Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-07-13

| AoicuuScT. ne OrCneSGr8 was per
forming come weird dance music
There were strains in it which sounded
. like forests cracking in the wind, lik'
the Wild crashing of tempestuous seas
She listened, holding the flower in ont
hand, her head slightly on one side
with sort of "to sweet woe do cling
expression, and an air of breathless alb
sorption.
A young man who sat at the end O
the row of the seats in front turned sud
denly, and, regarding her for mo
ment, his first glance, which was of sur
prise, changed into that of undisguise6
amusement. He had taken in the vel
low flower, the limp attitude, the
dreamy and melancholy expression OF
countenance, but he turned away before
the girl had time to straighten herself
into an attitude of proud defiance and tc
flash him a glance of her blue eyes,
which would have at least surprised if il
had not melted stone. = .-- ST.,
"She is trying to look intense" he
thought. "Pity so pretty a girl should
give herself up to such absurdities.
Dress, attitude and all verging on the
aesthetic. And what die-away express
sion, though the music is as inspiring as
the north wind"
/ But he was mistaken. She was not
trying to look intense. In fact, she was
as entirely unconscious of the appear
ance she was presenting as it is possible
for young woman to be. She knew
nothing of the reign of the aesthetics.
She had just graduated from a convent
school in Paris, from which the fashions
of the gay world were excluded. She
wore the dull, dark tints because they
were recommended by her dress-maker,
and because she liked them; she car
ried the flower in her hand because she
enjoyed its perfume. She held her head
| on one side because it was natural for her
to do so. Perhaps it was swayed
by the superior weight of some par
ticular bump, as in the illustrations of
the chronological journals. Then the
music, if it was inspiring to the brisk
looking young man who criticised her,
filled her with an indefnable melan-
choly, and seemed pathetic even in its
most stirring passages.
She vaguely remembered having no.
ticed him before, and, her head being
| crammed with classical studies, she had
likened his profile, which was fine and
clean-cut, to that of the statue of Apollo.
He usually read newspaper if he
CHANGED to be in his seat before the per-
formance commenced, and on one or
two occasions was deeply engaged in
writing on sheet of paper which rest
ed upon the cover of pocket portfolio.
But now, for the first time, she saw his
full face, which, if she had been in
mood to be critical, would have been
disappointing, for it was altogether too
broad to be poetical, though it was not
altogether commonplace. There was
something imposing about the brow,
not, perhaps, on account of its shape,
but its expression, which, to the most
casual observer, was suggestive of deep
thought and perfect candor, and the
eyes, which were very dark and deep,
might have impressed almost any young
woman as being eloquent, especially
when their gaze was directed toward
herself
But Miss Everett saw the flash of
amusement in them when in the briefest
of chances they met her own, and be-
lieving that the amusement must be
in some way connected with herself,
though she was entirely unconscious of
anything ridiculous in her appearance,
she fairly quivered with Indignation,
and her enjoyment of the music was
spoiled for the evening. She had for
gotten that she had discerned in the
profile of this impertinent young man
classical beauty, and thought, with
scorn, that he must be a very common
person, indeed.
But after this little episode he not I'M
frequently turned to steal a glance at
her. And these glances she either tried
to ignore, assuming such an air of dig
nifty that her consciousness was evident,
or returned with such an excess of
naughty Indifference that the young
mans face was expressive of deep sur
prise, and he seemed impeled to take |
another glance Immediately to be sure
that his eyes had not deceived him. |
Sometimes a flash of amusement ap-
peared in his glance again, but gener-
ally it was quiet and respectful enough,
and given as if quite by accident, for he
had been seized with fancy to sit side
wise in his seat, so that her face came |
within the range of his eyes quite natu-
rally. And after time she found her.
self following his example in the matter |
of stolen glances, and was vexed with |
herself that her eyes would be such
and her thoughts would no
longer remain within the spell of the
music. She detested this impairment
neighbor, she was continually saying to
herself, but by some strange inconsis-
tency she began to think of him great
deal during the intervals which elapsed
between the concerts, indulging in vari-
Gus conjectures concerning his position
in life, his occupation, his family con-
nections. And what was more surpris-
ing still, made her toilet on those par
hcular evenings with view to his ap-
prevail. She wondered which colors he
most admired as she arranged some
fresh pink roses at her corsage, and
what style of beauty he preferred as she
regarded herself in the mirror at the
of one of those toilets to
which she had hitherto given little or no
thought.
1t was a festival night, the anniversa-
~ of the birth of one of the great COM
posers. The concert ball was appro-
priately decorated with flowers. The