, 1865-12-26
FIRST And LAST,
Love Story.



chanting month. stood back little uud
took long look Ut Il. She was 80 beautiful,
nno had the power to reproduce TINT beau.
"! think, even now, 1t must have been 4
very stirling likeness, considering The mate
rtnls from which 1t was made. Evelyn was
the pride Of the sehoo1 and the eldest daush-
ter Of. fht great man Of tho village-Ws1d,
own age, yclept Maurice, the son Of the
widow ballaert. And there / mas, In all the
presumption Of youth and ambition. giving
my secret dreams shape. 1t Would do no
harm; fhe would not see II, no one wonld be
the w4scr for it. / had painted lcr In my
heart 60 many hundred times that her picture
d~clt there every day. was familiar With
every shade Of color which her glittarins
lair took on; knew all her LOOKS and
motions, careless and proud. I knew, too,
that every boz In the school was worsbippei
at her Shrine, and TINT II she cycr looked
comp1aeently upon any one 1t was upon
Willis Greer, who Was going away to college
boys was, to tic passion felt for her, like
the Elttnlner Of sliding wave to the fierce
conslAncy Of The Sud- I lorcd lcr. Was
only seventeen, but was poet and dreamer,
and all my visions, thus far In Life, had cen.
tered about her.
stond back and gazed upon the image I
had crcated--1 forgot the hastcnIng moments,
the peril Of deteclion--I was not IN that dis
mal school-room, but In summer lrll. a1ouc
With Evelyn, nnd size WIS mine, for had
made her. The proud mouth seemed to part
in Q emile and invite me. Why not kiss It 2
Agnin ] drew near the picture, and, thrilling
in every vain md nerve, bout and pressed
my lips To those had iIaagod.
Fatal indulgence!
heard tiltcr-two, three, dozen sup.
pressed filters, swelling into burst OF laugh.
ter behind me. Halfthe school was laughing
at me, and the master" In the BACKGROUND,
Some 1nischiegous IMP Of 4 girl had come
softly into the room, discovered the nature Of
my noon studies, and fed silently aEay to re-
port tho state Of affairs, returning with an
eager body Of recruits, stealing in on tiptoe
to surprise tue enemy. The blood which had
surgea SO dcliclousiy In my heart tingled
hotly In my cars. With desperate attempt
to join in the laugh, l glanced around upon
the crowd. Evelyn Ward was there, standing
on either check. Knew that round
red spot betokened anger. If sle had
blu6led, should have been comtorted In
the midst Of my confusion but She did not
honor nc with blush. The blood left my
ears and forehead, felt cold and pale. The
power OF endurance. Who that has been boy
and d1ea1ntd Of manhood, hut can sympat hixe
with my terrible shame and modification. T
had blnshed when whispered 10 myself in
the stiffness ot night, TINT 1 loved EVELYN
Nsrd--lerc Was my secret ut the mercy OF all
these latethl boys and torment3ng girls The
mountain Of ridicule In store for ne already
my eyes upon the master He was q gentle
man-no rude pedhgogue Of the olden stamp !;
not glimpse Of a smile disturbed his serene
features, though was certain that pity sofl-
enrd Ills g1Ancc- Nc caNnc to the rescue nobly !;
Really, Maurice, ron have q surprising
talent for drawing. Il could make as pretty
portrait as TINT, ia bc tempted to Kiss 1t,
tool Take your seats, my children. Don't
you hear the bell :"
As they TUNED TO obey him, EVELYN took
her little lawn handkerchief from tho pocket
Of her silk apron, md, With gesture Of m
nih1lattnE contempt, wiped my picture from
the blackboard lWent to my desk, drew
forth {ny rhetoric, and tried to Ax my mind
upon tue tropes and metaphors which danced
upon the page before me- did not dare to
tnisc my eyes. The room Tas unusually still,
only faint murnur coming from the far end
where q class Of girls was rccitinc. Then
heard Willis Green, nsking, In his clear, cut
ting voice, ''pcfmission to speak with Bal
lacrt on matter Of Importance"
You can speak, necessary" said the
81 thought he would Ike to be informed
that there Wns chalk on the end OF his nose.n
With what cool malice he announced this
fndispu1abte factl Another halt:supprcssed
giggle run around the benches; tie master
tried to hoFn, but 1t WIS futile attempt.
He was good.nafured, and 1ad keen sense
of the ridiculous; and, after a moments
struggle with propr1ety, he burst out Into q
ringing laugh, followed 10 chorus By the
whole school. Evelyn laughed quite loudly.
and glanced wfckcdly at Willis Green, who
tossed his handsome head, quite certain that
he had been very witty How hated him!
n mr., Chaysnr r
attempt to wipe tLst disaereeable chalk from
my nose. was proud Us Luciier, md the i'm
pulse hnd felt to selxc my cap and dash out
doors, never to retufn 10 those precincts, was
repsssted. ! Kept my scat; when the noise
had little subsidized, l bowed to Aaster
Green.
"1hank you for Your kindness,'' said,
quietly, and then slowly and co1npoaedly
drew forth my handkerchief and wiped my
nose
sometmes tears Of seGplty como to my
cses oven yet when think Of the tortures I
endured through the rest OF that endlesz
afternoon. My heart swelled and s1iled me,
my VEINS were on fire; get, when called VI, to
ms exercises In mathematics, my brain Eas
prcteruatnrnlly clear I did not make a mis-
take indeed, carried myself 60 we'll, that
the pupils began to believe there was nothing
impression. II had been rich and pettcd
like Willis Green, should not have been so
miserable, but the bitter sense OF poverty was
always with me, adding to my troubles.
At last, school IVES dismissed. would not
1inger tehlnd, al II dreading the consequences
op-f I met Willis Green, 10 tirash linn. lie
was year older than /, nnd more trnincd in
athletic habits, but l felt giant within nc,
quite capable OF coping With his mcanness, /
think he had an impression to that effect, for
he came out last nnd sneakcd Of by q hy-
path.
let Of fun awaiting me, and finding that Viii
lis had no mind to cross my path, was walk
ing slowly toward home, when a soft little
hand slipped into and pressed mine. It be-
longed to Grace, younger sister Of Evelyn's,
little girl Of thirteen, slender and tilnid. but
with eyes and hair the cc1of o. the elder
ones.
tsDop't be nngry with me Maurice" she
said as ! made an effort to Withdraw my
haud. - ] didn't langh .. you. Think it
was rude and 1ngenerous Of thc1n--eycn Of
mir. Har,wGli. lie Was old enough TO know
better / felt 60 sorry for you! Oh! Il you
knew how offended was with thc1o," then
the fmEh{tl1 little creature actually kissed my
ugly brown hand, while her eyes Alled with
tears.
~ nm not aDgry With my one, Grace; at
least, not with any one bnt Willis Grccn.''
s'You don't dislike him half rs much Is ]
do,n said my little champion; tthe'A 50 con-
ceited, nnd-hatefnl pit was the worst
word she could think Of. II wonder how
Eva cAn Ike him! Do you know, don't
81 s'PsbaH. 53racc ~
aen pursued NY Ai1lc comforter,
with blush, casting down her eyes, " his
mir is NOT wary, like yours. and his eyes arc
VOC 1tasA-taS 1oa - iocA 80. ~ !.ai ~
tne Mcs ~ s0ase ~ ~, ! uA .saaa @ ~ S n,1t
gooa iooAios; aaaas sa. Ky .e g I ~ ,,tnrs
never saoaia u oan nas1 -" = ''u' l. ene o1oe''
hau no' oeeu Nv n." a.
II was pleasant % oe natleIea " tnat ptct.