Knoxville journal. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1874-1986, 1875-08-26

/ lDSc DlODiu Oh liit IOuiltto CHCShs, duu
cloudy golden hair, waving rather low
above dark, straight brows. The eyes are
dark too, think, and the mouth is firm
and vet tender-a little naughty, perhaps,
but the smile brings out a tiny dimple at
each corner, and shows such white. even
teeth that you don't mind that. Not a
perfect face at all, not even beautiful one,
but sweet and fresh and refined, with a
look of purity and health. moral and ply
steal, about it. The figure, as much as
can see of it, is light and frm--one of
| those figures which cannot be other than
| graceful, lei them do what they will.
| A bell clangs in the house; luncheon, of
course. Eta yanishes, and only a
blank wall and empty, staring windows are
| left for my inspection. Not interesting,
decidedly not interesting: and up at home
among the New England hills the willows
are yelled in their soft green mist, and
wave after wave of verdure is sweeping up
the hill-sides day by day among the great
| granite powders, grim and gray. Does
the sun shine there and does the foliage
glimmer as it used, wonders And are
the brown mountain streams dancing
downward, with their whirling flakes of
white foam, between the messy rocksy
"God made the country" they say; but
He must have had some little hand in the
city too, fancy-at least in the making of
such creatures as that Eta" over there.
April 20-This " Eta" is becoming
quite fascinating notwithstanding be-
cause bewildering and perplexing. What
is she? Has the girl two natures, or Is
the mystery only in me- Ihope my brain
is not giving way under pressure; but why
does she do such provoking, unaccounta-
bic things? Not that anything she does
is remarkable in itself, now that l come to
think of it, only her looks and acts and
ways, at different times, contradict each
other so strangely. After all, believe
the difference is in my own mind and not
in her. How else can it be that whereas
at one time / feel such strange attraction
toward her, at another feel an equally
strange repulsions No, repulsion is too
strong a word; it is rather an absolute in.
difference, utterly devoid even of admira-
ton. So strong has this feeling grown
that the instant she appears feel, Now
| shall like her." or, Now shall hate
her." and the instinct ne yer deceives.
Last night Eta went to ball or some
thing of the sort AT any rate, she came
to the window gorgeous in some white,
shimmering stuff, with wreaths of pink
heath Il think trailing all over il. She
stopped a moment to clasp bracelet on
her round, white arm, and the subtle
charm and attraction were stronger than
ever
A few minutes afterward / saw her
in the parlor. The gas was turned up
to its full height and the win
dows were wide open. Apparently she
was posing and practicing before
the pier-glass Nothing in thatS OF
course not. We all like women to be al
their ease, and how can they be that il
they are not sure of looking well, and
how could they be sure of looking well il
pier glasses did not exist? But surely she
need not have pranced and ambled as she
did before that mirror, with sidewise
sweepings of her train, with airy fiutter-
ings of her fan, with bridlings and mine.
| ings, perkings of chin and droopings OF
eyelids. | was glad when the carriage was
announced and the house was left to dark.
ness and silence.
April 27-No chance of my being out
and about for two weeks yet, so the doctor
tells me. Perfect stiffness under penalty
of lameness for life. Wretched for man
i'm full health to be tied by the leg in this
way! Once in a while j am tempted to
give it all up and go out into life again.
am tired of fighting this incessant thirst
to be in the midst of the stir and hustle,
one of mass of struggling atoms, and not
mere solitary, sluggish molecule, sort
of hermit crab, sitting here "my lane"
. and fighting off aapui. But-lame for
life? Well, it wouldn't be pleasant The
words gave me rather shivery feeling as
they dropped so glibly from the doctor
lips. To hobble through life more dis
torted wreck of a many No, on the whole,
had better eat my heart out here little
longer than to gnaw II in vain for the rest
of my life.
wonder i'll am becoming too much in
terested in that girl over there? Certainly
/ watch for her eagerly and count the day
blank when | have not seen her. Non
sense! 1t is only the utter lack Of any ex-
element in my life which makes me
think OF her at all and then the mystery
about her or about my feelings toward her
keeps up the interest. Only let me get
out once in the great, surging sea OF New
York and mix with other men and tn en-
Eta may go--it would be ungrateful as
well as impolite to suggest Jericho" as
her goal--she may go whittier she will.
But suppose, just suppose, the feeling
should not be shaken off. Well, ii
would be awkward, certainly. But that is
out OF the question. am morbid ana
nervous now; but let me only regain my
full strength once more and all these
dreams and imaginings will vanish like a
morning mist.
The back room in which Eta oftenest
. appears is not her bedroom, evidently. 1t
seems to be sewing room, study, nursery
"a sort of city of refuge for the odds and
ends of household life. Sometimes ] see
her sitting at the window and sewing.
Somehow think / like her best then.
Her little fingers fly in and out so deity
with such dainty twists and turns, which
dimple the knuckles and show the pretty
wrists in hundred new and graceful at
titudes. / look at my great, clumsy fin
gers and laugh TO myself To think how
miserably / potter over single button
, and what wretched botch 1t is when it is
sewed on at last.
She is busy bee, this Eta. ! hardly
, ever see her unemployed. ! never partic-
ularly admired energy or industry in
women. II il apt to make them uneasy
and uncomfortable to deal with. Their
energy is given TO breaking out in unex
pected directions, and their industry to
! running into new and startling channels.
: think like woman TO be rather slow
, | .rJ los, and indifferent content In All