The weekly clarion. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1863-1882, 1877-08-22


threw myself down upon the steep hill
side among the long grass and ferns be-
tween the trees. Then | think | did re-
ally lose consciousness for while, for
do not remember seeing the pretty grace
full girl who had saved nv life until /
found her kneeling at my side, endeavor-
ing 70 raise my head as she whipped
the streaming water from my forehead
and hair.
"Wait here" she said, ''and l will
run to the inn for help; won't he long.
There, lean against that tree trunk
Pray, STOP" | stammered feebly; 81
shall soon be all right l am really very
much obliged to you"
ooh, never mind that" she answered
brightly; ':if you can walk so much the
better. Get up, and come along at
once; you must get your wet clothes
[ rose and shook myself, feeling very
bewildered, sick and scared
tHere-up this way" she cried. ''I
think We can get through the wood this
way; follow me"
| had scarcely started after, her as
with firm light step she sprang up the
slope among the trees, when heard from
the top cry of:
"Hilly-o! Lucy, hilly-o! where are
YOU"
''Here 1 am" she cried' ''all right
Come down, papa, and give this gentle
man a hand. have just helped him
out of the water-he was nearly drown
ed !"
.".What? Eli, my dear? What are you
talking about? Gentleman out of the
water-nearly drowned?" said CHEEKY
voice; and looking up, l saw two or
three figures coming against the sky over
the crest of the hill. Then there was a
little hurried talk as they met my pre-
server, and presently my middle-aged
friend, who had spoken to me about the
weather at the inn the day before had a
viee-like hold upon my arm, and was
lending me very material assistance in
my ascent.
"What a fortunate thing Only to
think he said, ''of Lucy happening to
see you! We were wandering about, and
she had gone on ahead by herself to look
at the fall then all of sudden we miss
ed her and wondered what had become
of her /; and then, 10, and behold all
the time she was qualifying for the Royal
Humane's Society medal. You are not
accustomed to mountain rivers, sir, am
afraid, they are very treacherous, and
are often suddenly swollen in this way
when rain begins in the hills after a long
drought it's what they called ''spate"
in the Highlands. But stay, you are ex-
hausted; take nip of whisky out Of my
flask here.
We had stopped that might do this,
when second young lady, evidently a
sister of my guardian angel, came rum
ing down towards US, exclaiming:
go, papa, do come upquick; Lucy has
tainted. She was just beginning to tell
US all about it, when in a moment she
went quite off"
Whereupon, revived by the stimulant,
/ fastened up the remainder of the slope
in company with my new friends, to find
the brave girl quite insensible, her head
resting on the lap of lady, evidently
her mother.
Then the CHEEKY gentleman put the
| whisky flask to his daughters lips, and
all so1ictude, very properly, was turned
! from me to her; but she soon revived,
and then, but not till then, allowed my
self to be hurried off to the inn to get
dry clothes. These, and a little hot
stimulant, soon put me to rights, with no
further damage from my ducking than
few superficial bruises and scratches.
But what was this tremendous intern
al wound that I suddenly became con-
scious of?-that had not been inflicted
by projecting rocks of slippery crags or
foaming water! No; of certainly that
was the result of a sympathetic glance
from pair of bright brown eyes, viii CHI
had gone straight to my heart from the
moment they had looked down upon me
in my peril.
Was on the eve, then, of another great
discovery Was it not enough that had
found lately that there were other sights
and sounds worth listening to than are
supplied by London streets, other elevat-
ing emotions than those referrable to ar
rithmetic and bookkeeping by double
entry, but that must have thrust upon
me also the fact that there was really
something worth living for besides one
self and making money? 1t seemed so
AS / have been taken by surprise by the
pleasure to be extracted from quiet
country life, so equally was | now sud
denly awakened to the possibility of what
the doctor had called "setling down.
There absolutely appeared a chance of
my taking to the idea, and of so carry
ing out his prescription to the letter.
What wonderful and beneficent effect il
was working!
"Why, there she is in the garden at
this very moment, and how beautiful she
looksl Now that / have made myself
presentable," I thought, 81 will go down
Immediately and thank her like cohe
rent being and gentleman"
She was sitting in a little arbor at the
end of the inn garden. As approached
blush, the more evident from the pale
ness which her undue exertion and sub
sequent faintness had left, overspread hel
sweet face-that angel-face, which had
at first thought dream, and which tt
me now, with my newly awakened poeti
cal sensibilities, scarcely seemed a re
atty.
| can not describe it. Why should
/ Other people would not see it with my
ewes there were hundreds and hundred.
of faces in the world doubtless far more
beautiful.
81 hope you are feeling BETTER said
81 am afraid that what you have done
for me has overtaxed you strength
shall never forgive myself if it has made
you seriously i'll"
.'Oh, no." she answered, "I was only
little out of breath with the running
and the scramble through the brushwooC
and trees; but was sure that if | was tt
be of any use there was no time to be lost
Please don't say any more about it.
'tOh, but indeed | must; you must tel
me how you saw me and how you were
able to reach me"
!, "Oh, / had merely gone down to look
at the WATERFALL knew it would b,
very much swollen-and the moment