Oroville daily Butte record., 1857-04-23
Omuille DuiIq Nutte RetprG.
THE sYLPH OF MY BOYHOOD.
BY LEOPOLD WRAY.

was in IAN uproar,' but hoped he would
not mind it. My godfather assured
her that he had not come to observe
the state Of her room, but merely on
business, proceeded TO discuss thetImes
Of the prohered engagement.
Meanwhile | was SO perfect a cy
pho, in her eyes, not being invested
with any managerial credentials, that
she took not the least notice of me
and had leisure to scan her features
to my hearts content
Could it really be the fa;ry-like crea-
ture that had charmed me so often
Such was the first question asked my
self. There were, t. be sure, the small
feet set off by pair Of neat shoes
the only neat thing about her toilet, 10y
the by, for her hair was in il tumble,
and the dark cotton dress, that sat
loosely on her symmetrical figure, was
unrelieved by anything in the shape of
collar or tppet, but as TO the beau
ty of her counttnance, which L I'M z
cover Of it now that | was near enough
to gaze at my star with the baked eye.
Her brown skin and commonplace iea'
lures showed how much she was indebt
ed to white and red paint. and to the
magic Of the footlights for her suppos.
cd charms She seemed to me but a
Younger edition of the fat orange wo-
man below stairs. minus the tlorid COM
plexion of the latter, OF which late hours
and the iaiigues Of her profession had
deprived Zephirinc, supposng her ever
to have possessed such bloom in her
more youthful days for alas this Nlph
whom had tondly fancied to be about
seven cen, had been small star at
various provincial theatres for the last
dozen years. and on a closer view was
evidently approaching thirty, and not
thirty in wholesome>atmosphfre where
beauty may still be in It's prime, but in
the hotbed ex stence Of a theatre,
among paper flowers, tin water and
SUNSHINE produced by gas or greasy
candles.
Nor were the surrounding objpc's
calculated to supply the Pc tic cle-
ments deficient in ZeDhlrine 5 face, and
manners and conversati n, the latter
Of which cxl ibired no capacity save
that of driving a good bargain, and
turned so%eiy on the numb + Of nose
gays she had received in such and such
towns For when my'dIsappaine eye
roved for a moment from Xephlrine'
features, in which | valnly endeavored
to discover the slightest trace OF the
peri, or the Polish maiden, in the curt
Gus search If the items that might I'll!
the sanctuary Of daaSeuSe perceiv-
ed in one corner of the room an ironing
board, on which was he ped Il quanu-
ty o. ear muslin, IN another pile OF
worn out shoes, under a table beStrew-
ed with number of nondescript artl-
cles in juxaposition with pots oirouge
faded ribbons and erumpled flowers, to
say no hing OF cas'-of dresses and bon
nets lying on the floor, while the trag-
mcuts Of a homely meal, accompanied
by an empty pewter pot, proved that
Xcphirinc did noi live on the perfume
of plants, like Vom Moore's perl's In
deed, the remaining broad-crumhs we're
serving her to clean the little white kid
shoe size held in her hand, all Of which
inventory of useful and natural goods
and chattcls tore my illusions into ma.
ny shreds, one by ono.
during the the ten minutes that my
godfather chatted with the sylyh, a
whole drama bad passed within my
breast. The living type of poetry had
been murdered, and buried deep, deep
within my heart, and when | rose me-
chauically, on my godfather's rising
aud bowed TO Zephirine, and followed
him d wn stairs, | felt as il the SHOWS
of at least ten winters had been sud
denly heapcd upon my devoted head
We groped our way down the dark
stairs, and back into the orange shop,
where the fat woman had been and bid
Mr.. Travers good morning, hoping he
had come TO terme with her gal and
good swinging ones, too and then out
in the street, which | thought tar mean
err than when | had entered It, only