Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1885-10-14

/ iCoA bCd buob uCl udttlC WAS DtdlIlCt
Ross, that she lived with har father in
a villa on the Coteaux, with no other
companion than an old housekeeper.
Sometimes her only sister came from
Pau, where she resided with an aunt.
to visit her, but these events were com.
| paratively rare. To our mutual de-
light, In this sister was pretext found
for our acquaintance. had often met
her at parties, and she had described
me to Beatrice as a ''woman-hater, ~
but immensely rich"
that" said my Nymph, doubtfully.
"Gou are not unklnd to me, but quite
the reverse -
Never judge man by what you
hear returned | gravely. "Man IS a
many-sided animal; gentle to those who
treat him well, the opposite when bad
ly managed. He must be humOred,
Miss Beatrice. But are you never lone
lv, separated so much from all society?
Do you never wish to be with your
| sisterpr
No." she answered, quickly. 81 am
quite happy as am. Now and then |
long to see the beauties of other lands,
| but that cannot be. And, after all,
though nature may look otherwise, she
cannot be more beautiful than here"
You are right" said L; there may
b. difference in kind but not of de-
gree
$50 | believe. People often say the
CoteauX are disappointing, the Pyre-
nees not to be compared TO other mighty
ranges, but the fault it seems to me, is
theirs. IF you come to nature" she
continued, waving little hand to il
lustrate her meaning, with a fixed
idea, there must be hill here, foun-
tam there, icebergs glittering in the
sunlight y0nder, and moSs-grown ruins
where | stand; of course one will not
always find them. But come to the
great earth-mOther saying, Show me
what thou wilti' And what loveliness
she then unfoldsl Tne morning sky of
palest yellow, darkest indigo, and clear
est rose. so shaded as to be miracle;
no harsh discord, but all a blending
harmony, the pure air shaking the dew
drops off the trembling grass; the mel
ody of fifty different birds, and the
solemn tremor of the forest trees. At
midday, the deep hush of sleep-only
the cicaia to make the silence felt. At
night, the glorious stars and peaceful
slumber nf the woodlands. Never twice
the same,'
As she stood, with hands clasped over
the ferns, her eyes, shining with a
strange light, fixed on the quivering
beeches. almost faucied that she saw
tie earth-mother herself, beckoning
from the dim receSseS of the whisper
ing shadows, and that, like some hero
inc of German folklore, she was fast
losing the consciousness of mortality
under the influence of mystic charm,
while unhappily the snap of dry twig
aroused her, and with gentle dignity
she bade me farewell.
"We shall meet again?" asked, de
tanning her hand.
''Who can tell?" was the reply, as
pushing aside the brambles, with a
merry laugh the wood-nymph vanished
out of sight.
| wanted 10 follow but dared not,
retracing instead, the dusty way to
Pau, oppressed by a strange sensation
of loss, and dizzy with new ideas. Oh,
childl-yet no child, but woman in all
the depth and tenderness of unsophisti-
Gated wisiom-who could have told
but yesternight thy lot and mine were
interviewer in the weft of time? Ab,
that 1t may not prove passing golden
thread, glittering against the darkness
of lonely life, but that the two may
twine together all through the years
the future holds concealed
1t was not difficult to interest my
uncle in the adventure. The elder Miss
Ross had impressed him fayorably by
her beauty and accomplishments, but
he fully approved of my winning a wife
whose youthful mind could readily
adapt itself to her husbands views and
customs. However well Miss Ross
might play the lady of the Manor, her
younger sister would probably be bet
ter match for me. Then the question
arose, how to gain Mr.. Ross's consent?
Plainly the road to thevilla lay through
his sister Madame BIS drawing
room. My uncle, therefore, proposed
calling on her, stating my wishes to
see more of her niece, and enlisting her
sympathies on my behalf. As the plan
seemed feasible; 1 consented gladly
promising to await the issue with all
the patience at my command.
Weeks passed on without any visible
result. My uncle only responded to my
opportunities by mysterious mods, or
more exasperating proverbs. l wan
dered all over the country in the hope
of meeting Beitr ee, returning at the
close of the day more Respondent than
ever. haunted the pool, but though
the sun-elves played upon the surface,
no girlIsh figure came through the
brambles, no sweet voice sang The prai-
ses of the wood. Granted that all my
attempts began and ended in folly
what will not man do when he is in
love? | grew discOntented and peevlsh
and augmented my private woes by anx-
iety about my uncle's health, he having
caught cold which he seemed unable
to shake off. We did not talk much in
those days, we were not soCiable COM
panions. he sat on one side of the fire,
rolling his head and coughing; sat on
the other, responding by impatient
sighs,
One evening, on coming home In a
more detected mood than usual, l was
greeted with a volley of chuckles that
must have been the death of any other
man.
aYou seem merry. sir" l remarked
Grossly, throwing down my hat.
Every merryl'' he replied, rolling
his head fearfully. Il think you need
a change of air, Cyril. Well go to
Mentone or Rome. They say the cli-
mate is more exhilarsting and quite as
mild as this. What do you say to it?'
"I'm well enough, sir. But all places
are alike to nae, and Pm quite ready to
accompany you anywhere"
"a very proper frame of mind" ne
chuckled, gathering his legs up sharply
and shooting them out again with
equal rapidity. Every goodl Then
we'll be off next week. By-the-by,
Madame Bias party to night. as
you know. She wanted me to go, but
I said the night air was too great risk
and told her I'd send you instead.
You'll look in my boy?"