The Belmont chronicle, and farmers, mechanics and manufacturers advocate. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1848-1855, 1855-01-12

after the party he sailed forth to make the
round oi the village girls. ''
d He first visited Isabel. She was reclining
on ianteul, charmingly dressed and read
| ing novel, All she could talk about was
her fatigue. Yet that she looked bcwitch-
ing, was ihcohtes:ble, in the subdued light
O! that sumptuous parlor, with elegant pic
lures on the wall ,boquets OF flowers all aboct,
aud an atmosphere of exquisite refinement
| around. Never had Harry felt so much
temptedto be in love He stayed nearly an
hour, when he had Intended to stop only a
few minutes; and would not, perhaps, have
gone then. il Other gentlemen had not drop
ped in. From lsabers he went to several
other houses. Everywhere he found the
young ladies dressed to receive the company.
Some were reading novels; some had book
of pretty poetry open before them, and one
whG had pretty hand was coqustishly knit
ting purse. Not one of them seemed to
have anything serious to do. Most of them
affected, like Isabel, to be quite langud, and
talked as if the fatigues OF the day before had
nearly killed them.
When Harry reached the pretty, but TN
pretending cottage where Fanny resided
with her widowed mother, he found the hail
door open to admit the breeze, and so, Just
tapping at the parlor entrance. he entered
bowling. In the shaded light of the cool fra
grant room, he could not, for moment, see
but he noticed Immediately that no one an
swered his saIutation; and directly he noticed
that the apartment was empty. Just then,
however,a a fresh, lfquin voice, as merry as a
birds in June, was heard warblng in an in
ner apartment. Harry, listened awhile char
med, but finding that his knocking was not
heard, and recognizing, as he thought, Fan
ny's voice, finally made bold to go in search
OF the singer. Passing down the hall and
through another open door, he suddenly found
himself in the kitchen, a large. airy apart
meRt, scrupnlously clean, with Fanny at the
end opposite to him, standing before dough
trough, kneeding flour, and carolling like a
lark. .... .. ..... .t. ..
It was a picture an artist would have To-
we'd to paint. Fanny's face was seen partly
in profile. showing 10 perfection her long
lashes, anu bringing out in relief the pouiing
lips and round chin. The breeze blew her
brown curls playIully about, and occasionally
quite over her face, at which time she would
throw them back with a pretty toss OF her
head. Her arms were bare; and rounder,
whittier or more taper arms never were; they
fairly put to blush with their rosy pearness,
the snowy -four powdere over them. AS
she moved with quick steps at her task, her
trim figure showed all its grace; and her neat
ankle and delicate foot twinkled in and out
For awhile she did not observe Harry. 1t
was not till she turned to put down the dred-
ging box, that she bchcld him. ...
Most OF our fair readers, we suppose, would
have screamed, ard perhaps have run out at
the opposite door. She blushed ii little, as
was natural, but having no false shame, she
saw no reason to be frightened merely be-
cause a handsome young man had caught her
at work. So she courtesed pret,ily, laughed
one of her gaycst laughs. and said, holding
up her hands
81 can't shake hands with you, Mr., Ver-
NJ I. you see. Mamma was kind enough to
let me 90 TO the picnic yesterday, and put
of some of my work; and SO I'm doing dou-
bic work to-day to make up for it. lfyou'll
be kind enough to wait minute, | will call
mamma
No, no. said Harry charmed by such frank
innocence, and uncermoniously taking we'll
scrubbed chair, "rve only few minutes to
stay. My call is on you, Game to see how
you bore the futigucs OF yesterdny.'
Fanny laughed till her teeth, so white and
so little, looked behind, the rosy lips, like
pearls set in the richest ruby enamel. -"Fa-
tigued! Why we had such a charming time
yesterday, that one couldn't get tired, even if
one had 5een hundred years old
"You'Il never grow DID, said Harry, sur
prised into what would have been fa:tery, if
he had sincerely thought it; and his counte-
nance showed the admiration for the bright
happy creature before him.
Fanny blrshed, but rallied, and answered
laughing, "Neyer grow old! Oh, soon e.
nough What funny sight I'll be, to be
sure bent almost double, and a cap on my
head ike granny Horns"
Harry laughed, too, SO ludicrous was the
image; and thus he and Fanny were as much
at home with each other at once, as if they
had been acquainted for some years.
The into nded five minutes imperceptibly
grew into ten, and the ten into half an hour
Fanny continued at her household work,
pleasantly chatterlng the while, both she and
Harry mutually SO interested as to forget time
and place alike. At last the entrance oil
Mrs. Somers interrupted the tete-a-tete.--'
Fanny was little embarrassed, when she
found how long she and Harry had been a.
lone; but the easy matter-of-course manner
of Harry as he shook hands with her mother,
restored her to herself. .b 1t
II the elegant refinement about Isabe! had
tempted lIarryto fall in love, the household
charm which surrounded Fanny forced him
TO do so whether or no. He went away,
thinking TO himself What charming wife
Fanny would make, and how sweetly she
wouid look in her neat, home dress, engaged
in her domestic duties. Nor is Harry the
only young bachelor who remembers that
a wife cannot always be in full dress, and
who naturally wishes TO know how she wi !
look in the kitchen.