Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1881-01-05

awed, half-admiring interest. The
schoolmaster started when he met their
gaze as If he had received a blow, and
rom that moment he was changed
man, so bound by the chains of love
that his mind took no more ambitious
flights, SO anxious with it's doubts and
fears that he lost his fippant manners,
and became subdued and silent. so hum
bled by it's insight that he no longer
held his head above his fellows. so soft
ened and changed by its influence that
his mercenary projects all went to
naught.
At the end of the week it was voted
by the other boarders that the schoolmas-
ter was a ''good teller, awful diffrant
from what he seemed at first" At the
end of the month he was called sskinder
grumpy" at the end of two months it
was surmised that he was in love. Never
was lover SO tormented. The shyness
of his lady love was remarkable: she
was never visible except at meal times
and in the school-room. He spent all
his leisure time in planning how he could
meet her, but his plans always failed.
If he found her alone in the kitchen at
work, she would drop whatever she had
in her hands and slip away in flash.
Ii he attempted to walk to school with
her she would manage to elude him with
truly wonderful adroitness. Once he
hid behind tree to waylay her on her
way to school, but she seemed to guess
his intentions by intuition and walked a
half-mile ont of her way to reach her
destination by another road. On spell
ing school evenings, when all the young
| fellows III the region round about con-
! gregated in the old school-house, each
one waiting on the doorsteps, when the
exercises were over, to whisper "May [
see you home ?" in rosy maideD's ears,
Phebe chung to the skirts OF some sober
married female for protection, and in
sisted on going home in her shadow. In
school hours there was no opportunity
for love-making. Phebe was a model
scholar. She never missed in her les
sons: sheneither whispered nor laughed.
All the other girls were continually ask
ing questions of the master. They hung
round him at recess; they lavished upon
him all sorts Of coquettish attentions;
but Phebe was never troubled over her
arithmetic, and never approached him
from one days end to another. So the
days went on, and the term was nearly
ended. He had spoken to Phebe's
mother, and she had expressed her pleas
ure at receiving him as a son-in-law, but
declared that she 'fcouldn't dew nothin'
with tho gal, she was headstrong as we'll
as bashful, and if she were to speak to
her, it would only make the unhappy
matter worse.
1t was Il clear, bright, winter morning.
The clouds slept far aloft above the high
est boughs Of the forest through which
the schoolmaster passed on his way to
school. An opening in the trees revealed
the snow-covered peak of distant
mountain which shone like Il beautiful
star in the fair bosom of day The wind
waited the spicy odor of the pines. A
brook, singing under it's prison wall of
ice, seemed like voice from fairy-land
promising spring. The stiffness sur
rounded one like dream The school
master hung his head in deep thought.
He must speak to Phebe. All his subtle
plans to accomplish this end had failed
heretofore, and the time when he should
leave the place was nearing. He had
been trying to find some excuse to keep
her after school for a long time, in spite
of its being held great disgrace by the
older girls to endure this punishment,
though the boys and the smaller girls
were often kept until nearly dark in the
afternoon But when was Phebe known
to miss a lesson, or 10 commit a disde-
meanor OF any sort "The only thing
l can resort to is to keep her after school
on the pretense of having discovered her
whispering or laughing" he said to him.
self eft IS Jr,Qan T knnv ,oooo,,
but there's no other way"
Fortune turned her face toward him
that day, however. For some reason or
other Phebe was i'll an absent-minded
mood and bl1lndered unaccountably in
her grammer lesson. Having once failed,
she went from bad to worse, and got into
such maze of bewiderment that all the
other girls laughed at her.
''You will stay while after school to-
night, Miss Phebe, aid we'll see about
this lesson" said he more sternly than
he had intended to speak with ring of
triumph in his tone.
A murmur Of disappointment ran
round the room, but one glance at the
determined face of the master was s1lffi-
Gent to hush it. Phebe accepted the
punishment with comparative GOODNESS.
she colored deeply, OF course, but she
neither hid her face in her hands, nor
wept, nor betrayed angry defiance. But
the master was in fever of uneasiness
during the remainder of the session.
He half expected rebellion. He feared
that she would attempt to leave the
school room with the others in spite of
his conand, and sternly resolved to be
on his guard against such proceeding
on her part.
His fears were groundless, 'however;
when the bell rang for dismissal Phebe
remained quietly in her seat, her demure
eyes fixed upon her book There had
been a great deal Of laughing and whis-
perins, q great many failures in lessons
that day, but it was a remarkable fact
that no one but Phebe was subjected to
SO dire punishment therefor. Ventur-
ing to look up, she found herself alone
with the master, and burst into flood