News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1882-11-09
THE WRONG PICTURE.

ga pretty face; a very pretty face, in
deed ~
turned the little photograph upside
down, held it off at arms length to get
perspective view and scrutinized it
closely With my eyeglasses.
Henry Wallis looked pleased; man
naturally likes to have his s'intended"
admired and appreciated.
$50 this is the Bessie Armitage have
heard so much of? Really, Wallis, she
does credit to your taste. A blonde, 1
supposed"
''Fair as lily, with blue eyes and the
| sunniest golden hair p
1t was all very well for Henry Wallis
to go into ecstacies about his pallid,
fair-haired little Bessie Armitage ne
had never met the glance of Cecilia
Vernon's magnificent dark eyes.
Yes, after all, Henry was better off
than was for he was securely engaged
to the dimpled, yellow-tressed little OBJ
iect of his affections, while I was yet,
as it were, in outer darkness, uncertain
whether my peerless Cecilia returned
my ardent devotion or whether she
secretly inclined toward that unprinci-
! pied fellow, Hugh Trefoil.
'sThere is no sense in procrastin ating
matters any further" 1 said, half aloud,
as I walked up and down the rather
limited domains of my little study. "I
have been a doubling fool quite long
enough"
went up to my room after dinner
and made an elaborate toilet, but all the
pains bestowed upon IT served only to
heighten the general effect of my awk-
wardness.
"I've two minds to wait until to-mor-
row." quoth to myself, abruptly STOP
ping, with my cravat half tied.
No; might be coward, but I was
not such an unmitigated poltroon as
that. I had begun the enterprise, and
I would carry it through if it cost me
the last drop of my hearts blood. More
.oyer, 1 had an inspiration. An entirely
new and original method of putting the
momentous query had occurred to me.
"Hang Hugh Trefoil p I exclaimed,
gleefully, half aloud, though there was
no ear to hear my ejaculation. "1'll
win the dark-eyed treasure yet, in spite
of him."
1 opened my writing case and care
fully took out little carte de visite
wrapped in tissue paper and tenderIy
laid away with pink silk perfume
sstchet that Minnie had made for me
1t was Cecilia's picture she had allowed
me to steal it away from her with scarce
ly remonstrance week before. Then
was the time ought to have proposed
but, like timorous, doubling moon
calf as was, had let the golden tide
of opportunity slip unimproved away
from me.
drew Bessie Armitage's vacant, doll
like face from its envelope, and compared
the two with thrill of triumph in my
heart.
"Colorless water beside crimson,
sparkling champagne a pale violet in
the shade of royal rose pearls eclipsed
by the fiery flash of diamonds y
exclaimed. "Henry Wallis's taste may
be very correct and classical, but give
me my radiant brunette These
bleached-out beauties don't correspond
with my ideal of perfection"
1t was a lovely spring evening as 1
entered the wide gravelled path that led
up to the broad portico of the Vernon
mansion. Mr.. Vernon sat there smok-
ing his meerschaum.
Sensible old gentleman He had not
forgotten his own young days. I init
mated, not without considerable awk-
wardness, that the special object Of my
visit had been to "see Cecil"
"Won't you sit down and have a
smoke ?" he demanded Hospitality. "It's
a real luxury to be able to take whiff
out of doors, after being shut up in the
house all the winter. Or may be you'd
prefer going in to see Cecil.
swell, she is in the psrlor, all by
herself" he said good humoredly, mo-
| LlOuluR NE Ill. Walk lu-WdlK III.
Cecilia Vernon was sitting in the par
lor all alone, as. her father had said, the
bright centre of a cheerful circle of lamp
light A bit of crochet work was lying
in her lap, and an open volume of poems
poems had sent her-was on the
table.
Cecilia Vernon was always lovely to
! look upon, in my sight tonight, how
ever, she seemed more than ordinarily
beautiful.
sat down and began hesitatingIy
upon the never-failing topic of the
weather. A proposal had seemed the
easiest thing in the world as 1 walked
along the dewy hedges of the peaceful
star-lighted road, contemplating 1t from
afar off but now that was face to face
with it Alps upon Alps of difficulty and
perplexity seemed to surround its ac.
complishment. would have given all
that / was worth to postpone the evil
day but twenty-four hours-all but my
self-reepect, and that was imperiled
now.
Cecilia tried her best to keep the ball
of conversation in motion she intro.
duced new subjects, asked leading ques-
tions and feigned deep interest in the
most abstruse of topics. But even Oeci