Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-08-22

preach as papa WOulu Iie NoHiu i'lsiNc
me in the end. dare say, but he would
begin by preaching and am so unhappy
that don think could bear a word"
MY dearest Oracle, you mean You de
csitful! Raould not hear your enemy say
50. and leave him unlocked Nonsense,
caild," said the colonel, cheerily, laying
his friendly hand upon Grace shoulder.
Her head was bent 50 that ne could not see
her face, and her tears were dropping into
the rank grass and making the meadow a
little more watery Tor tie COWS. "Stut
and nonsense. my dear. some little girl
ish folly which you have concealed from
Sir Allan, and which your own fancy has
exaggerated into matter Of Importance"
at is not a little folly, colonel 1t is a
big folly. am engaged 20 he married-to
a person whom my father has never seen
of whose very existence he Is ignorant"
~Humph," exclaimed Stukely, that
sounds rather serious. But people get out
Of such ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Il shall never get out Of mine, answered
Grace. with a heroic air. Il would die
rather than break my word"
~Of course of course" said the god
father soothingly.
More especially as the person to whom
| am engaged is very badly of, and not
able to"
ITO maintain you" interjected the
colonel Naturally, my dear, naturally.
That is an excellent reason for sticking to
him And now tell me ali about IL. When
and where did you meet this gentle
mani"
an Paris. at the Louvre"
The big shop for gowns, and bonnets,
and things
mo, the picture gallery
who introduced him to you'"
Nobody. a mahl stick"
"A mahl stick introduced him"
"Oh, godfather, please don't be so
shocked know how horrid IL all was
how unladylike-how improper. / have
thought about it, and cried over IT many
a time since came home. Nobody intro
duced him to me. You know how fond |
am of painting worked very hard when
was in Paris: and l got permission from
Madame Sartori to go and paint three
times a week st the Louvre.
"One day was copying a Madonna, BY
Guido-not a bit like | know-for my
Madonna would some out with purple
complexion, like a cabmRn In cold weather.
and the picture was hung high. So had
20 sit on kind OF platform four feet of
the ground II was very nice sitting up
there, and looking down at the people, and
at the other students. There were three
or four in the room. One Of them was
remarkable handsome young man, who
was copying little Wouyermans, in
water eolors, in a spirited, dashing style
which ! thought wonderfully clever. He
looked dreadfully i'll, poor felow-such
hollow cheeks, such haggard look about
his large dark eyes. But that naturally
made him all the more interesting"
Naturally" said the colonel. Given a
young man without sixpence and with a
marked tendency 10 pulmonary consump
ton, and granted a gsnerous-hearted girl,
the result may he calculated upon as
certainty. OF course you fell in love with
him on the spot,"
Il am not that kind Of a person, colonel
don't suppose / should ever have give
him a serious thought If it had not bee n
for the accident which introduced US 10
each other He talked a good deal Ia a
frumpish little elderly woman who was
toiling 1t big altar piece, and who looked
as if she worked for her living. He had
such bright, winning ways that l could
not help noticing him-a little. Made
moiselle Bouge, the governess, said he
was the handsOmest young man she had
ever seen One day dropped my mahl
stick"
~On purpose'"
"Oh, colonel, how can you think so
meanly of me' No, it was pure accident
He few to pick it up. thanked him
and then he fingered and began 10 talk.
"Was he Frenchman"
a thorough Partisan. He told me, in
the politest way, that my flesh tints were
too blue, and gave me some excellent
hints about color Then he went back TO
his easel, and took no further notice, eN-
cept particularly graceful bow when left
the room. When / went back two days
afterward, he was there again, at another
WOuvermans. He bowed when went in;
gentlemen bow first in France, you know;
and could nOt be so bearish as TO not
acknowledge his bow. / got on 10 my
platform, and poor Mademoiselle Bouge
sat on her usual bench. and stared at the
pictures in her usual sleepy way. My
hand trembled so that / could hardly
paint"
And you dropped your mahl stick
again"
No, colonel! How can you imagine
such conduct, You have evidently poor
opinion of girls. / went on painting,
wretchedly, for an hour or so; getting
that poor Madonna bluer and bluer with
every touch of the brush, and just as
was beginning to despair Of her, the young
Frenchman came over 10 me, and asked
me il would allow him TO give me few
more hints upon coloring and harmony,
and so on. neither said YES nor no, only
murmuring vaguely, like shy simpleton
as was He seemed to think this gave
him full permission, and he took the
picture in hand, and told me how | had
/ gone wrong. and showed me what 10 do.
/ This was the beginning Of our friendship
which came about very gradually. almost
] unawares: but in a fortnight's time We
{ were friends. We did not talk much
That would have been impossible in
N public room, and under the eye
ofNademoiselle Bouge; but he used tC
contr:Ye 10 give me letter every time We
met and he was wonderfully clever al
slipping The letter under my cOlor-box, OF
into nv hand, without poor old Bouge see
ing him"
~He had done the same kind Of thing
/ very often before, no doubt"
You ought not TO say that, colonel; ii Is
not like your usual kindness. No, he told
me, in his very first letter. that he had
never been really in love before"
They never have" muttered the colonel
"He wrote the loveliest letters"
And you answered them|
81 was Obliged to answer sometimes.
hardly knew how wrong it was. You SET
had been brought up in place where
knew everybody and had no idea of be
ing afraid of strangers. told him who
was, and how was finishing my educa
ton at Madame Sartoris, and he told me
his own history, and that he was an orphan
quite alone in the world, and that he be