Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1885-06-23
AN INCIDENT OF TRAVEL.
Bill Nye Has a Fleeting Vision.

Night before last, after had regis
tered at the hotel and been assigned,
"the last room in the house"-I use
the language of the. hotel clerk-I
went into the dining-room to tea.
After | had regaincd my confidence
among strangers and curled myselfup
in as abject manner as possible in
the presence of the head waiter, be-
gan to look around me for an oppor-
tunity to beam on some unprotected
woman with my sunny smile. 1t is
not my custom while travelling to
smile on one in whose heart a hope
might spring up to be dashed to earth
by my departure. If 1 have caused
pain in that way did not intend TO
do so. | can joke and carry on and
have a real good time, but | do not
wish to inspire in any breast hope
which may be blasted, all, alas too
soon.
1t was not long before discovered
beautiful blonde of the female sex
at the farther end Of the room beneath
the chandelier. Her skin seemed to
be of delicate sea-shel color, and
her hair was corn-colored. Her clothes
also were entirely new, l should
judge, and made especially for her.
On her finger she wore diamond
ring with perfect ease. She knew
just how TO work that finger in order
TO get the most possible glitter out of
her diamond. Every little while |
would look over there and revel in
her beauty, and thought she was
not entirely insensible to my charms.
Still, she looked at me in kind Of a
halfreproachful manner, which gave
me the idea that | did not know
whether 1t was intentional or not.
All that evening she was in my
mind. 1 dreamed that night that |
swooped down upon her aud carried
her away TO the remotest boundaries
Of the world in a special car. The
next morning awOke hungry, for |
didn't eat much supper the evening
before. | went down to breakfast,
waiting and iooling away my time,
hoping that she would come while l
was in the breakfast room, and l
would fill myself up with the bauti-
inl vision and cup Of coffee.
Anon she came. She sailed into
the room with calm disdain aud an
air of hdutcur, and such things as
that. The head waiter waved his
hand like a. elf-actimg duke in thea
ter, and gave her seat at my table.
A thrill passed up through my grace
ful and dclicately -molded spinal col
umn and | laid down the vulgal sau-
sage which was about TO feed my
self when she dawned upon me.
! vemtured then to look across the
table at her in the full glare of the
newborn day. (Stereoscopic views of
this last sentence will be forwarded
to any address at 81 per glare). The
first thing that discovered was that
she hadn't put her yellow wig on
straight. 1t was little higher OH
one ear than the other, which gave
her the air of a young man who has
over-monkeycd with the flowing
bowl. This showed to the casual
spectator a glimpse of her own moth
eaten, sage brush hair peeping out
like the faded tail on an old buffalo
robe.
Then knew that we would never
be more TO each other than friends.
Her nose was red also, and she had
not been properly kalsOmined. In
the hurry of dressing she had missed
her nose with the powder-rag, and
that organ-meaning, of course, the
nose, not the powder-rag-loomed up
robust and purple in the ghastly
waste of cheek bones and other os-
seous formations.
All, what pain it gave me to see
my beautiful vision fade thus before
me eyes! Then l thought how / had
smiled upon her the evening before.
and how, perhaps, a new hope had
sprung up in her heart, ami l feared
that when she knew it was all over
between us the shock, at her time OF
life, might kill her.
left my hot pancakes, with the
maple syrup all over them, and fled.
Out INTO the din, the hurry and the
tireless rush of the mad, mad world,
trying to strife the memory of that
broken heart. Should she see these
lines | hope she will not think bitter
" of me. | still admire her as we'll
preserved ruin, but love in such q
case would be a hollow mockery.
BILL NYE.
HUDsoN, Wis, June 3.