Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1883-06-28

ideal picture in which he assigned per-
sons and places situations in general
grouping, and he continued to dream
about them on this basis, never caring
for facts, and therefore never impressed
by them.
John feared persecution from another
daarter. His employer had known mis-
mother when she was girl. and was
constantly sounding her praises. This
employer, John knew, had daughter
who was spoken of by gentlemen as
sprightly, vivacious, and self-possessed.
John disliked to meet self-possessed
people, and yet he admired them. He
fancied that this young lady would meet
him. that she would make an effort to
become acquainted, that he would be
invited to the house and make a hum
drea blunders, and that all these blum
ders would be paraded by the sprightly
young lady in her conversation with
her many gentleman friends. Once
fancied, John assumed this as true, and
resolved to war against fate. He met
! the young lady first seated in q carriage
with her father and mother, and did
! not look at her even wien formally
presented. He was seized with absolute
| fright a few days afterward when Mr..
| Pograve invited him to dinner. He put
in the stale excuse of a headache and did
not 20. He received no other invitation,
and his good sense told him why. But
even at this sacrifice he was content to
escape acquaintance with the charming,
self-possessed Miss Pograve.
He was strangely situated, In stir
ring, driving Chicago he knew scarcely
81 dozen people by name, while very
many faces we're familiar TO MIN. All
these faces had histories filled in hig
imagination, and as far az Johns reas-
onipg powers were concerned, rs firmly
fixed as though based on facts Many
people bowed to him, and John bowed
mechanically in return, but this did
not increase his range Of acquaintance
nor his opportunities for acquiring So
ciety news.
This man, shrinking from contact
with people, w,Ls yet interested in peo-
pie, and interested in observing and
studying them. The Exposition Of 1873
was delight TO him in that it afforded
the best opportunities to observe PEG.
pie in varying moods. The dreamer
awoke to new realiz3tious People,
real people, now that ne dared to look
them in the face, were great curiosities.
His Imagination was severely taxed in
assigning them all to ready-made his
tories. Among the thousands of wo-
men he knew not one, and yet he liked
the faces, and among so many ne aC-
knowledged longing for the compan-
ionship of some ono.
During the Exposition an hotel elc-
vator carried people from the first floor
to the dome above and galleries ex.
tending from it. The lake view always
took John to the dom, where his love
for the picturesque was satisfied, and
his disposition to dream given oppor-
tunity for indulgence. One day as
John threw himself loungingly on the
cushioned seat of the elevator, and the
upward movement had commenced, he
saw face in the crowd in front that
startled him and brought face to face
with the experiences OF his hoy
hood 1t was the face
of a woman, wonderfully expressive,
wonderfully bright. Engaged in a pain
giving effort to place the face on the
right shoulders, John was carried re-
leutlessly upward, realizing that it
would be hardly possible to find the
face aud person again iN the great
crowd.
This realization caused queer back
action mental movement, and he knew
that Grace Bartlett, the most demons
tratiye and the boldest of his girl
schoolmates, dashing little beauty
always fighting his battle9 for him, was
below, and q woman. He remembered
how selt-reliant she had been as ii 5
year old, and how he trusted her as q
10 yeer-old little beauty. This girl had
been with him in all his dreams. Was
the real Grace Bartlett like mis- ideal
.Gaca2 He must know. He went
through the great building with impa-
tleut strides but nowhere could he find
u face like that Which Looked NJ to him
for an instant from the crowd. Would
the woman be there the next day?
Reason said not, but John was on duty
early as an eager watcher, and she was
there. He caught but a glimpse Of her
face through. the spray of the central
fountain. Standing in the midst OF grace
full surroundings she was grace her
self. He was near enough tosee plainly
every feature of the expressive face.
He could not be mistaken. This was
Grace Bartlett and he mustspeak to her.
Entertaining for a moment the impulse
to dash through the water, he started
toward the woman with the notion of
| ignoring the crows. But he was carried
this way and that, was pushed aside by
persons intent ON SPECIAL objects, was
compelled to turn from his course, and
when he reached the place the person
/ re sOught was not there and he could
find no trace of her.
In the days that followed John was
in a strange mood. He was in fury be
cause he could not find Grace Bartlett
and he had grown strangely bold IL
looking into women's faces. There wa,
another change that he did not compre-
bend until aiterward. He WAS III the ex
position one evening, more in busl
ness way than in the wsy of pleasure
and with mind intent ON business h,
had left Grace Bartlett in the back
ground OF mis- visions, which AWAY