Millheim Journal. [volume] (Millheim, Pa.) 1876-1984, 1880-11-04
hen ofa Heart.


of the black porch of the Pebble House,
gazing out upon the river-blue as the sky
above it, and almost as bright-which
flows gently by at the foot of the garden.
Everything looks bright and beautiful
this warm, pleasant, fragrant October day.
The garden walks formed of many small
ghttering stones, encircle the beds of au-
tumn flowers and plots of feathery grass
like broad gray ribbons thickly strewed
with precious gems AMI the little summer
and bathhor Sea, built of some dark wood,
and incrust q with more brilliant pebbles,
gleam and glow through the trees at the
waters edge, as the homes of the diamond
| gnomes must gleam and glow in the heart
| of the dark brown earth. Nor does the
sheen and glitter end with them. for the
| Pebble House itself Is decorated around
each window and door-lmbedded in some
mysterious manner in the frames-with
many colOred stones, each one sparkling
bravely in pygmy mimicry of the setting
| sun.
But lpvehest of all things that adorn this
wonderful October day-lovelier than flash
ing river, glesning sunshine, stepped peb-
bles, flaming Eladiolas, and bee-loved four
o-cloeks-is the lady, young and fair, with
gold brown hair; large blue, gray eyes, pale
oval face, and sweet, small mouth, leaning
back against one of the pillars of the Peb-
BILE House porch, the red foliage of the
| Virginia creeper that enIobes 1t dropping
over her beautiful head. There is ten
der, dreamy look in her large eyes, and a
soft smile about her pretty curved lips, as
she sits there so motionless, gazing out up
on the river. One can see that she is
wandering in dreamland; but, alas. she is
doomed to be rudely recalled to earth
again.
"Kleptomania indeed" says loud girl
ish voice near her, and Miss Ada Warden
little brunette with magnificent black
eyes and heavy black eyebrows, comes sud-
denly out on the porch, arm in arm with
her lnseparable friend Linda Lees, whose
eyes are as blue as Ada's are black, and
whose eyebrows are the faintest shadows
of those belonging to her friend. Why do
they never call it that when the-the-"
t'Kleptomaniac, drawls Linda, sinking
into an easy chair, and Clasping her pretty
hands above her head with q generous Yawn
that seems to indicate her weariness of the
| subject.
"Oh, thanks! continues Ada, in the same
loud voice, swinging her broad.brimmed
hat carelessly toand.fro-''k ''kleptomaniac to
be sure-happens to be a poor wretch who
steals loaf of bread or something of that
sort"
Don't look at me, Ada dear" Miss
Howell begs in tones that would have de-
lighted Shakespeare himself; "Im sure I
don't know" and she yawns too, but such
a cunning little yawn, as though a red rose
bud hao suddenly made up his mind to
unfold into the smallest of red roses.
"WelI, upon my word" exclaims Ada,
Indignantly, looking from one OF her
friends to the other, ''you both appear to
be in remarkable spirits this afternoon.
| can't stand it. must run away in search
of some one less boistercus. No, | won't
either, for here comes Herbert Moore, my
cousin of cousins, attended, prince of good
| fellows as he is, by slaves bearing iced
sherbets and cakes of dew and honey-that
is lemonade and macaroons. Girls amt
you glad I've got such duck of cousin,
and that / coaxed him to spend his vaca-
tion here instead of at Newport? And now
for bis opinion on the subject.
"What subject2" asks Herbert Moore.
And then, without waiting for an answer,
he turns TO the lovely face inwreathed
with the vine leaves, and says, MAY Sit
at your feet, Miss Howell2 I've been
roaming, and Pm deu-beg pardon-aw-
fully tired"
"Wouldn't you rest better in chair2"
and she leans forward, with bright smile
on her lips and in her eyes.
''Not at all, thank you, seating himself
step or two below the lady.
Mrs. Sherwood" begins Ada, between
two bites of macaroon.
''Oh, that affair of the diamond brace
let-poor thlng2" says the young man.
''What, do you believe in the kleptoma-
nia9 drawls Linda from her easy chair
That's the way they explain it, Ada
goes on. She has been an innocent picker
up of costly trihes since her childhood, her
| father ct first, and then her husband, re-
funding. But MIR. Brown, the jeweler,
with a heart as hard as his diamonds,
threatened prosecution and only consented
| TO compromise on condition that he should
| be allowed to warn his brethren of gems
and gold. And so it all came out. Oh
dear, what a shocking thing, especially
when one remembers that the-the-'
"Kleptomaniac, Linda again lazily sug-
gests.
"More thanks, Linda love-that the
kleptomaniac came near being one of ones
intimate friends. Do say something, Her
bert"
"The most charming girl ever met in
my life," Herbert responded gravely,
was pickpocket."
Miss Warden chokes with her lemonade,
Miss Lees drops her hands from their faV-
orlte position above her head into her lap,
with the echo of the word ''pickpocket, "
ard Miss Howell looks down on the young
man with questioning look in her lovely
| eyes.
"Tell US instantly, Herbert, that's dar-
ing, gasps Ada, and Herbert obeys.
"Last winter coming home to my lodg-
ing one night, just after parting with my
old chum, George Cuthbert; Ada"
Miss Warden, with Il toss of her curly
head and flush on her brown cheek, com
mands, "Don't address yourself altogether
TO me, SIR. 1t isn't polite"
"Beg pardon, says Herbert, misohIev'
susly, "but for some reason or other al