The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1873-04-24


81 have coriipleted my education, sir"
in frigidly dignified tohe.
+" 1nIeed wish l could say as much,
Miss Floy,"is Johns dry rejoinder, las with
an amused smile he turns away from her
to direct his conversation to Kate and me.
When John chooses to talk, his conversa-
ton is truly delightful even Floy sits en-
tranced, listening to his animated descrip-
tions of the new and strange countries he
had seen.
swell, what do you think of your con-
quest now?' whispered Kate, little
maliciously, as, tea ended, we enter the
parlor together.
"Who wants to make conquest of
such an old bear'' asks Floy, shortly.
But next morning, 10 and behold ap-
peared Miss Floy, in her simplest dress,
her pretty fair hair braided round her
head, and an air of demure propriety
diffused all over her little person. She
greeted John with dignifed humility.
John, who had quite forgotten yesterdays
little passage-of-arms, returned the greet
ing kindly, but took slight notice of her
otherwise. She tried to talk profoundly
to him, and bored him terribly; and
when that evening she approached him,
bearing ponderous geological work, one
passage of which she innocently asked
him to "explain," John, am sorry to
say, lost patience, and snubbed" our lit
tie cousin shamefully.
"My dear Miss Floy," he said, very
blandly, eff were not afraid of offend
ing a young lady who has completed her
education | would advise you not to at
tempt at present work of this profound
nature. Kate has in her library book
entitled Short Lessons in Natural His
tory for Youthful Beginners which if
Il n5t 70 G,,1
both amusing and instructive"
"Thank you, SIR" said Floy celoring
scarlet, and making him sweeping cour-
tesy, "I'm sorry disturbed your SUBJ
lime meditatiOns, even for moment"
From that time, Floy, throwing aside
her little pedantic mask, resumed her
curls, her petulance, her sarcastic on
slaughts. One day, she wrote parody
of his last article-very cleverly done it
was, too, with most laugh-provoking car
icatures-and left it in plain sight on his
study-table. Her little sarcastic speeches
were as stinging as the wasps' nest she
hired our little Irish boy to deposit in his
coat-pocket. The good professor, though
usually Indifferent to her attacks, mani
tested at times the irritation of great
dog when fly tickles his nose too inces-
sanity; at which time Floy's exultation
was excessive:
"Now, John, I'll take no denial, you
must go to the picnic with u.s.
go, my dear Kate
"You needn't talk if you don't want
to; but go you must. It's very bad for
you to confine yourself to the society of
flies, and cockroaches, and such 'pesky
varmint'-isn't it, Floy, darling-mustn't
he go?'
81 wouldn't urge him." said Floy, with
naughty shrug, Z" the flies, and cock
reaches, and the other pretty little crea-
lures, would shed more tears over his alb
sence than we are likely to. | dare saw
John looked really hurt for a moment,
as he glanced across the table at his saw
age little opponent. Kate gave her cross
look that appalled, her somewhat.
"Come, John, you'll go with u.s."
"Well, yes" John assented at last,
with sigh of resignation; but to Floy he
addressed n ither word nor look during
the remainder of the breakfast.
Two hours later we were on our way
a merry party of thirty or forty at the
least. A ride of several miles brought
us to Sylvan Falls, place whose wild
and romantic beauty rises before me
now, like the memory of a delightful
dream. Plunging into the woods al
once, we followed the narrow path thai
led to the falls, the distant music o
which soon resounded in our ears. On WE
scrambled, often "Indian file," over the
narrow uphill and down-hill path that lee
through the woods shouting and SCI cam
ing as we clambered over the huge rocks
that often strove to arrest our way. The
music of the falls grew louder and louder
and at length a sudden turn in the patti
brought them to our view. Down wha
q hnun c " hQlyl N cnli(
rock, they plunged, bursting into whit
fury of foam over the detached pieces o
rock which here and there strove to inter
cept their mad career.
Here we paused to rest, admire tn,
scenery, and eat our luncheon, for whicl
the most poetic mind was by this tim
ravenously anxious. With two excep
tions, we were all in the best of spirits
One of these was John, who, never mucl
at his ease in such a gathering, began t.
feel excessively "bCred," and took tn
earliest opportunity to slip off, unper
ceived. The other was Floy, who, 70
such a naturally bright little body, ap
peared uncommonly dull and afte
several youthful admirers, who had bee
trying to entertain her. The history q
! her subsequent adventures l receive
from Kate.
Floy, when she set out, had no inten
! ! ton of roaming to any distance but, al
sorbed in her own rather sorrowful ref1et
tions, she wandered on insensibly. Poo
-. little coquette! She now suspected,
think, that she was becoming entangle
in the net she had cast for another, an
was by no means so insensible to John
GOODNESS as she would have had us imag
inc. 1t was not till she had wandere
some distance that a feeling of lonelines
oppressed her, and she turned to retraC
! her steps. But that was no light ma
ter; it was easy, very easy, to los
ones self in these old woods. Ami
!, all the crooks, and turns, and dt
! vious pathways, the poor child 500
- found herself bewildered, and began
! cry in sad earnest. Then she called fC
Z help, but no voice answered her. Pluns
ing desperately at last into path she ha
a vague hope might lead her in the rigf
!, tance, pausing, all at once, with a violer
: start, as in little thicket on the side {
the hill she saw-John Durham
: Floy's first feeling was one of intens
! ! relief; the next instant she shrank bac
into the shelter of the trees. "I'll folio
at distance" she muttered, "but NJ
: let him see me for the world-the POM
e GUS old prig !"
Still she could not for the life of h,
= nelp putting out her little head to 81
g what the "pompous old prig "was doin,
s With his hat lightly extended in his han,
. an expression of mingled rapture ar
y anxiety on his face, he was stealing ca
tlously toward the edge of the ban
There, evidently, in the center of tn
Wild rose tapestry, swinging so grac