Connecticut western news., 1884-09-24
His Little Rustic
The situation was romantic.
BY ELLA WHEELER.

He was leaning over rail fence, wiping his warm brow with somewhat soiled but very handsome handkerchief, when he discovered her.
 She was kneeling in the grass little way of, hunting for wild strawberries, which she dropped into partially filled tin pail.
 Her sun-bonnet had fallen back, and now revealed very flush face and tum- bled mass of brown hair.
 He thought her profile very pretty, and her wrist, as it was disclosed below her print sleeve, shapely and white. He wished she would look up, as he was growing curious concerning the color of her eyes. He felt sure they were brown.
 Just at this moment whirr of wings caused him to turn his eyes in another direction, and he saw covey of wild prairie hens just settling upon an angle of the fence in near range. He lifted his gun quickly to his shoulder, took aim and fired.
 The birds all flew away unharmed. But the girl in the grass gave little shriek. and sprang up so hastily that she tipped her pail of berries over, and they all disappeared in the long, tan gled grass.
 "Oh, how provoking p she cried. in a tone of real vexation, as she looked down at her empty pail.
 "Allow me to help you pick them up" said our hero, Rallantly, as he sprang over the fence with an easy bound, and bent to his task as lightly as if he had always picked berries from tangled grass for livelihood, instead of attending to the foreign business of one of the largest commercial houses in the world. He picked away in silence for fully five minutes without looking up.
 It was now the young lady's oppor- tunity for inspection. She saw me- dium sized, strongly built figure, clothed in hunting suit, evidently new; head of closely cropped hair, suspiciously near badness upon the crown; peculiarly pallid complexion, very handsome mustache, we'll waxed and glossy, and, as he lifted them, just then, two very liquid and languid blue eyes.
 ''Yes, they are brown he said, men, tally, as he met her glance. Aloud: q think your pail is quite as full as it was before, MademoiselIe. I shall take pleasure in assisting you to completely fill it if you will allow"
 And his smile and glance and the per- feet modulation of his voice was as de- ightful to Lisle Ashley as it had been to score-nay, to hundred-women before her.
 "I-I thank you," she stammered; ssbut have enough for tea now, and ii is late, and must go."
 "But you have not enough for tea if ] take tea with you," said our hero, with the irresistible boldness, coupled with g respectful demeanor, which was one of Riahard Westbrook's more taking Qua11B8Bs with the ladies.
 IF mans manner, glance and tone are only respectful and deferential, nothing pleases woman more than g certain amount of boldness in his words and actions.
 "You see, he continued, in answer tc her look of surprise, 1T am lost. left party of friends this forenoon, and wandered through the woods in search of game until I am completely bewil. dered. They have the lunch basket You are the first human being I have seen in hours. and have dined on few berries. l must have supper soon ol perish. have no idea how far I an from Benton station, where I was tc join my friends at o'clock. And now 1t is 5"
 "Oh," said Lisle, looking very sym pathetic indeed, "you are to be pitied You are five miles from Benton station and you must be hungry, know. We'll now, you may go home with me-i is just half mile from here. Aun Ruth will have supper ready, know and you will be welcome. And tn hired man is going to Benton Falls thi evening. You can ride with him."
 But my train goes at 7.''
 ''Well, there is another at g. An, Joel may go early enough to get u there for the 2 o'clock train. I will hell him with the COWS so he can get of.
 Richard glanced down at the slende M hands and wrists.
 "You milk cows2 Impossible i" h