The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1880-06-17

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; aud presently we
heard the last of them trooping over the
hill. They took Gulnare and Ali with
them, though, for all Of the young Of
ficer; but the very next day Guinare
came into the yard by herself, and
neighed for her oats.
Well, now, do you know, believe
that from that very moment Romaine
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 anybody, 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 remote
ness, almost as if she belonged to a su-
perior race, you know. She didn't
know whether her hero was alive or
dead; there were skirmishes in the
neighborhood, and before long great
O0ttIC AukO OllCl Ohs Out tuCLC WCIO hO
means of learning anything, of course,
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 his
widow; at any rate, as vowed to him.
She was only seventeen then, you know.
Oh yes, know I'm only sixteen my
self, and a terrible chatter-box too, Paul
says; but I know that things get fixed
in ones mind at seventeen that even
seventeen more years won't undo, and
Romaine has only ten years more. But
Romaine has the poetical temperament.
Well. in year or two Uncle Paul
died and left mamma a comfortable
fortune. As the farm really belonged
to Paul, when he reached home mamma
decided to come TO the city for our
winters, and to build this little villa for
the summers, and sometimes Paul
comes to us, and sometimes we go to
him. A year ago nearly came back from
school. Mamma said I was very pretty,
but very uniformed, and she wondered
what my teachers had been about to
leave all this trouble for her, and she
doubted what sort of match 1 would
make. said how could 1 make any,
with Romaine still hanging on her
handss Whereupon mamma said
Romaine was the most preposterous
girl alive; she had just let millions slip
through her fingers, and she didn't be-
lieve the Archangel Michael would
began to watch Romaine, and / found
an old brass button was one of her
treasures, and learned what sort of
l. To- - fo1A
interest, I observed the care she took
of Gulnare, although Gulnare was
twenty years old; and discovered, by
accident again, put away with lock of
Mrs. Browning's hair and q leaf from
Shelley's tomb, that brass button aud
an old torn visor of q soldiers cap.
Again, once when we were all recount
ing old times, and mamma was telling of
the fright she had when the soldier was
fiourishing her cap on a bayonet, and the
gratitude she felt to her deliverer, who,
she always did feel, came straight from
Heaven to help her, and, for all she
knew, went straight back again,
happened to be looking at Romaine in
the glass, whereupon she turned as red
as q red rose, then all at once grew white
as q white rose. was faint, and had to
get of the room. made up my mind
about Romaine.
was sorry, too; for some of Paurs
people who used to come incoming
round her were mighty nice. There
was Colonel Rice-f don't know what
he was Colonel of, some fancy-fair or
sidewalk regiment-rm sure he'd
never smelled powder except when
shooting pigeons; but he had the littlest
foot and hand, and oceans of money,
and a drag. And he did send Romaine
such fiowersI and if she had but thrown
her handkerchief, there was nothing he
wouldn't have given her-cashmere
shawls to walk on, and diamonds
bright enough to read by. And there
was an English Earrs son, just back from
buffalo hunting, who would have made
Countess of her, only give him time
enough; and goodness knows how many
more of Paufs chums, and Senator
Catchpenny, and the regulation swells,
and Cousin Nicholas.
And Romaine disdained them all
every one of Pauls chums of course,
and Cousin Nicholas on account of the
old family feud that had always kept
US apart: he was q hundred thousandth
cousin or SO. And when the English
man was round, she Just out-Ameri-
caned the Americans; and nothing but
the dread of scene with mamma
could get her behind Colonel Rice's
horses, although L should have been
glad of the chance; and that is the
way it had been with one or another for
nine or ten years, mamma said; and Ro-
maine was undoubtedly fixture.
al don't know about your having the
right to hold yourself SO inaccessible" +"
L - 70 knv Aou nc
winding up of talking-to that sent
"What is there about you, that not a
man in America, or Europe either, that
l can see, is fit to marry you, I should
like to knowr' And Romaine came
in where I was pegging away at my
French.
II wish 1 was Catholic" she cried,
"and then ! could go into a convent,
and be rid of it all. J"
"Well, you're not, you know"
said. You're q beauty, and because
you're q beauty you're expected to
marry; and mamma'n never give you
any peace, and you'd better; do it.
What is the reason, RomaineP" add
ed, directly. "Why don't you like any
of them? There's q half-dozen of them
1 could learn to like If they'd only pro
pose to me-" And then Romaine
laughed and looked-oh, 50 lovely!-in
/ all her glittering tears and rosy color.
You'd never dream Romaine was twen-
| ty-seyen--she's Just too sweet for any
thing! whats the matter with them,
now-with Colonel Rice. forinstanceP
/ asked.
"Colonel Rice, with his lady-likt
mannersr'
"Weil, the Earl's son. then?"
"And be looked down on by his
family foreverr'
"Cousin Nicholas?"
"a great broad. shouldered giant who
might carry the world, and who spend:
his life playing polo and driving an imi
tation mail-coach--or does he blow thu
horn? don't want any of them.