Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1876-02-28
Tales aud Sketehss.
TaE NICK OF TINE.

OF all arrant tlirts, Alice Truesdell bore
the palm; and of all desperate lovers. DIR.
Fowle. OF course there were other lovers
at the young lady command, or she could
not have tlrted; but all her Irritation
seemed TO be directed solely to the end of
vexing this single lover, whose grave,
quiet, repressed demeanor never let her
exactly know whether he were a lover or
not, and drove her first to some action
that almost betrayed her own feelings,
and then to one that should give the lie
to that betrayal, and set everything at
loose ends again.
You could hardly say why Miss Trues-
dell had so many suitors. She was not so
very good-that is, she was rs good as
most people. but not a jotbetter; she was
not pretty-at least not till she laughed
and showed her white teeth, and dimplc
deep as love ever nestled in, or till she
lifted her great gray eyes and let you see
how lustrous they were under that trick
of dropping lids. No. it could not have
been her beauty that was the charm; 1t
was voice, smile, face, figure. all togeth-
err; her personality, gay spirits, teasing
moods, sweet ways. her infinite variety,
that attracted everybody coming within
its sphere. She sang little, she danced
a little; whatever she did she did well;
and so, OF course, she flirted to perfection,
and played off one lover against another
as prettily. the lookers-on might think, as
a juggler tosses his golden balls. But
what did the lovers think of it.
One of them thought very poorly of it,
and was determined to bring Miss Alice to
close quarters in small time, not in the
least aware that all the others had made
exactly the same determination. and had
found that to determine was one thing and
to do was another. Man might propose,
but Miss Alice must dispose; and Miss
Alice-as, indeed, they each and all fond
ly hoped-was a match for any of them.
ii she danced with Gregory, just as Greg
ory felt encouraged and began to whisper
the burning words, she dropped her fan
with glance at Mallory, who darted to
restore it, and was detained with thanks
and gay words and replies just long enough
to make it impossible for Gregory to take
up the thread where she had broken it..
If she walked with DR.. Fowle, it was only
after she had allowed Mr. Boles to know
that she would be strolly in that direction,
where she was; always so pleased to meet
him when he came up breathlessly, and
found the doctor muttering anathemas De-
tween his teeth-invocations to Escula-
Plus. she called them.
But DR.. FOwle was not man you could
put off forever, when he once made up his
mind to thing, and so Miss Alice began
to learn. And when, one night as he bade
her good bye, Mallory and the rest being
there. he told her, in grave but authori-
tativs undertone, quite unlike that of the
usual lover, that he wished TO see her,
next morning, at Il o'clock; if she want
ed to deny him she could not But to tell
the truth, she did not exactly want to.
The young men had seemed so inconse.
quent and SO studied that evening. Netty
Armitage had seemed so frivolous; they
had, each in turn, come in and interrupt
ed the doctor when he was telling her
such fairy-like tales of recent discoveries
in science; she had shrugged her shoul-
ridiculously and then she had laughed
with the merriest of them, and pouted at
the doctor. Bnt now, as he was going,
she slipped her hand in his arm and saun-
down the lane with him. The night was
night in June, when, if ever. nights are
perfect; the air was laden with the breath
Vi none SuChIc anu IuOCk-OTduSe. Inc
winds that curled round them seemed to
come from distant lands of everlasting
bloom, so sweet they were; and the stars
hung their lamps through the clear dark
close above the thick tree-tops.
She fanced. that night, that life was too
delicious thing to be INDUCED in freely,
and she murmured something OF the fancy
with half laugh There are times
when we all feel that life Is more than we
deserve" he answered. "To-morrow-it
may be--shall feel the same myself, to-
morrow, or will fate"
She laughed uneasily. You mustn't
ask me Riddles she cried.
"At II. tomorrow. then" he said, lit.
ing his hat.
.At II tomorrow. And she went back
to the house. wishing it were IL to-mor-
row, now; and then, in gay freak, as
the heard the hall clock strike, she ran
down the hall and set the hands forward
an hour. Bring him the quicker" she
whispered-"bring him the quicker" and
went back to the others.
They were talking of the flags and bull
rushes that grew by Lenders lake, sheet
OF water in the neighboring woods, and
she was eager to hear the details Of the
direction there, for she shared the popu-
lar frenzy raging, bulrushes, and thought
of all things she should like some great
punches of the soft brown velvety things
IN, ha yocas fo.mprrOwy