The Washington critic., 1885-09-24

y
course. lie loved mc-Ohl how he
loved me. lie would sit at my feet
by the hour, clasping my hands and
covering them with kisses. while he
rccitcd pages and pages from Byron
and Moore, expressive of his idolotrous
love But all too soon the end came
One day hc slid TO me in The tender
est tone, "Armninta" lmy name is Ara.
minta), "can you do geometry
! shook my head ashamed; had
never learned IT, lie turned pale, but
he said quite chccrfully;
"Wcll, that's not Of 50 much consc-
quencc, but you know chemistry and
botany, of course, and natural philOso-
ply and astronomy p
II was agony to confess II. I knew
nothing Of those things ! knew full
well the object Of all this questioning.
He was ambitions as / but he knew
better than ! had known what was
needed in the race of life. lie knew
that his wife must be his equal in cd
ucaNon, able to keep step with him in
his glorious march, TO aid him, and
cheer him on. He looked at me with
anguish in his face
''Aramnta, he said, solcmnly.
'Alos! my love, why have you not
learned these things! Know you not
that they are essential to success in life?
How can you ever expect to reign as
mistress of the White House If YOU are
ignorant Of these great themes?'
Then he murmurcd something In a
language ! did not understand.
"What did you sayY' ] asked.
"O6gec sra hHCc WaVlcc p1Hgs," he
repeated, looking sternly at me.
ooh, what do you mean" cried.
"Is it something tcrriblc?"
Terrible indeed" he said. "You
do not even know French. How would
you ever talk to the foreign ambas-
sadOrsy'
In vain ! clung to him, promising TO
study night and day until even he
should be satisfied with me.
ut is too late" he said, throwing
me Off. "lou should have thought OF
that before. There is no time to waste
in making your armor when the battle
is about to begin. This parting wrings
my heart, but il must be. | have de-
voted myself to one noble purpose.
Since the time | swung my bare feet
under a bench in the old log school
house on the county road and heard
the teacher point out the Presidential
chair as the goal any American boy
might win, | have had but one thought.
shall sit there or. perish in the at
tempt. Farewell my one love, fare
well -
"lIc pressed me wildly to his heart,
and rdshcd from the room. | tainted
dead away, and for three long months
] lay at the point Of death. When /
recovered he had gone, none knew
whittier. But soon the country began
to ring with his name. We never met
again. Alone and obscure, a blightcd,
heartbrokCn woman, | watched his
brilliant career until il eliminated at
the dizzy height upon which he had
fixed his eyes from the first, then by a
trusty messenger ! sent him a little
mcmcnto / knew he would recognize,
and single line congratulating him
upon his success. My messenger said
that for moment he covered his face
with his hands and gave way to his
emotion, then bracing himself against
his weakness, he said;
"''Tis well. Tell her that thank
her. have won the fight, but am
gricvously wounded.
II alone knew what those words
meant. He had not forgotten me; he
never forgot me-"
"Oh, Miss Jocclyn! how romantic!
but which President was it?"
"Do not ask me. / have already
told you too much. ! don't know why
should speak TO you of this. Some
thing about you draws me to COniidc in
you. | seem to feel that you will
know how to appreciate a sorrow like
mine. OF course / had other offers,
but who could replace to me the noble
heart that had been mine? II is Setter
to suffer with dignity than TO stoop to
an ignoblc consolation. Sol live alone
and uncontrolled. Day after to-mor
row to Try ON, if you please. Good
morning
Pure fiction? Well probably; but
what then? Why should not II poor
little drcssmakcr as well cmbroider a
bit of fanciful romance upon her own
dull life, as TO accept the fiction woven
about other and less interesting women
by professional romancers? 70 how
many successive senior classes poor
Miss ,Iocclyn's crude but daring in
vcnion furnished food for surrcpti-
tious midnight mcrrimcnt, it is i'm
possible to say, but now that the busy
scissors snip no more, and "fnish" or
"lacll of finish are equally indifferent
TO her, there can be no ham in telling
it to wider audience Felix Gray in
the n. q, Times Democrat.