Ellsworth American., 1876-07-13


her ears. she would discover herself lean
isg on her oar, with eyes alight and red lips
parted listening almost with holden breath
dreamily TO certain rhapsOdies. Then, how
she would snatch At her oars, making the
spray ny, at the risk (to quote Phllis's ex-
pression) of catching a crab, II she caught
Toms mischlevous eyes twinkling at her.
Once, Ia the quiet of Sabbath eve. she
was seated with group Of others under
the golden shelter OF the large laburnam,
listening to the delicious trill OF a sky-lark,
which was 'winging the blue deep In the
golden lightning OF the sunken SUM- and
Mr.. Stanyan took from his pocket small
book OF Shelley's poems, and read his ode
Ia SKY lark with such mixture OF ter
vcnt eloquence aud tender pathos, that
when he rendered these two verses, with a
plaintive thrill in his exquisite voice
I'VE look before and after.
And pine for what Is not;
our sncerest laughter
With some pain is frAught;
our sweetest song are those which tell Of sad
dest thought.
Teach me half the gladness
That thy brain must know
such harmonious madness
From INV lips would iOw;
The world would listen then rs | am listening
how
poor May felt great yearning wish well
ling up IN her heart, a wish that she could
procure for him that gladness he seemed.
with Shelley, 10 long so for; and with The
wish came a choking sensation in her
throat, and two great crystal drops would
come splashing down on 10 rose DER
which she bent her head TO hide them
don't think she did manage to conceal
them from one pair OF eyes for Tom came
round 10 where she stool after, with "A
malicious glimmer IN his sly look AS he
asked her.ln low tone. what she thought
IA To the merits of the young man OF the
rolling eyes,
Ihen all her wickedness instantly rose
~ In arms, as, flashing a saucy. defiant
look at Tom, she expressed her opinion
that poetry was all very well, and un-
dodotedly beautiful To those who apprec!-
ated i. but she considered such high fiown
ianclcs about bird absolutely senseIes,
= lark was merely bunch OF feathers with
a beak and throat. out of 1t which il emit
ed the vocal sounds natural To il. as were
those OF the corncake 10 II; but as 10 sup
posing Il 10 experience the feelings attriD.
nt"d 10 Il by Shelley, and measuring it,
JOY by the beauty OF its song, the idea wa.
outre.'
There was Il puzzled. nomeDtary CLEAN
OF disappointment Ia Herbert Stanyau's
eyes as the enthusiasm called into them by
the readin. OF the poem died out
For shame, May" cried Tom, with a
shocked tace at her flppant. audaciou,
speech. You are All iucorrigibly wicked
little hypocrite :"
Meanwhile, Tom was fast gaining favor
in the eyes OF fair Ellen Stanyan. "A dear
gentle girl she was, who reminded one OF
a Lbs .r,l -
sweet shadow. or gay. wnsome dove,
wiki her thoughtful. tlniid eyes, and the
quietly nappy grace with which shc cutter
Ell in the pleasure-takings. And her broth
ct: Had May yet won the power OF max
Ing his heart ache? Oh, the simmer OF
those golden tresses, how they iaZed bis
eyes and meshed hts heart in their silken
folds. The unfathomabe eyes, with heav-
ems blue reflected in their depths, how
their gaze held him entranced "a, IL under
the spell OF a dreams beauty. The fair,
blue-veined hand that seemed to lure beau-
" into everything 1t toyed with, the very
flowers seeming loyelier in its clasp-how
its touch thrilled his very soul. Aud the
tiny, winsome foot that seemed fashioned
To crush perfume from the daisies and
primroses-how he wished he might strew
It's liie-path with flowers. Not all her co
could hide the girls soul from his penetra.
tion, no more than the froth on the sea
will prevent "A stone from finding the bot
tom. Yes, most undoubtedly, May had
added another conquered heart TO the long
list, and If she held the mistaken notion
that her own escaped nnscstheJ, it was
destined soon TO be dispelled. She Was,
however. determined TO betray no more
symptoms oi admiration to the perceptive
eyes OF her brother Tom, 50 she Kept on
drawing her saucy little hypocritical airs
about her AS CLOAK, and while hidin.
from others. hid from herself for a time
the fact that hei willful. tender little heart
had AT last, without even saying ''by your
leave" quite gone out OF her own keeping.
aud 10. when she fancied il most secure,
she discovered that IL WAS at the mercy of
another.
One evening, she was coming from the
conservatory, whittier she had been to Sc
lect a flower for hephair. preparatory TO
dressing for dinner, when q voice fell on
her ear
My love is too deeply rooted to be over
come by that, darling" it said; then she
heard the low murmur Of girls voice re-
plying. and again Herbert Stanyan protest.
ing that he would "neyer change" etc.
She did not stay TO hear more. but fiedto
the house with pang in her heart, as if
all arrow had pierced it. The pain made
her tremble SO, aud turned her cheek SO
pale, that the sympathetic little French
maid who dressed her was "sure ma 'amsel-
lie was too much i'll to make appearance at
the dinrer; was Allied with the too much
walking, the amount of which would GER
tainly arrive at the finishment of horses
strength"
But May bit her lip until the blood came
into them, laughing at Clotilde, and ac-
counting for her pallor by saying she had
seen a ghost in the shrubbery. which ex-
planation set the superstious little damsel
of into a low-vOiced round-eyed recital of
her own experience in the ghost line, till
the sound of the dinner-goDg brought her
to a stop and a little nervous shrek, with
her eyes rOunder than ever. glanclng af-
frightedly at the door, and her hands nut
tering in ridiculously helpless fashion.
over the piled-up gold on her lady's head;
SO May, laughing, her equanimity and re-
seate hue equally restored, added the fin
ishing adjournment of the white camelia
which had cost her so much, and foated
down into the dnin.-room-a fair y-like
vision Of pink and white-tO take the va
cant seat, waiting for her at Herbert Stan
yan's side, whose upward glance at her
alone betrayed the state of his heart.
She chattted away in her usually gay
strain. rallying Tom and Ellen in having
been missing since luncheon time.
studying botany in the woods" she
supposed, AS her glance rested on An ex-
quisitelv-arranged little bunch of tiny wild
blossoms in Ellen's hair.
Meanwhile, she was making various in
ward cOnjectures Ms to who could have
been Herbert StanyaI.'s companion ia the
sbrubbery. She felt ssre at the time that
she recognized the voice Of Nellie Hilton,
q pretty girl to whom she had frequently
seen him talking but, somehow. Nellie
did not appear At all rs il declaration Of
love had been made to her-and declara-
tion Il surely was to somebody; SO May
was determined to keep the secret of that
sudden pain 1t her heart, even from Tom.
As day or two passed on, she could
not but discern that she must somehow be
mistaken. HeTbert's devoted attentions
kept on increasing until there could not re-
main the shadow of doubt OH her mind
rs to whom he preferred.
| Never mind. She did not intend altering
her cOn0ncf in the laasf-pnf sha tnAaah