The prairie news. [volume] (Okolona, Miss.) 1851-1875, 1858-04-22

over fans, glanced at from behind pocket
handkerchiefs, whispered about behind
open prayer books, is, of all sensations,
the most delightful man of my tempera.
ment can experience.
If any one is accusing me at this mo-
ment of vanity, | shall not repel the
charge. | do not say | am very vain
indeed, am quite used to the charge
but | do most positively assert that upon
this particular Sunday, and in this par
ticular church, | three several times
caught the brightest pair of blue eyes
fixed attentively upon me-which blue
eyes, being caught in the act, withdrew
their gaze in the greatest confusion-and
if this is vanity, why, make the most of
it.
After church, of course fingered to
get look at the pretty girls, and pretty
girls in pretty town are the rule and
not the exception. There were plenty
in this town, of that peculiarly delicate
lily style of beauty, half dozen of whom
would make the reputation of any town.
stood watching the assemblage as
they slowly emerged from the church,
The wind was high. Wells were tossed
hither and thither; mantillas and shawls
fluttered in the wind roses came to fair
cheeks; stray curls floated ravshingly
about white necks; pretty boots peeped
out, and hoops were little unmanage-
able.
The congregation had nearly passed
out without the appearance, much to my
surprise, of the blue eyes which | had
caught stealing glances at me. Disap-
pointed, turned to leave, when sudden
ly an exquisitely sweet voice uttered an
exclamation close to my shoulder. |
turned abruptly, and found myself with
in three feet of glorious beauty, look
ing plump into the very eyes | was seek
liaa. taE he-snnnressed smile when
she saw me, but she couldn't conceal the
two smiling dimples in her cheeks, and
she began to busy herself with a refrac-
tory parasol, which the wind had nearly
turned inside out, the cause of the excla-
nation that had aroused me. But all
her efforts could not restore the parasol
to propriety; another gust of wind COM
pletely reversed it, and another whisked
it out of her hand, and carried it rush
ing along the green.
Permit me, exclaimed, with breath
less eagemess, and without waiting to
finish the sentence, rushed rapidly after
the fugitive parasol. 1t was pretty
chase. | followed it from the church
yard into garden; over fence, in
which | caught my coat-tail, into cab
bage- through the cabbage-bed into
a ato-field-across the potato-field full
headway into hedge of blackberry bush
es, through the blackberry bushes, until
| clasped it, lodged between two elder
bushes.
bore it back, a proud trophy. The
owner stood near to the spot where had
left her but such look of latent mis-
chief lurked in her eyes, such an ill-con-
cealed laugh lay folded up in those ripe
and ruddy lips, such demure, low-toned
thanks, and such a blush
1t was so very careless of her, and she
thanked me SO much Whereupon | in
terupted her by declaring that | was de-
lighted with the trouble, and, looking In
to her eyes. wished only it had been some
real service to deserve the rich reward
hadBreceived. And then, with a bow and
A6lush, she tripped off lightly and rap
idly; but as | stood watching her, |
thought / could see her frame shake as
if with laughter.
/ walked home to the inn on air. |
was never 50 buoyantly happy in my life
before. | could not retain my delight at
the adventure. / began to plan the most
glorious results as sure to follow; made
up my mind to fall in love with her at
once; / fancied myself an accepted sui
ter; speculated upon the marriage, and
even determined upon the marriage suit.
grew excited upon the subject and with
flushed cheek went stalking down the
road with all my might. ! walked fas-
ter; it began to grow doubtful il | was
walking at all; it soon grew certain that
was not walking-in fact, my elation
became so uncomfortable, that before
knew it, was running at a ridiculously
furious rate--upon which discovery |
stopped short and, came to my senses.
| determined to find out her name-to
find where she lived--to lay siege to her
and then, of course, the
rest would be easy enough. Her little
heart would flutter and struggle at first,
of course, but in little time it would
fall, fascinated and helpless, into--stop!
That is an awkward kind of smile / have
cot into. 1t has snakish suggestive
ness but let me make haste to supply :
the missing word--fall helpless into my
not ja,cs, as some mendacious
reader has been tempted to suggest.
soon found out her name and "local
ba ahitations--for angel as she was, she ,