Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1859-03-16
MORNING LEADER.
MY GHOST.
From Shapes London Magazips.


Cambrldge. These were the circumstances: I'll
place was Ventnor, in the Isle of Wight. A
Ventnor fell in love-this confession is foo
lsh, no doubt. All boys of scarcely ninetee
do TAU IN love, reading diligently in the page
OF ialr living iaces some scraps of knowledgt
whereby they matriculate as sons of the uniyel
sal Alma Mater.
One day, according to my custom sauntel
ed into the Landslip-that curious little bit Z
choas which, if it were only on a larger scale
would be sublime. was too idle to think q
sketchlDg; was too idle to read. threw nv
sell upon the grass; lighted my pipe, and la
gazing idly on the sea and sky.
There was rustic in the grass close to me
golden, dark spotted snake glided along, leay
ing the grass blades trembling in his wake. n,
pipe was out; l turned for my tobacco-pouch t
rehll 1t, when there was a voiee-"Ohl dom
move, pleaseI"
l thought the snake had spoken: but no, il
was not the serpent; it was Eve. There, seated
IN the hollow between two of the over-slantino
rocks, 'half light, half shade, ," like Tennvson's
Gardeners Daughter" was lady-no. not a
lady; a little girl-no, scarcely that; a youno
lady, we will say. She was drawing, and had
evidently been quietly putting me in as a fore
ground figure to her sketch when had moved,
and thus interrupted the sketch, and startled the
sketcher into that strange exclamation:-"Obi
don't move, pleased"
She instantly apologized-"I beg your par
don, am surel" and then laughed a little at
the absurdity cf the scene She half rose
6lushIng and smiling, and apologizing; while
| with bashfulv volubility besought that she would
continue her sketch, resuming nv former posi-
tion as nearly as l could
SIS that right"
Your head little higher, if you please
Thank you"
There was silence again. Ny back was TO-
wards the lady, as it had been at first felt
uneOmfortably angular, and had a nervous
twitching in my legs. 1 longed to look over
my shoulder, that might realize and verify
my momentary vision. tiny figure dressed
In white; a small, thin face, almost lost between
two torrents of brown hair, which swept down
from brown gypsy hat; eyes of the first mag
mtude, and blush rose-red. The moments
passed slowly by. Why should we not taIkl
She had seemed to have a pleasant voice; 1
was not sure that she had; but could satisfy
myself on that point; l would speak to her.
81 hope have not spoiled your drawing" -
NO answer "Iell me when l may move -
No answer.
was silent, having some misgivings There
Pers, and the faint rustling of the hazel bushes
lower down.
MAY l move nowl" I asked, waited mo-
ment and sprung to my feet. The lady had
disappeared. The grass ives slightly pressed
where she had sat; other sign of her there was
none.
This was my first sight of Daisy Mainwaring.
or this little flower, whom thus saw bedded in
the emerald grass, l soon learned more than
was good for my subsequent peace of mind
Three days after, she and her father came to
call on the clergyman with whom l was read
ing recognized her at once, chiefly by her
nHsEs9ai mpgsa b bhaEh the ShR 0te
dares more than settled nonchGlGnee, l said sud
denly as 1 stood beside her: "Did you finish
your sketehl"
The blush rushed to her face; she trilled out
a treble laugh, and answered: 81 was ashamed
of myself, and SO ran away"
A strange little person was this Daisy Main
waring; not child, and yetscarcely woman,
having all the frank innocence and unspoiled
originality of the child, with the gravity and
selfposession of the matron. l learned what
she was little by little.
Her mother died when she was very young,
and she was an only child. Her father was
literary mana laborious student, shut up al
ways in fog of psychological problems and
metaphysical enigmas. Margaret had never
left him, had never been to school, had never
had any feminine home-companionshlp except
that of one servant. Her father had educuted
her; and this education had been kind of CON-
promise between coming out Of the fog to her
and taking her into the fog to himself He had
experimentalized on her as psychologists must,
and where he should have taught had often
questioned, guessing at the riddles of human
nature in her as if she had been a Sphinx
The effect of this education was that she was
ignorant of most things which girls usually
know, and had acquired an amount OF hetero-
geneous erudition which would have puzzled
most men. She had read numberless strange,
heavy, antique books which seemed to lie as a
weight upon her, and from which she had gath
cred dialetical subtleties and mystical beliefs
which frightened one.
Ever since she was a child she had been
her fathers amanuensis; and now this labor of
love had increased until it fell somewhat heavi-
ly OIL her.
Some such anomaly as l have tried to sketch
was this Daisy Mainwaring, and with her fell
in love. We soon became great friends. One
good influence at least of her education was
that she had none of that silly prudery which
most young ladies effect towards young gentle
men. She liked me, and, when l used to go in
to their lodgings towards the afternoon, to drag
out the old man and her for walk, would rise
from her writing, run to me, and put her little
inkstained fingers in mine, saying, "Ohl l am
SO glad you have come!"
Those were happy days. Even with my good
wife seated near to me by the roaring winter.
fire. 1 can not help looking back with repre-
bensible fondness on those idle summer days -
Still, can remember that they were not alto
gether happy. There was certain Sir Hercu-
les Lowther, huge stolid young gentleman, of
whom was at that time very jealous. He was
an old friend of the Mainwarings; had known
them in London before had known them; was
a sort of benefactor to them, in that he was as
sisting the father pecuniarily in bringing out
grand psychological history which had been the
work of his life. This Lowther was the very
antithesis of Margaret; large in body, small IN
mind; slow, both corporeally and mentally; and
vet for Margaret he had an urmistakable liking.
| This Lowther was gall and womwoOd to me;
the more especially that saw that Margaret
knew her power over him, and Tejoieed In it,
What woman has not touch of coquetry IN her!
Would not the lack of it unsex themi lft they
we're not gifted by nature with this desire Of
DLeasure where would be their magical power
over US menl Daisy with all her innocence
her innocence by no means lees immaculate
thereby-soon learned her power over Lowther
and over me; and used that power, sometimes
tyrannically.
However, before the summer was over, Mar
uaret and were engaged. I had no jealousy
of Lowther then; but pitied him sincerely
Happy times those My dear little wife that
was to be grew daily more womanly and natu-
raj; her childish willfulness aAd petulanee be-
| came softened and hsTmonized by love; erfrag-
mentary abstract speculations gravitated to-
wards concrete center, andso widened and pu-