, 1884-09-07
NOT IMPOSSIBLE SHE.


and down the platform Of the pretty little
station ut Appleton The month was June;
the time was $50 a. m the train was late;
the youns man wns annoyed and inpatient
Il was n delicious morning. warm. but with
certain delicate little cool futferings in the
air, that lifted the leaves and whispered
that comfort dwelt out-of-doors under the
troes. and not within in the protection OF
lark ned rooms. The little park about the
statiol was trim and fresh. To the east lay
the broad Hudson, winding down. not to
Cameiu'. ht. 4 place infinitely NOR interest
ng ~ the impatient growler at the station,
who q -orly sraanei the bulletin each time
BE- Ia ~ it NJ Il hoping 10 see some chnnge
In TIM announcement, Train from the west
late t~O hours and thirty-hve minutes
Toward the north there were glimp-es Of
rlenn white houses. and one or two church
spires. and beyond them larger aud pre-
tentiou7 country houses suggested wealth
and luxurious summer retirement The little
.~tntion. much to the disgust Of the Appleton
people. hal been pluced, not at the village,
but where in the Judgment Of the railroad,
the village ought to have been, and would
- some lay
Presently something happened There was
. little hustle OF expectancy among the two
)r three men who were ia charge at the
station. The Telegraph agent dropped his
paper. shut himself up in his private coop.
aud after ssme click, click, clicking. called
put Al unintelligihle phrase, which, in its
turn, reused II sleepy official. who strolled
put 10 tho platform and began gazing va
santly toward the north. Then n low line Of
smoke and then a whistle announced what
the official proclaimed In stentoriRn tones 10
be the -'Commodation for Welby.r
From the "'COmmodntion for Welby"
there alighted one passenger at the Appleton
station This was n graceful young girl, an
old sort Of pretty girl. with
gentle blue eyes, dressed all in a bridish
gray. The young man Of the Gagged
hyena prance, p~reoccupied with his scorn
for ~'Commodhtions for Welby,7 did not
even glance at her, She walked through
the station, looked helplessly about with
the distressed air Of untraveled woman
kind, deposited her satchel on a seat and
approached the window of the telegraph
office, now closed and deserted. GAllantry
at length asserted itself, and Mr.. Fred Ry-
lance, the impatient, begged 10 know IL he
could be Of any service.
Yes, thank YOU blushingly and TIM
orouslyl, Il want very much TO send a
message"
"Oh, very well. the man will be back d.
rectly. II you will write your message on
this blank, III give it to him when he re-
NuInH. no nAlutu neT n Dlnuk Us nB SPOKE,
and a delightfully."- shArpened pencil from
his pocket.
She hesitated a minute, then, with much
embarrassment, asked, "Will you be so kind
as TO write it for inei I-cannot-write.T
With great self possession Mr.. Rylance re-
strnined n movement OF surprise, and dash
Ing down the date waited for the message.
"Its to Mr. Edward Ferris, Lowell. l
want only u say that l came safely. and
that III let him hear from me as soon as l
reach Rivervicw."
Mr.. Edward Ferris Lowell: Reached here
safriy on time. WIN communicate from
Riycrvisw."
e. Communicate is u stroke Of genius, ~
thought Nj Rylanee.J
do you wish TO sign itf
"Oh. yes. Dolly Ferris.r
BY this time the operator made his up
pearance, and after the message had been in
tructed to him Mr.. Rylance followed Miss
Ferris 10 her seat, AMI said, with an amused
smile; III you're going to Riverview you
are certain TO meet me, Miss Ferris. The
young ladies at Riverview are my nearest
and dearest %neighbors. May l Introduce
myself. My name is R~ylance-Fred Ry-
lance.7
Miss Ferris explained very gracefully that
the young ladies at Riverview were her cou-
sins, whom she was visiting for the first
time, and that she expected them to meet
her, and preferred TO wait rather than have
Mr.. Rylnnce telephone TO Appleton for the
solitary village hack. And so they got on
very cheerfully until the arrival of the car
riage from Riyerview, which contained the
dashing Misses Ferris-Kate and Mily.
you darling, how did you get heref'
They t~elephoned us from the station that
the train was two hours late
-And how did you come to know Fredf'
"And where's your trunkf'
To this b~ewildering attack Dolly found,
after a while. a hance to reply that the ex
press was SO late that her father had advised
the wny-train as a possible means OF saving
her cousins unnecessary waiting Mr.. Ry-
Lance further explained that he had been
fortunate enough TO be OF some little service
to Miss Ferris, and that he had introduced
himself.
rue trunk was found, the young ladies
were all volubly and hutteringly put into the
carriage, when the whistle OF the long-de-
la ed train was heard. A hasty good-by,
al he found himself just in time to have the
tram tagged. He flung himself into a com
Portable seat, and hastily tearing "a leaf from
his notebook, wrote;
DEAR EvERlDeE: | am ready to keep my
share Of the pledge we once made each other.
l have found my ideal, and you are the first
to hear II. She shall be the second. She's
come, I've seen her, and been conquered.
She's the woman I've dreamed of, from her
lovely baby blonde face TO her sweet, soft
voice and, best Of all, old fellow, have posi-
tive proof that she isn't that pet horror OF
mine-that drug in the modern matrimonial
market-'a s~plendidly educated girl
Its the most curious thing, but she has
been brought up according 10 my latest the
ory, which III tell you when Never mind her
name; it shall be Mrs, Rylance, If she'll con-
sent, and | can be "A pretty stubborn soldier
at a siege. Pm not mad, but intend to be.
BE sure you keep your pledge, as | have mine,
and congratulate me, not this minute, but
after a while.
yours, in love with the IDEAL,
FIRED RYLANcKn
A day or two later the threatened siege be-
gan. There was an uninterrupted series OF
pic-nics and drives and walks, all arranged
by Mr. Rylance, and all given in Dolly's
honor. and ali conspicuous by Fred's ALSO
lutte devotion to the yellow-haired visitor Of
Riverview.
She Furnished him more food for reflection
than any one he had ever met Until he met
Dolly he had some sneaking doubts Of his
--latest theory, " viz, that provided a woman
were thoroughly refined, the less she had Of
"book larninI, the more charming she would
be-. But here 1t was, the only example he
had ever seen, and the most startling and
complete vindication Of his ideas.
She WAS quite as bright as her cousins,
and after the most careful scrutiny he failed
20 lnd n single occasion upon which her lack
of IA common-school education Placed her
at IA disadvantage. To 10 sure, he wasn't
quite fair. He never permitted the CONVERSE
ton 10 turn upon books, and he could not
help wondering at times what people would
say when Mrs. Fred Rylance's acceptances
or regrets were conveyed always in her
husbands writing. One glance, however, at
Doly's bright, Animated face was enough to
dIspel all these Troublesome doubts. Hi