The Eaton Democrat. (Eaton, Ohio) 1875-1903, 1880-07-22
A LEAF FROM LIFE.

A LEAF FROM LIFE.
In an attic like other attics, in city
like other cities, lived young girl; not
uncommon after all, though the world
may not believe there are such young
girls. For she was pretty, she was poor,
shs was alone, she hardly found food
and FIRE and clothes enough for decency
and neatness by unceasing labors; and
yet she was not a sinner. Her name
was Sarah, yet nobody called her Sadie.
Indeed, nobody called her anything dis
tinguished or individual The grocer
said, with il-concealed contempt, -Four
cents, Miss" As for the car conduct IS,
''Step lively, lady" was their sanitation,
If after O long walk to the shop that gave
out shirts to be made at fourteen cents,
she was tired and expended all the but
ton holes In riding back els there not a
wilderness somewhere" Sarah used to
say to her looking glass, where I could
go and make acqdaintances?" It seems
she had a looking glass. But though
the looking glass told her much that she
cared nothing to know. it did not answer
her that
There continued one day to be in
another room In the attic o young man
named Edward Such things in such
places have no perceptible beginning.
They were not, and they are; like ring
of Crime on shirt cuff. So with Ed
ward; Sarah did not know when he came,
or that he came, but she began to per-
ceive that he was there. In fact, she
met him on the stairs. He was neither
tall nor short, neither handsome nor
plain. When he was in his room he
whistled and sometimes tramped up and
down. Sarah began to be interested,
not In the young man probably, but in
the fact that there was young man.
Well, such neighborhoods always lead
to certain results. When Edward had
passed her eighty-seven times on the
stairs he met her for the eighty-eighth
time and bowed slightly but distinctly.
Sarah smiled Three weeks later he
had said, Good-morning," and Sarah
murmured to herself, " I shall have an
acquaintance shall have an acquain-
ance." a
By and by winter one day became
spring Winter always suggests spring
much as hard boiled egg suggests
chicken pie. But suddenly one day it is
In the winter air that spring is coming
is coming nearer-is happening. It must
be with never ending wonder that we
behold this recurring miracle of the res
direction; q miracle, however, that
heaven does not apparently consider it
worth while to work in the. case of the
hard boiled egg. The heather would
have said this is fate. But perhaps
another world will set it right.
Tho srripo ho6 NOT e,ora 1y1,ap Caro \
began to call Edward, Edward, and Ed
ward to call Sarah, Sarah. This is
always an interesting formative period in
the acquaintance of young man and q
young maid Here it came about in all
simpleness: Sarah, before going to bed
one evening, was combing out her long
but thin yellow hair and tying up the
combings, with the ends all one way, in
bunch against rainy day. There was
knock on the lath and paper partition
wall, which had seemed to her as thica
as the Chinese wall, and which to Ed.
ward had seemed as wonderful and sa-
cred thing as if it had been built O.
twelve kinds of precious stones--or thir-
teen kinds, for the matter of that This
was the partition wall between their
rooms. Sarah finished tying up the saw
ings with which she was occupied, took
off her short print sacque, and, wiping
her hands, clasped them over her exquis-
itely moulded bosom and cried "What is
it?'
'sWhat is your name, my little neigh
bor?" said the calm voice of the young
man from the other side of the wall.
Sarah, who had turned to answer the
knock, turned back to look in the glass a
moment before replying, and then caught
I'D shawl and muffled her shoulders In
it. Then she blushed. Then she smiled
little.
A woman's smile may be an unwilling
winter thaw, or a hearty fervor Of SUM-
shine. Here it was neither.
After smiling little Sarah said: my
name is Sarah"
ssMy name is Edward, said Edward
81 wish you would let me call you
Sarah.
svery well, Edward" said Sarah
blushing again. She did not know why
she blushed.
Then there was delicious pause OF
few moments. It was not the woman
you may be sure, who broke 80 sweet
silence. A woman may not be wise a
all times, but she knows when she feel
QOlu1QR ucI OOuS5uC. oAAAS ->AAo'
edge she excels all men.
sSarah, " said Edward presently, "wh.
do YOU make such clatter on tn
stairs? ?"'
The young girl burst into musica
laughter; .I am going to bed, Edward
and you had better go too-good night
Edward" was her only answer. In fac
She presently blew out her candle. an
fell into sweet sleep. Edward wa
Do you know what the young girl sal
to herself when she laughed? Perhap
she began to feel more like sister or
mother to Edward then like an acquaint
ance
Days passed and this pair becam
more intimate. An acquaintance grow
at the start not like lump OF sugar dis
solving In tea, but like crystal OF Glal
ber's salts forming in saturated sol
tion: that is, from small beginning
becomes larger. It may fall away afte
wards. but there always is point
which it is greater than atthe beginning
This is the general law of acquaintanc
and the case of Edward and Sarah VI
not an exception.
They had never been In each othel
rooms.