The Canton advocate. [volume] (Canton, D.T. [S.D.]) 1877-1897, 1878-05-07

4 aboutsaavei with the flower ia kay b. :
ton hole), and she tried to ignore me
Jbut could rot. Her hands tremblee
slightly and little angry flush came anc
went in her face; but preferred that tc
having no notice at all. Later on she
went to the piano, ana sang song after
song for the delectation of Lizzie and
Don; neither of whom had the hearing
ear and the understanding heart to ap
preciate the pure quality and poetic
sweetness of her voice. By this time
was very low spirited, and drew away
from my host, who was growing sleepy
after his hard days labor, ard took q
chair near her--whicll, of course, was a
signal to Lizzie to leave the room. A:
she sung on, forgetful of me and OF
everything but the poetry awaking in
her, and as / studied the pose of hel
slight figure and half-bent head, and the
now dreamy happiness in her face, and
listened for the first time after many
years to the true translation of Ian
guage that ! loved, a vague perception
dawned in me that there was some latent
fellowship between us. And then felt
thai Fate had indeed been hard.
The silence of the room was presently
brought into strong relief by deer
snore from Don, whereupon she suddenly
stole from the piano and saw that we were
virtually alone. "Good night, M
Gardiner" she said promptly, holding
out somewhat reluctant hand, and
stiffening back into her unnatural state.
illness.
took it and held it, and looked into
her face; and l tried to tell her, as vel
as plain good night" would do it, that
| knew what had happened, and wanted
her to forgive me. ! think she guessed
what the look meant, by the sudden
crimson flame in her face; but she walk.
ed out of the room with as much dignity
as she had first walked into it, without
another word.
The early days of December were cold
and wet, and the shearing was pro-
tracted and troublesome affair. Don
lowered about restlessly, whether in or
out of the house, always bothered and
anxious, and paying frequent visits to
the barometer. The ladies chung to their
hres!de as Il they had been in England;
and tied myself to Lizzic's apron string
with an AFFECT alacrity that puzzled and
charmed her: My opportunities for i'm.
proving the OCCASION" were many, but
somehow | could never turn them to ac-
count. The pride of that little maiden
was quite beyond my management. Liz
zie threw us together; she left us alone :;
she did all that in her lay to further my
desires for reconciliation and an un-
derstanding; but the implacable resent
ment OF the last of the Lindsays towards
me for that wretched slip of the tongue
was stone wall could not climb over.
The worst Of it was, she did and said
nothing tangibly offensive, and l was
precluded by all sorts of considerations
from mentioning the subject we were
both (and that we both were aware we
were} thinking Of. So matters went on
day after day. And before a great
many days were past | was over head
and ears in love--I may as we'll say it
and have done with it--and began to feel
desperate and dangerous. She walked
about the house with her grand air, nv
Queen Marie Antoinette, my little
tyrant that | could almost have demol-
ished with finger and thumb; and 1
standing six feet three in my stockings,
had to acknowledge that she was invinci-
bic as well as unmerciful. Unregenerate
savage as | was, | had faint longings now
and then to take her by those slender
shoulders, and shake her.
There were times when she became her
sweet self, and could not help it though
she tried; and these times were born of
music. She and both loved music will,
that special love that nature permits to
few people; but to no one else in the
house did the "heaven-born maid''
present attractions. Don, hard at work
an day, could go to sleep after dinner in
his armchair; and Lizzie, after her man
ner, could go out of the room in the mid.
die OF the most charming song. Then,
when we were singing together, or when
she was gentle and gracious with the
spirit of melody in her. then was the oil
thrown upon my troubled waters At
times such as these it flashed across me
that she was aware of it.
AT length on one of these occasions !
made dash at her guarded citadel; |
will not say in what words, but with the
laundering foolishness that | suppose
eharacterizes all implied aspirations; al
belt with sufficient plainness to leave no
chance of being misunderstood; and then
1 had indeed to bite the dust for once in
my life. She had been singing Ruth
with the most touching pathos and aban-
donment-" Where thou goest / will 90
and there will be buried land could
not stand it. Don was in the room but
snoring in that comfor cable undertone
which denoted sound and quiet slum-
Der. She stood with her back to the
piano, and the sheet of music trembling
and rustling in her hands, watching his
modelling head in the distance, and turn
ing her delicate profile to my view.
NO; l will not" she half whispered
with naughty rapidity. {" You should
have known | would not lido not par
tleularly want to marry anybody she
added, flashing round upon me with her
crimson face; but | will never marry
you: ! made up my mind to that long
ago.
Everybody knows how, in the supreme.
~ solemn moments Of ones life, one is
apt to be assailed with most incongru-
o!usly ludicrous ideas. In spite of nv
bitter modification at her reply, an alb.
sqrd rhyme that | had somewhere, fash
ed into my bead:
Do not be like Nancy Baxter,
who refused man before he'd ax'd her.
believe she saw the ghost of a smile
that might have hoyered round nv ewes
when begged to know why she had made
up her mind never to marry me; and that
mazda bpr eovana 49,. A.'o