj
wanted , and finding the crimson safe , d
issued her command again.
"Go to Mr. Batchelder's store and "
ask him "for six yards more ribbon li
like : what I got this afternoon. " a
Standing at the window with the
crimson ribbon still in her hand , she "n
watched Bob's unwilling departure , b
and noted at the same time that w
threatening masses of cloud had si
gathered in the west , and that the p
atmosphere had grown close and opa
pressive. Perhaps there would be a w
shower. If there were , it would be a b
good excuse to stay at home from si
the party. She slowly rolled up the li
crimson ribbon , which was evidently h
the favorite of fate , and put in her B
pocket. g
"Supper ready , sis ? "This question d
was asked cheerily by her brother t
" " * * " ' ' " ll " ' * " " ' ' " ' " * " WIWMei ' '
DlMIMW | * ' * HI'I'
'
•
*
Jeremy , just entering the front
door.
Supper ! Good heavens ! Sheruslied
into the kitchen. The fire was ronr-
ing wildly , andthe Swede was seated
by the window admiring the pros
pect. With an ejaculation of dismay
she threw open the oven. There were
the biscuits , blackened and crisped.
She turned upon the phlegmatic
Inga. "Didn't you know enough tc
shut the draughts ? "
"Yess , " was the placid response.
"You should never havesuch a fire
when you are cookinganything. "
"Yess. You say make hot. Burn
so. Yess. "
, "Oh , well , but . There ! I sup-
pose there's no use talking. Just cut
up some cold broad. "
Jeremy , being the best-natured fel
low in the world , said not a word
about the loss of biscuit and the in
fliction of boiled tea. Lou was too
much heated and too much out of
temper to eat her supper.
It was not until the rneal was
nearly finished that Bob appeared.
He took his. place atthe table without
a word and with and injured look.
"Well , did youget it ? "
' Bob shook his head. His mouth
was full of jam.
"Didn't get it ? Whvnot " ? "
" 'Twarn't my fault. Mr. Batchel-
der'd gone to supper and the clerks
didn 't know what color. "
"Why , I told you blue. "
"No , you didn't neither. You said
like what you got this afternoon. "
"Itell I said blue "
you , indignant
ly. "And after you've eaten supper
you can go back and get it. "
"Huh ! I can , can I ? Dont the
stores shut up at six. Wednesdays ? "
"No , not all , " Jeremy interposed ,
seeing signs of storm in his sister's
face. "One or two are always open. "
"He wants to sneak out of getting
the ribbon. I declare" pushing
away her chair , and taking refuge in
the window recess to hide a few tears
of vexation "small boys are just
unmitigated nuisances ! Of course
he'll go back. "
"How about big boys ? " Jeremy in
quired , following his sister.
"Oh , big ones like you are very
nice indeed. "
"Thanks. I must be nice since you
allow me to escort you to-night and
turn your back on the comet and the
fixed star. " These were the nick
names Jeremy had bestowed on his
sister's two chief admirers. "Was it
because you couldn't go with both ,
and so wouldn't go with either ? Eh ? "
"It was because I Avanted to go
with you. And you're very "
"No , I'm not. I'm your humble
servant. You know it's the 'first
time you have wanted to go with me
since you put on long dresses. I was
a little surprised , that's all. And I'm
. afraid Mr. Marston may 'lie in wait
to assassi-nate , ' and that Walter
may send a challenge round"
"Don't be nonsensical , Jeremy. "
"Well , let me say one thing sober
ly , then ; I'm glad it's blue , and not
crimson ! , that Bob is going after.
Very glad. "
His sister flushed , thinking of the
crimson ' in her pocket. But at that
moment : came a crash from the di
rection of the kitchen that drove
everything ' else out of her head. Ar-
riving 3 on the scene , she found frag-
ments J of crockery and a deluge of
milk on the floor. The Swede was
surveying the ruin witli arms
akimbo. '
. "I haf upsided it , " she remarked
in explanation.
Unfortunately her mistress' temper
was also "upsided. " She proceeded
to * give Inga a scolding , which made
no more impression upon the recip-
ient * than it did on the wood-box she
was filling. Seeing this , Lou desisted
as abruptly as she had begun , turned
her j back on the offender , and went
back to the dining-room just in time
to see a figure dash down the garden
path and out the gate. It was Bob
\Ao was thus ' decamping , having
stuffed his p ockets with eatables.
No second walk to town for him !
What was to be done ? There was
no use in pursuing ; no use in getting
angry. Everything seemed against
blue ; for that reason , if for no other ,
my heroine made up her mind to
have it even if she had to go for it
herself. There was not time enough
for | that , however , and she did not
like to ask Jeremy , who was enjoying
cigar on the piazza before dressing.
But there was Igna ; she could go.
The Swede was not perceptibly as-
astonished at her mistress sudden
change of tone when she came back
to ask her to leave the dishes and go
on an errand. She made the unfailj
ing ] rejoinder , "Yess , " and was ready T
in two minutes. Thinking to be
quite sure this time , Lou wrote what t
she wanted on a slip of paper. The (
Swede departed , holding this in one j
hand and the money and the i
door key in the other. Having T
seen her on her way , Lou was at c
liberty to commence her toilet. 6
It was already past seven , and dark a
because of impending storm. There i
was ominous mutterings of thunder , t
going through the process of dress- ]
ing mechanically and hastily , , my j
heroine in half an hour stood , before s
the mirror fully arrayed. Now in- a
deed the time for decision had come. r
Inga would be back soon , and there
would be plenty of time to knot up the c
blue ribbon should she wish to weai ]
it. * Or , she might begin now on the
crimson tying on the bureau. Whicr j\
should it be ? n
How 'foolish ! How like the trar
ditional donkey between two stacks j
of hay ! She laughed , then noticed t
with vexation that her eyes were ft
heavy and her cheeks as white as her
dress. c
"This willneverdo "she
, soliloquized h
"I shall have to try the crimson to t
light'myselfup. I'll make the knots t
anyway. " d
Kate surely favored crimson. She s
was a long time about an-angingthe
bows , but Inga had not returr.ed p
when they were finished. So , just to u
seethe effect , she pinned them in r
place on breast and hair and belt , c
and then stood looking at herself t
with pardonable pride in her own c
beauty. What , was she thinking , as
she gazed at her reflection with that r
light in her eyes and that flush on c
her cheek ? " She sawherselfinfancy , A
Roger Marston's envied and con
gratulated fiancee. She saw his eager , h
dark , triumphant face ; and then she d
turned away and put up q
, > , v " - * , . * . * * * "
* c- > r C -V&i * * " * r * \ " * j "V
HH H § H lHHlBRHE BlHl fll Rmx i 3wf 3 nlra& lBficl9nnS !
• It I t
*
her hands to slim out another
vision , a vision that caused the flush
to fade and the gaze to waver. Only
a pair of , blue eyes that suddenly
seemed to look from the mirror's
depths , first in wonder , then in pain ,
reproach , despair , and finally yes ,
finally in scorn , scorn of the girl who
was about to make the most bril-
liant match of the season.
The gate fell together. Inga was
at last coming , andthenoiseof voices
told that she Tiad brought with her
her "man" Carl , who usually spent
his evenings in the Jennings kitchen ,
Lou hastily unpinned the crimson
bows and threw them on the table ,
Her cheeks seemed to have borrowed
the ribbon's vivid color as she an
swered the Swede's tap at the door
and eagerly extended her hand for
the little parcel . the latter tendered ,
"I'm so very much obliged , Inga. "
"Yess. "
"No matter about change. Keep
it for your trouble. "
"Yess. "
Lou had opened the package. Suds
denly , with an exclamation , she re-
treated to the gas jet to examine
what she held more closely.
"Why why , this ribbon this rib1
bon is yes , it is it's green ! Even
the stolid Swede recoiled a little be-
fore the indignant glance that ac-
companied the next words. "How
could you makesuch a mistake ? "
Inga forgot her conventional re-
sponse and stammered , "He haf say
blue "
She got no further in her speech.
Her young mistress this case is
worthy of record as being the only
time Inga was ever astonished in her
life the young mistress threw the
ribbon into the middle of the hall ,
slammed the door in her face and
locked it. Then , careless of the lace
flounces she was ruining and quite
indifferent to the fact that the hands
of the clock were getting around to
eight , she threw herself on the bed
and gave way to a perfect tempest
of passionate tears.
She cried until she was completely
exhausted. And when Jeremy
thinking that patience had ceased to
be a virtue came up and tapped at
the door , she was quite unpresent
able and had to answer through the
key-hole , as it were. She said now
and then a telltale falter in her voice
that she had a dreadful headache ,
that the lightning made her nervous ,
and that , though she was very , very
sorry to disappoint him , she couldn't
go.
Jeremy was puzzled. The unsteadt
iness of his sister's voice , and the
sight of the crumpled ribbon , which
he took to be a blue one , on the floor ,
made him guess that something was
wrong ; but in apparent good faith
he recommended tea , camphor ,
ammonia , &c , and proposed to call
up Inga.
His sister peremtorily vetoed this.
"I shall just go to bed , " she dea
clared through the door , "and you
musn't lose any more time. You
can makenry excuses to to any one
who inquires. "
"Oh , hang excuses ! There , I didn't
mean that ; but you know I hate par
:
ties. I won't go at all. I shall be a
deal more comfortable at home. "
. Jeremy meant what he said. Lou s
protested , entreated , insisted , quite
; in ; vain. He preferred a cigar and a s
novel to any kind of a "rout , " and s
;
. was so frankly relieved at the prosc
pect of a "cozy" evening at home
that . the point was abandoned. As p
[ no service nor remedy that he could s
think of was looked upon with favor , s
Jeremy divested himself of his finery.
went down stairs , established himself b
in j an easy-chair in the sitting-room , o
and strayed into the regions of ti
romance. j lc
Meanwhile Lou , whose headache a
was \ no fiction , sat in the dark by her ti
chamber window , resting her throbq
bing \ temples on her arms crossed on p
the \ sill. It was still oppressively hot. w
The-scent ofpinks and mignonette si
came up from the little garden , minh
gled with the faint odor of Jeremy's
cigar. She could occasionally hear
the \ murmur of voices in the kitchen.
Happy ] Inga , who had only one lover !
Oh , let lovers and the future take T
care of themselves ! Miss Jennings was ei
tired \ to death of the problem that 0
had vexed her all day. What was s
the use of thinking about it ? Both S
young men would go away the next ] j
day , and would notreturn for a week gj
at least ; so there was further respite. a
The heavy eyelids drooped. Worn out ja
with worry and crying , my heroine u
drifted from actual to imaginary p
troubles { , and dreamed that a crowd
AV
of maskers all in crimson were dancni
ing around her , led by one in blue , jr
who threw aside her disguise , and fr
disclosed the face and figure ofMephisfa
topheles. Toward this masker ran
y.
Carl , Inga's "man. " He was dressed fa
in green. He approached her , leadfa
ing the demon , who grinned horribly ,
while the crimson maskers pressed Jv
close with hoots and jeers. Carl p
seized her as she strove to escape , nj
and Mephistophelesgrasped her hand. , jn
A voice like Mr. Batchelder's said ,
triumphantly , "She wanted blue ; now te
let , her have it. " A response from d
Inga seemed to follow , "Yess , she haf m
say blue. " Then bells began to ring , 0
and the dreamer suddenly sat up
right. It was the door bell that had
driven her nightmare away. Some
one was speaking on the piazza be
low. , "Perhaps it might be " m
"I beg pardon for this intrusion ,
Mr. Jennings. I I had hoped to rp
meet your sister at the dance to- cy
night. As she was not there , and as w-
cannot come to-morrow , I ventured
( {
to commit this breach of etiquette.J
May I see her for a moment or two ? "
Jeremy was heard explaining the a . |
cause of absence , and regretting that n *
his sister was too ill to see any one n {
that evening. Lou drew back from " !
the window with the sudden sense of
disappointment. Ttwna BogerMar- ;
ston who had spoken. sv
"But come in and have a cigar , "
proposed good-natured Jeremy , who
usually found "the comet's" style Fi
rather overpowering , but noticing a
certain and in
anxiety perturbation - y
the latter's manner to-night , felt in-
clined to be cordial. ETe *
"Thanks , no. I have promised to " 1
return to the Yances. Excuse me , wi
hut you are quite sure I cannot see sp
Miss Jennings ? "
Jeremy , remembered that his sister wi
hnd particularly desired not to bo tii ;
disturbed , was very sorry , but was 2 (
quite sure. He really was sorry , seewi
\
BBBBHBRHHBIp iiayaBHBBi HS
k
ing the trouble in tho petitioner's
face , although he had many a time
wished for the "comet's" discomfiture.
"Will you tell her , then , for mo , how
much I regret her illness , and give
her these roses , which I had hoped to
present to her in person ? "
"Oh , these women ? " Jeremy solio-
quized < , as he turned back into the
sitting-room i with a magnificent clust
er i of roses in his hand. "I'd have
sworn i she favored Marston , and yet
she i sent Bob for a blue ribbon. And
now i she's thrown the blue ribbon
away. i Well , it's too much of a rid
dle i for me. Asleep , sis ? " he inquired
in i cautious tones at his sister's door.
"No. "
"Feeling better ? "
"Not yet. "
Here are some splendid Jacque
roses i with the 'comet's compliments.
Will you have them now ? "
"Not to-night. Just gee Tngato
put ] them in water , please ? '
"Not encouraging , " Jeremy reflect
ed. ( He left the roses in the kitchen
and s returned to his book. But
scarcely * had he read three chapters
more i before another ring at the bell
interrupted. i "Why , Walter , old fel
low 1 , " was his hearty greeting , "have
you ; stolen away from the revels ? "
"You too ? " he had almost said.
"Came to ' see why I wasn't there
eh ? "
. "You know well enough why I
came ( , Jeremy. Is Lou "
"Lou , providentially for me had
a bad headache. Come in. "
"No unless Is she well enough
for f me to see her ? "
"I'm afraid not. She just told me
she didn't feel any better. What con
founded f coquettes women are ! "
Jeremy added to himself as he de
livered 1 these unwelcome tidings a
second time. "I wish I declare I
wish I had gone to the party ! "
"I am sorry sorry she is ill , too.
You ! know I must be off early to-mor
row , and to-night is my only chance
of-of "
< -
He broke off there. Honest Jeremy
was sincerely troubled. The crumpled
blue ribbon on the floor above
could mean nothing else than that
the game was up for Walter.
"Have ji. cigar , " lie proposed ,
offering what comfort he could.
"No. Just give her these violets ,
will you , and tell her ah ! "
Jeremy had taken the flowers , in
wardly anathematizing his sister as
a , "heartless little flirt. " Seeing
Walter's \ face suddenly grow radiant
with hope and delight as he uttered
the above exclamation , he turned to
discover the cause. There stood his
sister , st'll wearing the tumbled lace
dress ] , with disheveled curls and red
eyes , it is true , but with an expresj
sion on her face , as she held out her
hand to Walter , that as Jeremy
afterward said , "told the whole
story. "
Monsieur DeTrop could not repress
along low whistle of amazement as
he walked off with the violets still in
his hand. So it was blue , after all.
He carried the violets into the
kitchen , again astonishing Carl and
Inga , who both rose to receive him ,
"More flowers to put in water. "
"Yess. "
"And more happy couples , "Jeremy
said to himself as he went out the
back door and took refuge in the
shrubbery , where for an hour he
smoked and moralized on life's
chances.
Next morning his sister did not apc
pear at breakfast , but he found her
shortly after in the kitchen , where
she had gone to secure the violets.
Those unfortunate blossoms had
been thrust heads down into a pail
of water. The roses had received
the same treatment , but they were
left to her fate , and the owner ran
away from Jeremy's congratula
tions. The latter rescued the Jac
ques , and a day later they fell to
pieces on his mantel ; but the violets i
were hoarded as Lou's dearest pos
session long after scent and color
had passed away.
- y-t • f
She Wanted to Fail. t
"Please , sir , I would like to fail. "
The speaker was a woman who had f
entered a Sussex county lawyer's t
office. A few moments' conversation I *
showed ] that she and her husband had
several thousand dollars over their •
liabilities , and that the "failure" was *
simply the woman's scheme to cheat
few creditors. She went to another "
lawyer , and in a few weeks the 'failJ'
lire" was announced and , and it ap- *
peared ( that the husband's father n
was the principal creditor. As a
matter of fact , the money had come J
from the father , but it had been a |
free gift , though in orderto make the
failure appear all right the man and °
wife had confessed judgment to the
Tather for the amount given. The r'
Failure was a complete success ; but
iust as it was being closed out the
father , died , without a will. His *
property ] was equally divided among tj
liis heirs , but the judgments confessed
the fradulent failure stood against ei
bhe parties , and , though they pro- °
tested and scolded , nothing could be jjj
lone. ( They had to pay the judgj j
tnent , and the failure was a genuine t
ane after all. Newark Sunday Call. °
ei
Resembled the Departed.
n
They had been engaged about five ti
ninutes , and he had just mustered S
enough courage to perform th e
justomary osculatory ratification , fc
vhereat she burst into tears. j.
"Why do aou weep , " asked he.
'Are these tears of joy ? " { - ]
"No ! no ! " she exclaimed , passionS (
itely. "I love you better than my s
ife , and I am oVerjoyed , but your a
rose is so cold , and poor little Fido p
lied ( sob ) only a month ago , " and w
me clung tp him convulsively , while n
he scalding tears fell even as the fc
rnmmer rain. Terre Haute Express.
| Q O-
He Wished JIc Hadn't. d
rrom the Suramerville Journal.
Why am I like a pin ? " asked Mr ,
iVittyman triumphantly of his wife , j "
expected she was going to say : S (
'Because you are so sharp , " and he w
vas simply paralyzed when she reSi
iponded : hi
"Because if you should get lost it L
vouldn't be worth while to spend
ime looking for you , and because ai
200 of you put up in a bundle hi
vouldn't be worjth 10 cents. " a1
• *
- .
• - > -
!
*
'
/
A London Mystery.
Whiteehapel has a murder mys
tery which transcends anything
known in the annals of the horrible.
It is Poe's "Murder of the Hue
Morgue" and "Mystery of Mario
Boget" rolled into one real story.
It is nothing less less than a mid
night murderer , whose step is noise
less , whose strike is deadly , and
whose cunning is so great that he
leaves no trace whatever of his
work and no clew to his identity.
He has just slaughtered his third
victim and all the women in White-
chapel are terrified , while the stupid
est detectives in tho civilized world
stand aghast and say they have no
clew.
clew.When
When tho murder of Mary Ann
Nichols , who was cut into ribbons
was ivestigated , it becamo evident
that the murder was the work of
tho same hand that committed
the two proceeding ones. All
three were moneyless women
of the lowest class. AH were killed in
the street between one and three
o'clock in tho morning , and all wero
mutilated in the same fiendish and
peculiar way. The coincidence was
groat as to strike even the detectives ,
and they are now looking for the
one man whom they believed to be
guilty of all three crimes.
The man is called "Leather Apron , "
and nobody knows him by any other
name. He is a character half way
between Dickens's "Quilp" and Poe's
"Baboon. " He is short and stunted
and thick set. He has small , wicked
black eyes and is half crazy. Ho is
always hangingabout the deep shad-
ows that fill the intricate network of
the courts , passages and alleyways
in Whiteehapel. He does not walk ,
but always moves on a sharp , queer
run and never makes any noise with
his feet. In addition to the three
women he is believed to have mm1
dered he has scared a hundred more
of them nearly to death. Every
street-walker in Whiteehapel has her
own story to tell of him. Ilelivesby
robbing them late at night , and has
kicked , cuffed or knocked down a
score ! , of them in the last two 3-ears.
His usual lodging place is
a 1 fourpenny lodging-house in
thieves'
a poverty-stricken
alley off Brick Lane. He has left
there ] now , however , and nobody
knows j where he is. He is suspected
to j have committed the three murders
the fact that he has frequently drawn
a knife on women , accompanied by
the ] same threats which have been
carried out on the dead women.
The story of Mrs. Col wallwho ,
heard j the screams of the woman as
she was being murdered , is to the efh
feet ] that she was clearly running j
away from somebody who was murQ
dering | her , and yet she could hear no
other footsteps. The blood stains on
the sidewalk indicated the same
thing [ that the murderer , whoever
he j was , was noiseless in his pursuit ,
and ) this quality points directly to
"Leather Apron. " He is a slipper ,
maker by trade and gets his nickname
from the fact that he always wears a
leather j ( apron and is never seen with- .
out it. One peculiar feature of the
case is that none of the police or de- c'
tectives appear to know him , he hav- j
ing : always kept out of their sight , $
and they are now gleaning informa- C
tion concerning him from women he j
has assailed.
S
"
She Sat Down On Air. si
"
Hepburn Johns , the delightful
"
"Topical , Talker" of tho Pitts-
burgh Dispatch , is abroad just now. q
In his latest breezy letter , dated w
from Winchester England , was the a
following ( : "At a little parsonage
the other day , whither I had gone to °
play tennis and drink tea and am °
sorry that there was to much waterr
for < tennis , and it rained all day , and ,
too little water in the tea by chance .
• met. a very agreeable and I hope i8
representative woman of noble birth.a
She also came to the parsonage for
tennis ' and tea , lured by an hour or
two of sunshine in the afternoon. F
There was nothing about her to tell
you she was an earl's daughter , and
there is not the least need to say
more of her. *
But her hostess and mine , the j11
rector's 1 wife , is a worshiper of the
haute noblesse. The Bible and
j
"Burke's Peerage" are about on a par
onhertable. ItissaidIknowthatshe
tried to induce her husband , the S1
rector ' , to pray by name for the earl ?
and when he refused made a great to I
do about it. She will go without cl1
food for a week to get a title at her • l
table. et
So you see it was but to be expectel
ed that she would lavish a good deal ] Y
of her attention upon her ladyship , * '
the earl's daughter. Asa matter of °
fact , she laid on the adulation so
thick ] that Lady grew rather tired * c
of it , and rather mischievously turn01 :
ed the conversation to America , w .
and remarked that she thought a er
nation which got along with so few "
titles and tomfoolery must and dent
served ( to be happy. jj ?
Well , tea , an ambitious abnormal * ; ,
meal , served at the usual hour ? "c
for dinner , was served at last. Her in
and the other te :
ladyship guests , some
twenty in number , were seated , and S
the hostess was about to take her
seat when she stopped and stood
still for a moment to be sure that
all , was properly located. That slight
pause ! was disastrous. While she P1'
was reviewing the scene a servant , he
nervous ( , no doubt , approached and I"1
for some inexplicable reason pulled
back her mistress' chair. a 1
The next moment the hostess sat - "
lown , on air ! JVI
It was the most painfnl thing I've ha
seen in a long while. A stout and Pc
cannot seat ha
very august person
lierself on the floor without losing in w <
some sort her dignity , and spectators w
who can keep their composure when Pe
such an accident occurs would be ot
liard to find. And unfortunately to
Lad v was of all of us the mosto vern
come. She laughed nil through tea. tie
and was laughing still when I saw ot
lier get into her dog cart and drive an
away down the gravel path. [ cu
r- - * * , ,
- - * = * - -v -
>
*
Yrug Lore.
Eugrno Field in Clikngo Jfown. & - ]
It is surprising that so littlo has '
.been written in late 3'cars of tho frog. j * . . (
We must remember that over sinco * /j ;
the world began tho frog has figured % . . - if' '
conspicuously in tho economy of hu- * [ lA
man affairs. At different times ho ' . fm
has been worshiped as a divinity by jM
nations of the East , at other times J'r
has been employed by divinity as the \ f I
scourge of idolatrous mankind ; the Jri
island of Cyreno was regarded as a '
cursed and blighted spot , because for 1
centuries would not
many frogs y
• abide there , but when imported ' * <
thitherwouldplungointo tho sea and
swim to other shores they could no
more bo reconciled than could tho
hares who , as Aristotle says , when
brought into Ithaca , died upon tho
coast with their fa-ces turned invati-
ably to their native land.
Aristophanes wrote a play about
frogs , and so did tho older poet , Ho- j
nior. Pliny treats at length of tho I
frog , aid in his "Banqueter's Athc- ij
meus" is pleased to recount wondrous v 1
tales thereof. When St. Patrick ( of . I.
blessed memory ! ) expelled reptiles ' *
from Erin ho wisely excepted tho 'j
frog , who , even at that early time , f' '
was highly respected , both for the f
pleasing excellence of his * \
vocal powers and lor the exceed- - ' •
ing succulenco of his flesh , and wo * , ,
all know that from the beauty of its *
song tho frog is not unfrequcntly
called nowadays , the Irish nightin
gale. The old English poets held the J
frog in high esteem. Chaucer has to " \
say in the "Merchant's Tale" of "Ye |
froggoyt did Inyo In yo mersche * \
syngyng full swote alles night et ' ,
days , " and subsequently bespeaks of ; *
"yo froggo yt ben condampned by V6
fayrte queano for yt he did synge v
moche mo swotely than yo nyghten- a
gale j , ye which she loved. " Tho t\
learned ' Dr. Thorpe tells us in his <
"Northern Mythology" that the frog If
is ; still reverenced by certain sects in h
the high latitudes as a creature of * i
supernatural ! power , and Professor \ -
Skeat ! , who is perhaps the most ac- k
currate i of etymologists , surmises j
that 1 the word "frog" was originally
derived < from the name of tho Norse , i
goddess j Frigga , beingpast , perfect or
preterit ] of that name , regularly con- j
jugated. j In 1SG2 Dick Yates was visit- 1
ing i Colonel Phocion Howard of Ba- j\ \
rataria frog farm , and Howard asked * i
him 1 if he had ever tasted frogs legs.
"Yes. twice , " said Dick. "I ate a I
pair ] at Belleville last summer. " H
"And where else ? " H
"Nowhere else. " .H
"But you said you had tasted them >
twice. t " 'H
"And so I have ; once as they went fl
down and the second time as they H
came up. " S
A Pleasant Story of a Bishop. H
The following story , under the H
headingof a "A pleasant way of do- H
ing ] things , " is told of the late bishop fl
of Winchester : Bishop Wilberforce H
was finishing up a hard day's work -WM
of preaching and confirming by tak-
ing refreshment at country house jH
surrounded by numerous guests , H
when he happened to catch sight of a H
.
young married lady , cheaply but H
very gracefully dressed , seated at H
the farthest end of tin' room. Ho H
asked who she was , and oa being H
told that she was the wife of a poor B
curate ' in the neighborhood , he made B
his way to her as soon as he entered B
the drawing room , and drew her into > B
conversation. ( "What do you do to B
help 3'our husband ? " "I teach in the m\ \
schools ( my lord. " "Anything else ? " B
"Yes ; I help him to look after the fl
sick and the poor. * ' "Anythingelso ? " fl
"Yes ; I get up his linen and iron his fl
neckties. " Wilberforce said nothing fl
at the time , but he made special in- fl
quiries as to both the parson and his 'fl
wife , and a week or two after a letter fl
arrived from him addressd to the JH
lady "My dear Mrs. X : The living 131M
of Z. is vacant , and from what I hear H
of , you and 3'our good husband , I B
think it is just the place for you. H
Will you ask him to do me tho favor fl
to accept it and tell him from me , he fl
indebted to you for it ? Yours fl
faithfully , S. 0. " fl
Kot Snch Fun as He Thought. j B
From : the Buffalo Expres.n. < B
She was young and pretty , and as fl
she sat beside the window of the Cenfl
tral depot where the cool breezefanned H
lier brow , no wonder she attracted fl
the attention of one of those travel- /jH
srs who deem it the chief end of mw\
traveling to make a mash. He < fl
worshiped her from a distance , and ' fl
smiled upon her from afar , but , H
growing bolder as his advances were H
seemingly not resented , he finally { H
drew near and ventured a remark as H
. feeler. The liberty was not resent- , 1
d and ho ventured another , which ' H
elicited a courteous reply. He H
ivas getting along famously , so he fl
thought , and was blissfully ignorant < H
afthe 3 amused glances cast in his JH
lirection by a man who was enter- jH
aining a bnby by showing the little H
me the sights ofthestation. FinaPy , j H
.vhen matters had proceeded far j H
mough , and the gallant tourist was j H
jeginning to say tender things to his H
lew-found acquaintance , the baby ' s j H
ather walked over and placing H
he ] infant in his lap said : "My dear H
-ouni > r man. while vou are entertainfl
ng the baby's mamma , suppose you \ Mm *
end the baby also , whileIgooutand ] H
jet a drink ? " H
Happily Reunited. , H
A gentleman in Gloucester Mass. , | fl
licked ' up one-half of a § 5 bill. Itfl
md been torn exactly in the middle. 1 a B
was told is was good for one-half ' H
ts-original value § 2. " i0. ' Going to H
bank , he received like information. fl
Afterward he took it to Boston , but * . fl
ras told at the sub-treasury that the " * > [ mW
lalfbill was worth § 5 if ho could
iMm
tositively prove that the other half ' H
tad been destroyed ; otherwise it was i/mW
forth nothing. The next time he / * H
rent to his bank he was told that a A H
terson unknown had brought in tho H
ither half on the very day he went H
Boston. There the matter rested H
intil the unknown entered the gen- H
leman's store , when one paid the H
ither § 2.50 , pasted his bill together , J f H
nd thus added § 5 to the volnuia of H
urrency afloat. Boston Globe. mW I' |
1