Helena weekly herald. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1867-1900, 1884-02-21

in Europe.
Equipped with bag and hammer, August
found me making a pedestrian tour of
Switzerland, with a special view to the
study of its glacial system and lithnology.
/ avoided the well-traveled ways, thus es-
Gaping the society of all other tourists, and
l was therefore utterly amazed when one
evening, as l drew near the little house
which was my temporary abiding place, a
tall form strobe toward me out of the dark
ness, and hearty voice cried out
Jim! Jim Hill"
WHO is it ?" replied, with halfner-
vous start.
"Ah! l thought it was my old friend.
Have you forgotten Tom Byrne?"
OF course not, for had met him occa-
sionally since we were boys, and was
heartily glad to see my former comrade,
always one of the best of companions
81 saw your name on the book at the
inn," he explained "was sure it must be
you. At any rate, / thought / would start
out to meet you"
But how came you here?" inquired,
in this out of the way corner of the
world ?"
Because it is out of the way. Mabel
and l are making a trip in search of the
picturesque. You know she is quite an
artist"
So Mabel was with him. My heart gave
a curious thump, and for moment could
hardly make sensible reply.
Yes" he went on, she is SO devoted to
her art that it seems to quite absorb her
life. She has not thought Of marriage, and
does not care in the least for the ordinary
run of society. She will be glad to see you
though, as you are man of science" he
added consolingly.
We walked back together to the little
inn, and presently / was shaking hands
with beautiful and stately woman, whose
bright, dark eyes flashed with an intensity
and fire that had never seen in any other
eyes but those of Mabel Byrne
She greeted me very cordially, and after
we three had taken an evening meal to-
| gether, there followed a delightful evening
in the little parlor which Tom and his sis
, ter had secured.
For once in my life felt myself quite
| at ease in lady's society. In the first
piece there was Tom to keep me in coun-
| tenance by a predominance OF my own sex
in the company then Mabel did not ex-
pect me to talk of airy nothings, that light
foam of the social whirlpool which / had
never yet been able to skim. She spoke
first of my scientific pursuits she showed
so much knowledge of the subject that l
really found myself talking with an ear
nestness and enthusiasm of the formation
of the country, and especially of the glacial
system and the curious marks of its action
borne by the specimens | had collected.
She in her turn contributed to the even
ing's interest by telling me Of her work,
! and showing me her sketches. which were
rean1 VI =. NeIy Di... ulUeE -! lrt4s,Ic u!erit
! There was no schoolgirl weakness in her
handling of the brush, but force and
poetic thought that had won her honorable
recognition in the world of art
And you have never heard Of Mabel's
paintings until now ?' said Tom.
"No," confessed. "You know / have
been quite absorbed in my special studies
"Yes, and you have not seen Mabel for
ever so long, have yOu?"
No." replied, mot since that summer
ten years ago. when | was at my grand
mothers"
Jolly times we had, too" said Tom, re-
fectively. do you member that party
at Mrs. Edwards"
A sudden rush of blood to my face utterly
confused me- l stammered reply, and
Tom, to my relief, went on with some ram
bling "reminiscences. 1t was some seconds
before dared to look at Mabal Surely
she was blushing, too
The next morning we all went on trip
up the slopes of the mountain. Mabel was
in short gray suit, with alpine hat, and
stout boots, Tom carrying her drawing ma
| terials. Thus we made this, and many
another, delightful expedition.
Life took on new colors for me. There
was a radiance and glory about it that
! had never dreamed of before. Every day
| found fresh reason for admiring my
beautiful companion, and our walks through
the deep valleys and up the rough noun
tain sides were to me like enchanted jour
neys through realm of fairies. In this
| loveliest country in the world, with this
most glorious woman by my side, l was
indeed, as one transfigured by the light of
the grand passion that took possession of
my soul.
At first / knew not what had befallen
me. l thought only that my pleasure in
Mabel's society sprang from a similarity Of
tastes and pursuits and the charm Of her
conversations but gradually woke to the
overwhelming fact that | loved her with
| the one great love of my life, that seemed
ago, to have been always with me, and to
stretch out into the future to make it trans
cendently glorious, or a long despair.
And yet as soon as l had learned my
own secret, my former bashfulness came
back upon me with tenfold intensity, and
found myself often embarrassed in her
presence, while at the thought of telling
her my hearts story, though my brain was
smitten through with dazzling delight at
the dream of successful wOoing yet / was
so overwhelmed that utterance would, as l
was sure, be an impossibility.
And Mabel? Her eyes were very kind
to nae. They turned to me with soft
ened lustre that thrilled me with hope
and yet, if | attempted even compli-
ment, | blushed, tloundered, and was lost.
One evening we were talking Of all man
ner of subjects, grave and gay, and so
strayed to marriage in general, and espec-
tally to the matrimonial lot of some of our
old friends
You remember Boyd, don't you, Hill ?"
asked Tom.
Tall, bashful fellow, just like me-" l
added.
"Yss," replied Tom, laughing HE
married Miss Cutting, our former school
teacher / always thought she proposed TO
him"
Sensible girln 1 exclaimed. Il think
it is positively woman's duty sometimes
to help out. You remember that hook of
the late Dr. Horace Bushnell, published
some years ago, called "A Reform Against
Nature? In it he denounced the whole
womans rights movement, but maintained
that every woman ought to have the right