Tempest and Sunshine

There was a strange history connected with Helen Ashton, or Nellie, as she

was more familiarly called, but of this we will speak hereafter. She was

formerly a member of the young ladies' school in New Haven, where she had

become acquainted with Robert Stanton, who was in college. An intimacy

sprang up between them which at last ripened into an agreement. Stanton's

home was near Geneva, and when he left college he suddenly discovered that

the Geneva Seminary was superior to any other, and with but little trouble

he persuaded Nellie to go there to school.

She had now been an inmate of the seminary in that place little more than

a year, during which time Robert had pursued the study of law in Judge

Fulton's office. He had always possessed a great desire to visit Kentucky,

and had finally concluded to do so, determining if he liked it to make it

his permanent residence. He was to return the next autumn for Nellie, who

was to remain in school until that time.

As they stood together that evening conversing about Kentucky, Nellie

said, "I have an old schoolmate in Frankfort. It is Kate Wilmot. Do you

remember having seen her in New Haven?"

"Is she very beautiful?" asked Robert.

"Oh, yes, exceedingly so. She turned half the students' heads," answered

Nellie.

"Yes, I remember her perfectly well," said Frederic Raymond, who was

standing near, "and so does Bob, but he wants to pretend he does not. By

the way, Miss Ashton," continued he, "are you not afraid that Kate's

marvelous beauty will endanger your claim upon Robert's heart, when he

shall be near her constantly, and can only think of your blue eyes as

'over the hills and far away?'"

Helen blushed, but did not answer, and Stanton said, "Never fear for me,

Fred, but rather keep your own heart safely locked away, for fear some of

those dark-eyed Kentucky girls will, ere you are aware, rifle you of it."

"I shall do no such thing," returned Frederic. "I am going there for the

express purpose of losing my heart, and the first Kentucky girl which

pleases me shall be my wife, any way."

"Whether she likes you or not?" asked Nellie.

"Yes, whether she likes me or not," answered Frederic, "I shall marry her

first, and make her like me afterward."

So saying he sauntered off to another part of the room, little thinking

that what he had spoken in jest would afterward prove true. At a late hour

the company began to disperse, Miss Warner keeping a watchful eye upon her

pupils, lest some lawless collegiate should relieve her from the trouble

of seeing them safely home. This perpendicular maiden had lived forty

years on this mundane sphere without ever having had an offer, and she had

come to think of gentlemen as a race of intruding bipeds which the world

would be much better without. However, if there were any of the species

which she could tolerate, it was Judge Fulton and Robert Stanton. The

former she liked, because everybody liked him, and said he was a "nice

man, and what everybody said must be true." Her partiality for the latter

arose from the fact that he had several times complimented her fine figure

and dignified manners; so when he that night asked the privilege of

walking home with Nellie, she raised no very strong opposition, but

yielded the point by merely saying something about "child's play." She,

however, kept near enough to them to hear every word of their

conversation; but they consoled themselves by thinking that the wide-open

ears could not penetrate the recesses of their well-filled letters which

they saw in the future.