Louisiana capitolian., 1880-06-08

and was gone. Ana curious Olu s'I'oi
set diamond on his hand, whose stones
made tiny crest, took my baby eye, so
that always remembered it. But as l
turned to Romaine- oil, how she looked
then! Pve never seen anything so beau
tiful since, she blushed such u rosy red,
and her eyes lighted, and her smile grew
dazzling, aud Tve thought, as | remem-
bered it, that Just so Eve might have
looked when she woke and looked upon
the world before her. And he turned
in the door and saw her. and then he
ran down the stairs, and mounted his
horse, and presently we heard the last
of them trooping over the hill. They
took Gulnare and Ali with them though,
for all of the young officer; but the very
next day Gulnare came into the yard by
herself, and neighed for her oats.
Well now, do you know, l believe that
from that very moment Romaine made
that ynnn. officer her hero and her ideal.
She didn't know his name, she didn't
know his regiment, she didn't know his
rank, she had hardly seen his face; but,
for all that, SHE just resolyed-very
likely without putting it in 50 many
words to herself--that if she couldn't
marry him, she would never marry any
body, and she would keep herself and
all her thoughts sacred to this hero. And
she did. And that is what has given
her this air of remoteness, almost as it
she belonged toa superior race,you know
She didn't know whether her hero was
alive or dead; there were skirullsfles I'll
the neighbborhood, and before long
great battle farther off; bnt there were
no means of learning anything, Of course
and he never came back. Somehow l
think she began to look upon him as
dead, and herself as-well, don't you
laugh-as something like his widow, at
any rate, as vowed to him. She was
only seventeen then, you know. Oh
YES, I know I'm only sixteen myself, and
a terrible chatter-box, too, Paul says;
but know that things get fixed in ones
mind at seventeen that even seventeen
moro years won't undo, and Romaine
has only ten years more. But Romalne
has the poetical temperament
We'll, in. a year or two, Uncle Pat
died, aud left mamma a comfortable
fortune. Az the farm really belonged
to Paul, v hen be reached home mamma
decided to come TO tho city for our
winters, and to build this little vills
for the summers, and sometimes Psn'
comes to u.s. and sometimes We 60 to
him. A year ago nearly came back
from school Mamma ,said | was very
pretty, but very uniformed, and she
wondered that my teachers had been
about to leave all this trouble for her,
and she doubted what sort of a match
| would make. | said how could ]
make any, with Romaine still hanging
on her hands : WhereupOn mamma
said Ron,ane was the most prcposter-
GUS girl alive; she had just let millions
slip through her fingers, aud she didn't
| believe tho Archangel Michael would
mako any impression on her. So be-
gan to watch Romaine, and | found ar
old brass button was one of her treas
urcs, al. d | learned what sort of people
it was in whom she felt IN interest
] observed the care she took of Gul,
mare, although Gulnare was twent!
years old; and l discovered, by acci
dent again, put away with a lock o
Mrs. Browning's hair and leaf from
Shelley's tomb, that brass button an'
an old torn visor of soldiers cap
Again, once W ''en We were all recount
ing old times, and mamma was telling
of the fright she had when the soldie
was fourishipg her cap on bayonet
and the gratitude she felt to her deli
verer, who she always did feel, cam
straight from heaven to help her, and
for all she knew, went straight bac'
again, l happened to he looking a
Romane in the glass, whereupon sil
turped as red as q red rose, then all q
once grew white as white rose, wa
faint, and had to get out Of tho room
| made up my mind about Romaine.
was sorry, too; for some of Paul
people who used to come incoming roun
her were mighty nice. There was Co
onel Rice-I don It know what he va
. Colonel of, some fancy-tair or side-wal
reeiment-l'm sure he'd never smelle
, powder, except when shooting pigeons
, but he had the littlest foot and han'
and oceans Of money, and drag. An
he did send Romai1,e such flowers an
[ if she had but thrown her handke