The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1859-03-19

pFili as taat ouIocS Hiss Arden who never
spoke above her breath, and was SO exces-
tsively proper, that whenever she was in
company with her, poor little Kate always
felt Ike mouse under an exhausted re-
csiEer,
But I'll give him enough of it, she said
to herself I'll be stiff and icy enough to
freeze him, If that's what he wants 4 year
al Madame La Roche's. OH deari how shall
ever live through it? There's one conf ort
thongh-Jack says may be as wild as ever
Ike until he goesi'
And Kate dropped asleep, and dreamed
she was little terrified canary, and that au
enormous srecu-eyed cat, with face Ike
Madame La Eoehe's was watching to eat her
upi
Poor Kate! Life in French Institute was
a dolorous business to the free hearted
little country damsel, but somehow she
passed through it. To be sure she 90, into
more scrapes than any other three girls in
the shool-smuggled Shakespeare and Byron
in through the back doors and drew all sorts
Of comical caricatures of the Madame the
greatest pet and greatest plague in the es-
tabllshment! Somehow, school didn't alter
Kate the least bit in the worid-perhaps she
was wiifully obstinate. But she remember
|
and sometimes when she chose to act the
demure you would have thought her second
edition of that exceedly ladylike yo2ng
person.
At length the time drew near for Morti-
mer's return. He came back wcared Of the
! gay society of the ParsIan capital-h
and tired of the frivolous butterflies of for
eign society. Sometimes be thought he
| inc,
they were all yapid, formal, tedious copies
thought of his wild, original pquant Kate
would come across his mind like a cool
breath from summer woods, over q burning
desert.
'lf she should be changed ? he thought,
with Il pang. 'But no, it is impossible
Kate never would alter. What fool
was, to insist on her being put into that
nonsensical French schoo.'
| His heart throbbed not little however.
on the bright March morning when he lifted
| the wicket of the little garden gate for the
| frs, time for whole year. Would Kate
| bound out to meet him? would she smile,
as of old ? or-would she indeed be
changed?
lie felt bitterly disappointed-so little to
be depended on is human nature-when
the servant brought down word, as he sat
before the fire, that Miss Troyer would be
down in moment
1t was half an hour before she at length
appeared and then, alas it was not the
| bright eclectric Kate for whom he longed,
bat an elegantly dressed young lady in n
green silk morning robe, and embroidered
skirt, her round arms covered by lace un-
dcrslceveA, and-coulI he believe his
ycs?-leadlng poodle dog by glded
| chain!
She extended her hand with few studied
words of welcome, and when he kissed her
/ forehead, she looked Just the least bit in
the world astonished and digniied. 0, it
was all intensely proper, and poor Mortimer
felt rs If he were somewhere in the Arctic
Zone.
4 few stiff questions and answers about
the voyage, and then i dead silence ensued.
: Il am very much obliged to you, Mr..
Mortimer said Kate, 'for your .iudicous
kindness, in placing me where | should
, proftably emp!ov.the time Of your absence.
! ] trust you perceive some slight improve
nlent.
Mortimer felt miserable! The idea of
spending his days with this precise young
lady, when he had been dreaming of n bright,
wild, elf like Kate!
As he glanced up, though, he fanccd that
| for one second he caught the bright eer,ie
. sparkle that used to lurk in the eyes of the
''>ate Of auld lang syne. Ere he could look
.gs N, however. it was gone. But it inspir-
el him with faint hope.
.R.te,' he said, perhaps it is Eow too
late to'l cgl et the past, but in those days !
was very ,rucN Of a puppy'--th lips
au,vcred ana the eye-lashcs dropped as he
spuke--s and nave since learned wisdom.
The little Kate / left, in all her winning
wilIfuIncss and sweet originality, was the
.lrcam Oh which my hopes have dNeit for
year, and---'
Kate couldn't keep on the fo.'mal air
minute longer. Before Lc knew what he
was about she was nesting in his arms, the
bright, dancing eyes smiling up iuto dls,
and the black curls ripping back fGom ,he
Kate,
is this dream 2 he said. rubbing his
eyes. and yet holding the fairy guest rx-'
tremcly tight. have been asleep, Or
NO. no. you precious, tiresomc, good
old Jnck' she exclaimed, betweed tears and
laughter. Il only wanted to SEQ whether
YOU were as whimsical as ever. Bless yo1.
they couldn't do anything with me at school
I'm the same incCrrigible Kate as ever, and
if You want me ut all you must take per-
feet will o the wisp!' warn you before
hand that can't be the proper young lady
for more than ten consecutive inmates Mt
time
sMy little wild violet blossom-ny own
bright sparkling little jewell would not
exchange YOU for the whole world beside,'
said the delighted Mortimer, kissing the
rosy cheek unit! it burned 4 deeper crimson
than the red embers on the hearth. 'EIow
can ever be sufficiently grateful that my
stupidity did not succeed in spelling you?
o, Kate, this is indeed coming honaer
'And may l cal! you JacA;' she asked,
demurolv.
IF you ever call me anything else he
exclaimed.
But what the if was, never transpired.
Something very terrible, no doubt; but just
IA he was pronouncing it the laughing eyes
met his own, with something so bewitehing
in their ray, that he stopped to kiss the
bright lips again and again, and so nobody
ever heard what the 8 if meant.
THE RIGHT BIRD
Odd and good is old DIR. Nichols, who