The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1875-07-14
So PER ANNUM.

counted himself determined old bach
elor, and having no mother or sister,
had drifted out of the way of woman
kind and their interests. "Flossy's"
simple record seemed to bring him
back to this forgotten world 1t was
as if a girl had sat down by His side
and whispered her secrets in his ear.
Visions of a sweet tired face behind
counter, of appealing blue eyes Che was
certain they must be blue), of veil of
some light hair Chair to match the
eyes), swept over him, and all his
knighthood was reused. Find he must,
and help her but how2 Never did
search seem moreunpromisingly devoid
of clew.
To advertise was, of course, his first
thought. Found, a small green pock-
et-book," appeared next day among
the personals" in the Herald, and was
reiterated so many times thereafter as
to become, as it were, a permanent
feature of the paper. A singular rage
for shopping seized upon John. Every
afternoon, leaving his office early, he
betook himself to this amusement,
choosing always those shops where wo-
men were employed. No bride elect,
with trousseau to buy, ever went into
the business more determinatedly.
Long stairs daunted him not he pen.
etrated to third stories, to fourth, even
to those mysterious topmost regions
where "ladies' Quitting" is attended
to. Everywhere he questioned, Have
you among your employees a young
lady named Florence? l have acct
dentally come into possession of an ar
ticle belonging to her which l am anx-
ious to return"
But no one answered the advertise
ment; and, though more than one
Florence turned up in the shops, they
were not the one; they had no con.
nection with the little green pocket
book.
So May passed, and June and July,
and when August drew on, and the
city became great focus of baking
walls and evil savors, our friend, tough
and-active as he was, began to feel the
need of change. "Flossy's" words
haunted him. The long, cool roll
and the swash, the gulls diving and
plunging in the spray )" they filled him
with longing for the sea. He resolved
on vacation and one sultry evening,
after an hours humping on the rail-
road, and further jolt in a country
wagon, .he found himself at Oriental
Point on the Long Island shore, a spot
which had rejoiced in the name of Clam
cove until recent rechrlstening at the
hands of local spectators, whose i'm.
agination, fred by the completion of
the branch railroad, had jumped for
ward to anticipated hotels and crowd
Of metropolitan "boarders." Both ho-
tells and crowd were happily non-exist-
ent so far, and the sylvan quiet of
Clam cove still brooded over Oriental
point. The red farm.houses scattered
along the beach suficed for the few
strangers who had found out the place,
and in one of these Mr.. Singleton and
his knap.ack were received and vel
coined with hearty country hospital
ity which it was to be feared would
disappear with the nearer approach of
the ubiquitous steam whistle.
Two days of basking in sun and salt,
two nights of cool freshness made a
new man. Utterly content and utterly
lazy, he felt indisposed for everything
but to lay under the shade of rocks,
watch the water come and go, and nap
and dream.
1t was on the fourth day of this oys-
ter-like existence that he reused from
doing reverie at the sound of voices
speaking near. Some ladies had seated
themselves just below him. One,
dressed in mourning and wrapped in
shawl, seemed an invalid. The other
had dark red.brown hair streaming
down over a cool-looking white and
black dress. She was reading aloud
Lowell's little poem, "Sea Weed"
John caught the words distinctly.
81 wonder what that means exact
ly p she said as she finished.
at is very graceful"
"Yes, but it's puzzling, too--a fas-
einating puzzle. I'm always wonder
ing if Mr., Lowell, when he wrote it,
meant the same thing which fancy he
meant. 1t quite leases me-"
"And yet you like it so much"
ooh, that's the very reason. / like to
be teased and set to thinking. Alice,
are yoe warm enough ?"
John pricked up his ears. But this
girl has dark hair.
Thanks - yes, I'm almost warm
enough. Still, you might fetch the
gray shawl, Marion, if you don't mind"
John caught glimpse of the girls
face as she came back with the shawl /;
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