Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1886-03-19

! shops, looked absently into the win
doWs, and with furtive anxiety at the
passers- by. But ofasudden he turned
scarlet, for on the other side OF the
street was Enlalie-a queenly woman,
tall and stately, charliinsly dressed,
with q 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 q couple OF handsome men-one
deferential, the other more observant
of the sights around Her brothers
commented Bond, who had squeezed
himself into doorway, and peeped
timidly at her over the bonnets of two
elderly ladies. AS each passing cab
momentarily shut her cut of his sight
his breath came last 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 gloves?" 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, abb
sently. There was. but one in the
whole world for him. eyes, yes, of
course"
~ don't know her name, SIR
Bond looked disappointed. But see
! ing pair Of gloves which had just
been tried on he pouuced 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.
''Ihese 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 a paper, sir?'
"Paper. Yes, wrap them up care
fully. Gloves are apt to be solled in
the pocket"
1t was not o. very rational act he
had just committed, and yet he con-
trived to cover it neatly with little
pretenses and so disguise it's real pur-
port. Was not he a student of human
nature, and was not the hand an in
dex to character, and was not the
glove an index of the hand? Here,
then, he was starting at the beginning
OF things, as becam' g. 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 rs deeply as if Eulalie herself
had witnessed it. Had not she touched
them. And ah! what J. sweet smile
she had! Logic could not fathom
that, but he recognized it's truth, nev-
ertheless.
During the ensuing Fortnight Bond
went out every morning in the hope OF
getting a brief glimpse OF the charming
Eulalle, and, when successful, returned
brimful OF happiness. The rest OF the
day he invariably spent in building
castles, constructing new settings for
his gem. It WAS a delightful occupa.
ton, this continual intercourse with his
divinity. Though she knew him not,
probably had never even seen him, they
two lived an ideal life 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 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 isgenerous,"
he said; "did she not give sixpence to
a crossing-sweeper? Inever gave six
pence to a eros sing-sweeper in my life.
My temper is vile, hers is sweetness it.
self. Did not 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, g. vile creature
OF clay, meekly bowed his head and
did obeisance.
There was a strange pathos in the
love of this solitary student for an
unknown woman, whose influence, un-
consciously exerted, had gone far be-
You'd the limits of her personal &C.
quaintance. Had it done nothing else
it would have raised him above the
drearV level which he had so long oc-
cupied, but it presently took more
practical turn. When he beheld his
cheerless room, the cat, the only home
ly thing in it, and thought of that
perfect home of his fancy, there flashed
into his mind the question, Where is
the money to come from? This thought
fell upon him like a thupderclap; it
threw him into stupor out of which
he emerged tremblig. n +
Awakened to the reality Of his
dream, the strong man girded up his
loins and put forth the strengthiwhich
had hitherto lain dormant. Though
he could not forego the pleasure ofsee-
ing Eulalie every day if possible, the
afternoon and evenings were henc
forth devoted to work. Many years
before he had begun to write q book
which he had not had the energy to
finish; he now took it up again and
worked at It day. and night. Fame
and fortune opened out before him;
useless before they had now become