Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-11-11
PRISCILLA.

Prom ScrlDnerS MOnthiV.l
The trained nOvel-readers, those who have
made business of it (if any such should honor
this poor little story with their attention., will
glance down the opening paragraphs for de-
scriptiOn Of the herOine's tresses. The opening
sentences of Miss Braddon are enough to show
how important a thing a head of hair is in the
getting up of heroine for the popular market.
But as my heroine is not gotten up for the mar
ket, and as L cannot possibly remember even the
color of her hair or her ewes "a L recall her now
fear l shall disappoint the professors ls, p
who never feel that they have a complete he
rOire til the ''lOng waving tresses of raven
darkness. reaching nearly to the ground, en-
velOPihg her as with cloud" have been ar
ti>tcally stuck on by the author. But be it
known that take Priscilla from memory, and
not from Imagination. And the memory of
Priscilla, the best girl IN the school, the most
gifted, the most modest, the most gentle and
true, Is a memory too sacred to be trihed with.
1 would not make one hair light dark, i
would not change the shading of the eyebrows.
Priscilla is Priscilla forever, to all who knew
her. And n | cannot tell the precise color OF
her hair and eyes, 4 shall not invent a shade for
them. l remember that she was on the blonde
side of the grand division line. But she was
not blonde. She was-Priscilla. / mean TO say
that since YOU never lived in that dear old-fogy
Ohio river village of New Geneva; and since,
consequently, you never knew cur Priscilla, no
words of mine can make you exactly understand
her. Was she handsome? Moves. She was
'.jimber-jaw that is, her lower teeth shut a
little outside her upper. Her complexion was
not faultless. Her face would not bear criti-
cism. And vet there is not one of her old school
mates llial VIII now vow lii1I SHE WAS Dcautl-
full. And indeed she was. For she was Prs-
ella. And never can make you understand
it.
A. Priscilla was always willing to oblige any
one II was only natural enough that Mrs. Les
ton should send for her to help entertain the
Marquis. IL was a curious chance that threw
the young Marquis dEntremont for al whole
summer into the society of our little village. His
uncle, who was his guardian, piOus able, wish
ing to remove him from Paris to get him out OF
sOcialistie Influences, had sent him to New Or
nf t1Rar
ing-hOuse of Challeau, Lafort ct Compagnie.
Not liking to take the chances of yellow-fever
IN the summer, had resolved TO journey to the
north. and as Challeau, LafOrt ct Gle, had
correspondent in Henry Lesion, the Young law
yer. and as French was abundautly spoken in
our Swiss village of New Geneva, what more
natural than they should dispatch the MARQUIS
TO our pleasant town of vineyards, giving him a
letter of introduction 10 their attorney, who for
tunately spoke some book French. He had pre-
sented the letter, had been invited to dinner,
and Priscilla Haines, who had learned French
in childhood, through she was not Swiss, was
sent for TO help entertain the guest.
4 cannot but fancy that Il 'EntremOnt was sur
pTised at meeting just such girl a Priscilla in
a rustic village. She was not abashed at find
ing herself ris-d-ris with a nOblemsn, nor did
sheSeem at all,anxiOus tOiattract hiSinotice. Tue
vanity of the Marquis must have been a little
hurt at finding a lady that dill not court his at
teutiOn. But wounded vanity soon gave place
10 another surprise sEyen Mrs. Lesion who I'M
derstood not one word of the conversation be-
tween her husband. the Marquis, and Priscilla.
was watching for this second surprise. and did
Lot fail TO read II in dEntremont's eyes. Here
was a young woman who had read. She could
admire COrnne, she could oppose Saint Simon.
The Marquis d'Entremont had resigned himself
10 the eRHUi of talking to Swiss farmers abOut
tAeir vineyards, of listening to Swiss grand
mothers telling stories OF their childhood in
Neufchatel and Berne. But to find in this
Young village schOol-teacher one who could
speak, and listen while he spoke, of his favorite
writers, to him very strange. Not that
Priscilla had read many French books, for there
were not many within her reach. But she had
read some, and she had read Ste. Beuve and
GTimm's Correspondence, and The who reads
these two has heard the echo Of all the great
voices in French literature. And while David
Haines had lived his daughter had wanted moth
ing TO help her TO the highest culture.
But think what amazed the Marquis most
was that Priscilla showed no consciousness of the
unusual character of her attachments She
spoke easily and naturally Of what she knew,
il il were a matter Of course that the teacher of
a primary school should have read Corneille,
and should be able to combat Saint Simonism-
As the dinner drew to a close, Lesion lifted his
chair round where his wife sat and Interpreted
the brilliant Of the other side OF the
table.
i suspect that Saint Simon had lost some of
his hold upon the Marquis since his arrival in q
country where life Is more beautiful and the
rate he dated the decline of his socialistic opIn
ions from his discussion with Priscilla Hsines.
The next Sunday morning he strolled out Of
the lie Vert House, breathing the sweet air per-
Tuned with the blossoms OF . thousand apple
trees. For what yard Is there in New Geneva
that has not apple-trees and grape wines? And
every family In the village keeps 2 Gov, and
every COW wears a bell, and every bell Ia on Q
different KEY; 50 that the three things that pene-
trated the senses Of the Marquis on this Sunday
morning were the high hills that stood sentinels
on every hand about the valley in which New
Geneva stood the smell Of the apple blossoms,
and the tiakle and tdakls and tcnkls of hundreds
OF bells ON the cows grazing on the commons"
a tie open lots were called. On this almost
paini ully quiet morning, d'Entremont noticed
the cople going one way and another to the
Sunday-s.hOoiS in the three Churches Just a.
he came 70 the pump that stood in front of the
spublic square," he met Priscilla At her
heels were ten ragged little ruffans, whom she
was accustomed 20 have come 20 her house
every Sunday morning and walk with her To
Sunday-school
"a You are then q Sister OF Charity also, he said
I'm French bowling low with sincere admiration
as be passed her. And then to hiIaselfth young