The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1880-06-09

slender young fellow of whom one could
see little but the eyes blazing like wild
lire, for the torn and dropping visor OF
his cap, and for the brown beard cover
ing his brown face, and the smears of
smoke and powder-put mamma's shawl
about her shoulders, bowed low TO
Romaine, and took me in his arms a mo-
ment and looked at me, and set me down
again. andnwas passing out, when Ro
maine raFf@fward and caught his hand,
and began to pour out a torrent of
thanks. He turned and smiled. 81 de-
serve no thanks" ne said. And
then, half hesitating a single in
stant, he raised Romaine's hand, that
still forgetfully held his, and pressed it
to his lips, and was gone. And a Curl
Gus old silver set diamond on his hand,
whose stones made TRY crest, took my
baby eye, so that always 2ap embered
it. But as / turned to Rofhaine-oh,
how she looked them I've never seen
anything so beautiful since, she blushed
such a rosy red, and her eyes lighted,
and her smile grew dazzling, and I've
thought, as | remembered 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 pres
emily 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, believe
| that from that very moment Romalne
made that young 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 resolved
very likely without putting it in so many
words to herself-that If she couldn't
marry him, she would never marry any
body, and she would keep herself and ali
her thoughts sacred to this hero. And
she did. And that is what has given her
this air ofremoteness, almost as ii she be-
longed to superior race, you know. She
didn't know whether her hero was alive
or dead; there were skirmishes in
the neighborhood, and before-s long
a great battle farther off; but there
were no means of learning anything, of
course, and he never came back.
Somehow 1 think she felt that if he
were alive he would, and think she
began to look upon him as dead, and
herself as-well, don't you laugh-as
something like widow; at any rate,
as vowed to him. She was only seven
teen then, you know. Oh. yes, l know
I'm only sixteen myself, and a terrible
chatterbox too, Paul says; but l know
that things get fixed in ones mind al
seventeen that even seventeen more
years won't undo, and Romaine has
only ten years more. But Romano has
the poetical temperament,
Well, in a year or two Uncle Pau
died, and left mamma a comfortable
fortune. AS the farm really belonged
tn Paul, when he reached home mamma
decided to come to the city for our win
ters, and to build this little villa for the
summers, and sometimes Paul comes tt
us, and sometimes we go to him. A
year ago nearly l came back from
school, Mamma said l was very
pretty. but very uniformed, and she
wondered what my teachers had beer
about to leave all this trouble for her
and she doubted what sort of match
,. would make. l said how could MAKE
any with Romaine still hanging
on her handsp Whereupon MANN;
said Romaine was the most pre-
posterous girl alive; she had jus
let millions slip through her fin
gers, and she didn't believe th'
= Archangle Michael would make any i'm
) preston on her. So l began to watcl
! Romaine, and found an old brass but
: ton was one of her treasures, and
learned what sort of people it was il
! in whom she felt an interest; oh
! served the care she took of Gulnare, al
: | though Gulnare was twenty years old
9 and 1 discovered, by accident again
. put away with lock of Mrs. Brown
= ,ng's bair and leaf from Shelley
Z tomb, that brass button and an old tori
visor of soldiers cap. Again, one
4 when we were all recounting old times
= and mamma was telling of the frigh
q she had when the soldier was flourish
4 ing her cap on bayonet, and the graft
:. tude she felt to her deliverer, who, sh
= always did feel, came straight froI
n heaven to help her, and, for all she knew
n went straight back again, happene
70 to be looking at Romaine in the glas
whereupon she turned as red as a red Tos
n then all at once grew white as whit
II rose, was faint, and had to get out {
70 the room. made up my mind aboI
n Romaine.
% was sorry, too; for some of Paul
10 people who used to come incoming roun
ii her were mighty nice. There was Co
p colonel of, some fancy-fair or sidewa
r regiment-I'm sure he'd never smellt
\ powder except when shooting pigeon
g; but he had the littlest foot and hand, III
ID oceans of money, and drag. And
of did send Romaine such flowers! and
Is she had but thrown her handkerchit
re there was nothing he wouldn't ha
VS. given her-cashmere shawls to walk o
u and diamonds bright enough to read b
as And there was an English earl's so
I'd just back from buffalo hunting, WI
d, would have made countess of her, on
he give him time enough; and goodne
IA knows how many more of Pau's chun
re and Senator Catchpenny, and the reg
I'D lation swells, and Cousin Nicholas.
a And Romaine disdained them al
VI, every one of Paul's chums of course, a
he Cousin Nicholas on account of the {
ad family ieud that had always kept
~ apart; he was a hundred-thousand
ID ousin or so. And when the Englis
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