At the altar let it be a reminder of me." And
covering his face hastily with a handkerchief, the stern and iron-
willed man left the room. As the door closed, Mary unfolded the
paper. It was an order on the corner grocery for three yards of
flannel, a paper of needles, four pounds of soap, one pound of
starch, and two boxes of matches!
"Noble and thoughtful man!" was all Mary Jones could exclaim, as
she hid her face in her hands and burst into a flood of tears.
* * * * *
The bells of Cloverdale are ringing merrily. It is a wedding.
"How beautiful they look!" is the exclamation that passes from lip
to lip, as Mary Jones, leaning timidly on the arm of John Jenkins,
enters the church. But the bride is agitated, and the bridegroom
betrays a feverish nervousness. As they stand in the vestibule,
John Jenkins fumbles earnestly in his vest-pocket. Can it be the
ring he is anxious about? No. He draws a small brown substance
from his pocket, and biting off a piece, hastily replaces the
fragment and gazes furtively around. Surely no one saw him? Alas!
the eyes of two of that wedding party saw the fatal act.
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