The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1880-10-14


always entertained . most. supreme con-
tempt and adherence. I felt somdwhat
chagrlned at her evidentinterest inlwhat
he was saying, and determined Is tell
scented itself.
"Seating myself beside an incipient
girl, l amused myself by passing COM
pliments upon her beauty, every one of
which she believed to be seriously
meant Wearying Of this sort 81 thing
after a short time, / walked out iulpon
the long yeranda and concluded to N
dulgge IN 9 quiet smoke until such a tm ~
as Annie should be disengaged.
Lighting a cigar, ]. seated myself in
the shadow at the further end Of the
veranda and gave myself up to medita-
lions, Of which Annie was the most
prominent object.
"How long I had been sitting there.
lost in reverie, I know not. when s1d..
denly Twas aroused by voices very Dear
me. In a moment / recognized Che
voices Of Annie and the fellow had seen
her conversingg witha few moments be-
fore. Twas satisfied they were not cog
infant Of my close proximity, and Vi
on the point of speaking to them, when
j heard my own lam pronounced lby
the man, and concluded to remain Quiet
and learn IN what way I was connected
with their conversation. Ihad not long
to wait ; in a moment he spoke again +:
"sBut report says you are engaged to
Charlie Knight, and his exclusive atten-
tons to you of late are sufficient grounds
for such q rumor.
BreathlesslyI waitedto hear Armies
reply. She laughed a low, hooking
laugh, and replied:
"'sAnd would you hold me responsible
tor every absurd rumor that's startedby
meddling gossips !? Have I not told YOU.
only Il few moments since, that YOU nre
the only one I ever loved? As for Char
lie Knight, I will admit that I have al
lowed him to make a great fool Of him
self in his attentions to me, but o
know he bears the name of being a first
class hirt, and ]. thought I would teach
him a lesson he would not soon forget.
for 1 am satisfied the fellow really does
care for me. But If you object I will
bring the Irritation to an end
"'H that is the case, I have no obiec-
ton to your continuing it as long as you
like. Knight is O conceited puppy. and
deserves just such treatment.
"How I hated that man then! You
know s~slf-control is not one Of the pecul-
iarities of our family, and in~stinctively
my hand sought a small pistol, which
from force of habit I always carried, but
in an instant I gained control of myself.
and they walked away and returned to
the where the company were as
sembled.
IT will not tell you of the sleepless
night I passed, or Of the thousand and
II curses I heaped upon the head Of
this woman, whom considered the de-
stroyer Of my happiness. The next
morning I wrote q short note to Annie,
telling her to forget all I had ever said
about loving her, as I had discovered
that I was mistaken in supposing that I
ever cared for her. During the day I
sought out her companion of the even
ing previous, and accused him Of using
my name d~isparaginggly, and when he
denied it gave him the lie, and fol-
lowed it up with q storm Of cpl
thets and abuse that few men
would care to hear applied to them
selves. Having thus relieved my feel
ings as far as possible, [ settled down in
to a gloomy, morose life, forswore wom-
en-, isolated myself from society, and, in
fact, made myself as miserable as posi-
BILE, and thus continued until I met. by
accident, Ida Severen. She was all an art
lst could paint or a poet dream OF. A
perfect description Of her would be as
impossible as q perfect description of
some dollhouse exotic, whose loneliness
must be seen to be truly appreciated.
"Light and willowy of form, with in
describable grace in every movement
and gesture, complexion fair as a lily.
dark hair and eyes, small mouth, with
lips just q shade deeper than the Grim
son that tinted her cheeks, and constant
~ reminding me of two twin rosebuds.
When she spoke they displayed two
rows of small, ever teeth, that were
pearl-like in their whiteness. Her face
was perfect enough to have served as a
model for a sculptor, and in each yelvety
cheek were tiny dimples, which seemed
tit hiding-places for the god of love.
call this Inoted on the occasion Of ON
first meeting, but, as I became better
acquainted with her, ! learned to fully
appreciate the many noble qualities that
composed her nature. Above every
thing else, I had always admired truth
fulness in women, but Ida Severen was
the only woman I had ever met who
would not occasionally tell what in So
ciety is usually termed white lies,'
and it was seldom indeed that she would
attempt to prevaricate on any question.
And last, but not least of the admira-
BILE qualities in her nature, was the gen
tie, lady-like manner that characterized
her conversation and actions on all occa-
sions.
II visited her frequently and met her
often away from home, and I learned
that there wa much congeniality be-
tween Us. She was fond Of books. had
read considerable, and possessed the
happy faculty of remembering what she
read, consequently she could converse
well on subjects pertaining to literature
n Of her age. We became firm