Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1881-04-21


low, Of whom one could see little but
the eyes blazing like wild-fire, for the
torn and dropping visor of his cap,
and for the brown beard covering his
brown face, and the smear Of smoke
and powder-put mamma shawl about
her shoulders bowed low to Romano,
and took me in his arms moment
and looked at me, and set me down
again and was passing, when Romano
ran forward and caught his hand, and
began to pour out torrent Of thanks
He turned and smiled. Il deserve no
thanks" he said And then, half hes
itating a single instant he raised Ro-
names hand, that still forgetfully held
his, and pressed it to his lips, and was
gone. And I, curious old silver-set dia-
mond on his hand, whose stones made
a tiny crest, took my baby eye so that
always rem embered it. But as I
turned to Romaine-oh how she look
ed then. I've never seen anything so
beautiful since she blIshed such
rosy red, and her eyes lighted, and her
smile grew dazzling, and I've thought
as | remembered it, that just SO Eve
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; and presently
we heard the last Of them trooping over
the hill They took Gulnare and Ali
with them, though, for all of the young
officer; but the very next day Gulnare
came into the yard herself. and neigh
ed for her oats.
Well, now, do you know, | believed
that from that very moment Romano
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
her thoughts sacred to this hero. And
she did And that is what has given
her this air of remotGness, almost rs If
she belonged to superior race, YOU
know She didn't know whether her
hero was alive or dead there was
skirmishes in the neighborhood, and
before long a great battle farther off
but there were no means Of learning
anything of course and he never came
back. Somehow think she felt that
IF he were alive he would, and think
she began to look upon him rs 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 l
know Pm only sixteen myself, and n
terrible chatter-box too, Paul says; but
| know these things get fixed IN ones
mind at seventeen that even seventeen
more years won't undo, and Romano
has only ten years more. But Ro-
mamie mas the poetical temperament.
Well, in II year or two Uncle Paul
died and left mamma 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 | was very pretty,
hut very uniformed, and she wondered
what my teachers had been about to
leave all this trouble to her, and she
doubted what sort Of a match | would
make. | said how could / make any
with Romano still hanging on her
hands? Whereupon mamma said Ro
maine was the most preposterous girl
alive: she had Just let millions slip
through her fingers, and she didn't be-
lieye Archangel Michael would make
any impression on her So | began TO
watch Romano and | found that an
old brass button was one of her treas
ureS, and | learned what sort of peo-
pie it was in whom she felt an interest,
observed the care she took Of Gulnare
although Gulnare was twenty years
old; and | discovered by accident again,
put away with a lock of Mrs BrowningS
hair and Il leaf from Shelly's tomb, that
brass button and an oldtom visor of
soldiers cap. Again, once when we
were all recountng old times, and
mamma was telling of the fright she
had when the soldier was tlourishing
her cap on a bayonet, and the graft
tude she felt to her deliyerer, 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 Romano in
the glass where upon she turned as
a red rose, then all at once grew white
rs n white rose, was faint and had to
leave the room. | made up my mind
about Romano
was sorry, too; for some of Paul's