Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1885-06-04

holding out her little hand, saying:
Mr." and she paused.
'.Elersly," he added, lifting his cap.
''Mr. EIlersly, 1 wish to apologize for my
rude talk 1 forgot that you were an officer
on duty, and what is more, 1 forgot that
was lady. Pardon me-"
Il have no pardon to ask, madam" said
Bob. gallantlv ''Reproof is sweeter from
some than commendation from others. Now,
what can l do for your
1--WE will breakfast together" she said,
"and then will tell you"
At breakfast she poured out his muddy
coffee of beans and chickory, and was so very
amiable that Bob, young as he was, could
not help thinking she was too confoundedly
sweet, and he became, in consequence, the
more alert and suspicious.
''Now I'll tell you, Lieutenant" she said on
the porch, 81 am ashamed to confess it, but
have some poor relations in these noun
tains almost starved by the war"
That is lie, thought Bob; but he said
nothing-only smiled sweetly.
Il wish to communicate with and help
them,n she continued; 'and if you Will fur
nish me with an escort will make the at
tempt"
An ambush, thought Bob; but he smiled
all the more, and added:
'sWhy of course will I'll do better-I
will be your escort myself. Shall we go i'm
mediatelyf"
ooh, no, there is no need of such haste: to-
morrow will do" and they dropped into con-
versation as natural as if they knew each
other for years Bob was shrewd, but mex
perienced Heidi not observe the dangerous
thread of the talk While dexterously avoid
ing all reference to herself she kept on that
most fascinating subject to all men, when
guided by pretty woman-himself. 1t was
Othello and Desdemona over again. Only
DesdemoEa led the conversation All. me.
if the beguiling sex only knew the full power
IN their little ears, aided by deep, earnest
eyes, none of us would be safe. Bob talked
well, at times eloquently, with a golden
thread of humor running through all, and he
who set out to deceive through love making
went to his bed deep in love with the fair
charmer.
The day after the expedition was attempted.
Alas it proved miserable failure The old
horse pulled them slowly to the summit of
the mountain, and then descending to the
valley beyond stumbled at every step, and at
last fell down, breaking the shaft and throw
ing the fair emissary on his chronological
rump.
q When horse falls down he takes philo-
sophical view of the situation, and lies still.
Old Smooth Tooth lay stretched upon the road,
with his shoeless hoofs full extended and his
eyes half closed as if to say, ''This is the end;
farewell vain world; leave me to the buz-
yards"
Ellersly lifted his fair companion from
the embrace of the moist anatomy. She
got up laughing merrily over the mishap,
and, leaving the wreck to the man, the two
walked back.
''This is too bad" said Bob. 'HThe Door
relations will never get relief at this rate.
Look here, Miss Claran-he had her name
-"can you rider
Like an Arab" she responded.
''Goodr' he exclaimed. ''Now if 1 can
find a saddle, you shall have my horse Chan
cellor. He is splendid. will ride one of
the orderly's horses, and so we will pene-
trate every recess of the mountains"
She was delighted with the arrangement.
and an old-fashioned, single-horned side-sad-
die, hard as the rock of ages, was fshed out
from the stables. Bob worked long and
laboriously in fashioning one of his best
blankets to the old affair, to make it more
presentable as well as easier, and the rides
began.
Chancellor, when first mounted, snorted,
reared, lunged as if indignant, but the fair girl
kept her seat composedly until the steed
quieted down, and then patting his arched
neck put herself on friendly terms with the
noble animal
Those rides were long and frequent Both
enjoyed them. She was sweetly confidential
In her young escorts life and affairs, and
every hour the delicious chain of love bound
the poor boy nearer and firmer to his adora-
ton. Small wonder. The young girl was
simply superb on horseback. The close-fit-
ting riding dress seemed part of her supple,
graceful, engaging form, while the exercise
and excitement brought delicate, she'll
tinted rosiness to her cheeks, that seemed the
one thing necessary to make her pale face
perfect. Bob longed to avow his love, but
youth is timid when the precious treasure
may be jeopardized by the avowal He was
blinded by his passion, and did not see the
game so openly played by the little gambler
She was true daughter of the south, and
her heart was with her poor brothers march
ing shoeless, with scant raiment, poorly
armed, sleeping without SHELTER and dying
by thousands with desperate bravery for
their cause To have that in her possession
that was, as she believed, of vital Importance
to them, made her desperate. For such a
cause, she would play the Judith, and had
Bob avowed his love, she was resolved to ac-
cept, let the consequences have been what
they might to the poor lad.
Oh! the golden glory of those sunny days.
They took on a roseate hue, that made the
blue submits of the mountains a deeper
blue, as if to bound that Eden that lies about
each life in the golden glow of youth, when
love touches the sweet, tender existence, and
the birds sing, and the flowers bloom with
voices and odors that penetrate the very soul,
never again to pass away. The scene fades,
the birds die and the flowers perish, oft in
the hard realities of life the blue mountains
no longer frame in the fairy paradise, but
all the same we cling to it through existence,
as our first parents chung to the Garden to
which they never could return.
Shakespeare tells U.s. the course of true love
never does run smooth. No, indeed, life's
ways are not fitted for the sweet stream.
For little while it murmurs along green
meadows, and then, anon, it falls among
rocks and rough ways and oftentimes is
dashed over precipices to be dissipated in thin
mist over which arches the rainbow, not,
alasi of hope, but memory.
There were some little tricks the lovely
girl indulged in that exasperated her lover,
who, although blinded by his passion, had not
lost sight of his duty. One of these was to
stop. at some mountain hut, and persist in
dismounting and entering the hovel. Bob
dismounted also, and would help her to the
ground and accompany her to the interior
He kept his eyes and ears alert, and believed
that he baffied any designs in this direction