The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-11-10

can never hope to fully recompense
you" Ee Hr.'Hy rE" .r
Lizzie raised her head haughtily.
"Sir, such work as we have done to-
night we do not for wages. If you feel
strong enough, will walk with you to
the house. think the storm is passing
over. We live quarter of mile from
the light. Our accommodations are
plain enough, but there is no other
house on the island"
"Oh, I am as good as new, now, said
Mcintyre; "but will you leave this
boy here all alone"
She smiled.
"Ned is not afraid, and he can tend
the light as we'll as l."
every well will go with you"
He waved q smiling adieu to the boy,
and followed his guide down the narrow
stairway.
Two days later small sailboat put
out from the island, which, when it
returned, brought McIntyre's luggage.
Lizzie's father, who was laid up with
ain attack of rheumatism, had taken q
fancy to the young man, who expressed
desire to spend few weeks there at
|
Clyde straightway ordered Neddie off
in his new boat to the mainland for the
gentleman's traps. The youngster
obeyed this order with alacrity, for the
! good -humored ease of the stranger, to-
! gether with his evident appreciation
of "our Liz.," had wrought favorably
on our Neddie. Even the maiden aunt,
who kept the house, smile1 frostily at
the prospect of this pleasant addition
to their family.
Mcintyre, who had been wandering
about three or four hundred miles from
home in search of quiet place to
spend The summer, congratulated him
self on having drifted to the very
place.
Although it was an expensive style
of drifting" heremarked, with O smile,
as he inclosed bank note in an envel-
ope, to be sent to the owner of the little
craft which had slipped him out into
the waves abreast of the lighthouse.
A week later, as he sauntered shore
ward, there came to his ears wildly
sweet strain of melody. AS he listened
in amazement, for he had seen no musl-
cal instrument about the place, he be-
gan to realize that it was part of
Strauss artist life waltzes that he heard
"a strain that he often whistled. He
stepped round the jutting of the cliff,
and there, leaning against the granite
wall, was Lizzie, her chin dropped care
essly on little red violin, as she drew
the bow across the strings. She flushed
like guilty thing when she saw Nc
Intyre.
"You whistled that the other day."
she faltered, "and liked it so much
it haunted me all the time"
He stepped forward.
"Why, Lizziei Is it possible you
play like that without notes?"
81 don't play much now" she said,
drawing her dark brows over her eyes
ga party of ladies and gentlemen
came here to visit the lighthouse once
and overheard me playing. I heard
one of the ladies say: 'The idea of a
girl with fiddle So thought per.
haps it didn't look we'll"
"Not look we'll, indeed !" and he
laughed in merry scorn. "Why, child,
did you ever hear of Camilla Urso?"
"No."
Well, she is lady, and she makes
the most exquisite music on fiddle
and thousands of people go to hear her
| Why, Camilla Urso herself would listen
with pleasure to your music, Lizzie, -
said Mcintyre, extravagantly. "Who
taught you to playT'
"No one. This violin belonged to
my father, and he learned me how to
tune it. I pick up tunes that l hear,
but I never heard anything half so
beautiful as the tunes I hear you sing
and whistle"
Mcintyre smiled; his repertoire OF
music consisted of snatches of operas,
waltzes, redowas and German airs,
which had dimly associated in his mind
with nights of brilliant gayety; and he
wondered dreamily how this pure
minded, healthy -souled girl would look
upon the elegant dissipation carried on
by the set of which he was favorite.
A sudden glow warmed his heart as he
thought that not one of the fine ladies
who had swung languidly through the
mazes of that very waltz of the great
composers could have rescued him so
bravely from the jaws of death as Lizzie
had-Lizzie, who stood there SO quietly,
with her little violin hanging from her
breast, and her fingers straying lovingly
over the strings.
"Tell me about Camilla Urso," she
said, presently. "Did you ever hear
her play ?"
"Yes, indeed have paper in my
trunk containing little sketch of her
life, which you may read for yourself, and
which will tell you better than I can of
her talent"
For a moment Lizzie's eyes met his
own, a look of shame and distress gath
ering in them.
"Mr. Mcintyre, that will be of no
use-I cannot read"
"Lizzie |"
Her violin slipped from her grasp and
would have fallen to the ground had
not Mcintyre caught it, and she cov-
cred her face with both hands.
But Lizzie" persisted her COM
panion, in some perplexity, 81 do not
understand. There are good public
schools in the city, and surely youriather
must have known that it was his duty to
give girl like you an education, to say
nothing of Neddie, who is growing up
such splendid young fellow"
"It is very kind of you to say such
things of Neddie and me; we are COM
mon people, and ours is common life.
Neddie did spend two years with our
uncle who lives in York State. He went
to school there. But father doesn't
think much Of book learning. Aunt