New Ulm weekly review., 1886-03-17

IN another home no less happy, HIM
self her yis-a-yis and sole admirer.
Somehow or other the cat purring on
the hearth-rug at his feet seemed to be
a link between them, it was absurd,
no doubt; he tried to struggle back in
to a more rational mood-but all in
vain; he seemed to have drifted into
another sphere in which reason was
unknown.
Next morning Bond went out into
the Grove again. He was out ofsorts,
he told himself, and wanted a walk
badly. And yet he fingered among the
shops, looked absently into the win
doWs, and with furtive anxiety at the
passers-by. But ola sudden he turned
scarlet, for on the other side Of the
street was Eulalie-a queenly woman,
tan and stately, eharmingly dressed,
with a fringe of dainty little brown
curls on her forehead, and face like
an angels. People turned to look at
her as she went by; had they bowed
down before her Bond would scarcely
have felt surprised. She was attend
ed by a couple Of handsome men-one
deferential, the other more observant
of the sights around. Her brothers
commented Bond, who had squeezed
himself into a doorway, and peeped
timidly at her over the bonnets of two
elderly ladies. As each passing cab
momentarily shut her out Of his sight
his breath came fast and thick; he al
most feared lest he should never be-
hold her again. He saw her enter a
shop, and presently come out again.
Quite unconscious Of the existence Of
her shabby admirer, she proceeded on
her way and soon disappeared in the
crowd.
Then with the desperate courage
which is perhaps most common in
timed men, Bond plunged into the
shop and asked the assistant her
name
"You mean the lady who was look
ing at these gloyes?" inquired the dap
per youth, pausing in his task Of re
turning them to the box in order to
stare with evident amusement at his
questioner.
The LADY," repeated Bond, alb
sently. There was but one in the
whole world for him. eyes, yes, Of
course"
81 don't know her name, sir"
Bond looked disappointed. But see
ing a pair Of gloves which had just
been tried on he pounced upon them
eagerly. What was this strange thrill
that went through and through him?
"The touch OF vanished hand?"
Sympathy? Surely he was travelling
the road to knowledge.
II want . pair OF gloves" he said.
1'These will do very nicely"
''They are ladies, SIR, suggested the
assistant.
"Oh, they'll do. My hands are not
large" He blushed as he spoke, for
they were huge.
"Shall put them in q paper, sir?'
"Paper! Yes, wrap them up care
fully. Gloves are apt to be solled in
the pocket
It was not a very rational act he
had just committed, and yet he con-
trived to cover it neatly with little
pretenses and so disguise its real pur-
port. Was not he q student of human
nature, and was not the hand an in
dex to character, and was not the
glove all index Of the hand? Here,
then, he was starting at the beginning
OF things, as became sound philoso-
pher. So, for thepurpose ofhis study,
he laid the gloves on the table be-
fore him and riveted his gaze upon
them. He even pressed them passion
ately to his lips, an act that made him
blush as deeply as if Eulalie herself
had witnessed it. Had not she touched
them. And, ah! what a sweet smile
she had Logic could not fathom
that, but he recognized it's truth, new
ertheless.
During the ensuing Fortnight Bond
went out every morning in the hope Of
getting brief glimpse OF the charming
Eulalie, and, when successful, returned
brimful OF happiness. The rest OF the
day he invariably spent in building
castles, constructing new settings for
his gem. 1t was delightful occupa-
tion, this continual intercourse with his
divinity. Though she knew him not,
probably had never even seen him, they
two lived an ideallife together. Wher-
ever she went this shabby bookworm
whom, it may be, she would not have
deigned to notice, accompanied her in
fancy; he dined, walked, talked and
laughed with her; he invested her with
every virtue, set her in a perfect home,
and provided her with every comfort,
content himself to be her devoted
slave and minister to her wants.
In accordance with this theory Bond
attributed to Eulalie qualities the
very opposite of his own, or rather,
what he supposed to be his own, for
he set a very humble value upon HIM
self. He made her out to be all that
is pure and lovely. "She is generous"
he said; "did she not give sixpence to
a crossing sweeper? Inever gave six
pence to q eros ossing-sweeper in my life.
My temper is vile hers is sweetness it.
self. Did Inot see her smile? She is
the most beautiful woman in the
world / am the incarnation Of ugli-
ness" He looked in the glass and
saw it was true. And so he had no
difficulty in constructing his golden
image, before which he, vile creature
OF clay, meekly bowed his head and
did obeisance.