The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-04-29

lery along WIN inc stone, provided 1t
was thrown in as bargain, and | had
not to pay extra for it, In few mo-
ments made up my mind, and counted
out to him four hundred dollars, the
price he asked for it, and left
wore the diamond for more than Ave
years; at first in ring, afterwards in a
shirt-stud, and then again in a ring 1t
now encircles the finger Of lovely lady,
whose little daughter calls me Papa"
All this time there have been no TRACE
dies in our family, no dear friend has
died. My own health has been excel
lent, and am quite resigned TO have it
put down TO imagination on my part
that, to me, my stone is bright or dull,
according to my prospects ahead. Only
this affirm, that twice, when, to test it,
| went contrary to its warning, the pun
ishment quickly followed the offence.
Once | speculated in Pacific Mail, and
lost heavily; and once | asked sweet
lady friend to be my wife, and she re-
fused me-plump.
Superstltious or not, as you will, |
regard my diamond as my talisman, my
mentor; and ever since my unsuccessful
wooing / have looked upon it with love
not unmixed with awe. One morning,
when riding down town in a Madison
Avenue car, to my business, ! lookedup
from my paper, conscious of pair of
eyes fixed steadily on me. Opposite
was alady of abouttwenty years, dressed
in soft, sombre gray; the only bit of
color to relieve it--except the bloom in
her refined face-was bit Of red, low
down beneath the brim Of her gray felt
hat Her eyes were light, lustrous
brown; her hair, much darker, and
glossy, was brushed back in waves from
her low forehead, upon which a curl or
two fell; not the detestable "bangs,"
which frankly state abhor, but short,
graceful, fringe-like ringlets, that rested
upon the white brow as if they loved it.
There was no doubt about it; this rare
and radiant maiden was gazing at me.
| looked at her in return, with face |
tried TO make expressive of nothing, GER
tainly not curiosity. She glanced down
again ut her book-"Daniel Deronda."
returned to my Geographic dispatches
in the Herald. Again felt her gaze
and again l looked up and neither eyes.
She evidently wanted to speak to me, or
else had something on her mind con-
corning me- Had ever seen her beforeP
! asked myself No. She seemed too
modcstly sweet to wish to attract the at
tention of stranger, Perish the thought,
said, inwardly. But she was certainly
looking at me again. am not bad
looking fellow, and, rs men go, not
bad sort; have always been popular
with my lady friends, and | returned her
look this time with one of interest, and
am afraid | smiled Instantly her face
cloudcd; she bent over her book, and
bit her lip angrily. turned to my pa
per, but not to read. Once more looked
at my vis-a-vis; she was steadily gazing
at me- could have sworn to it. O,
my talisman! You failed me then, but
the fault was mine. Ibid not seek your
advice. just at this moment the con-
ductor came hurriedly to the front of
the ear to speak to the driver, and, as he
was returning the lady in gray said to
him, in a low voice, every word perfect
~ audible to me, and as chilling as an
iceberg, Conductor, the gentleman OPP
poste me is losing his diamond
flushed to the roots of my hair, felt
for the stone, and discovered that it was
hanging by the spiral screw, and so
nearly out that quick movement would
have sent it down into The meshes of the
car mat. | replaced it securely, bend
ing back the wire for greater safety, and
then cast an imploring look of apology,
gratitude and humiliation upon the kind
stranger. Her face remained placid.
but after moment demure smile stole
into the corners of her mouth, and |
don't think it was provoked by what she
saw in the book, or that she was read
ing very attCntlvcly.
She left the car at Fourteenth Street,
and gazed eagerly after her as she
turned up to Broadway, and then |
must have sighed. Perhaps because |
feared should never see her again.
What was more natural than for me to
desire to know herP 1t was SO kind and
so sensible of her to prevent my losing
IllN NllilllpuNs ADlit w 40 0uNll Gtllllt-
looking creature, though she had spirit,
as saw once in the CLEAN of her eyes;
and those eyes were SO expressive Of III
tellectuality, and her perfect nose was
only less beautiful than her perfect car
nation mouth. But, pshaw! need !
apologize now for my interest thenP 1t
does not take any OF us very long to
discover that Love never asks the ques-
tion--whyP As the old song says: She
had gone from my gaze like a beautiful
dream. If could only meet her again!
Perhaps she was married She was
girlish, in spite of her dignity. One
thing | discovered there was o
name on the ny-leaf of her book, the
first of which was Maud" Perhaps
the book was not hers, and if it was,
could hope to find in great city like
New York lady, only knowing that
her name was Maudp When / had ar
rived at this stage Of common-sense l
had reached my place of business, and
after attending to the first duty Of the
day, reading my mail, my thoughts flew
back to my lady in gray,