News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1888-01-05
NOT MY FATE.

My name is Henry Bassette. I am
an engraver by trade, by birth q French
man, by education an American. NV
age is tive-and- twenty, and / am by no
means rich man. Had [ been one |
certainly should not have hired on the
first of May, 1873, the studio at the top
OF the building number thirty-three
= street, room number twenty-four:
Firstly, because the room was SMALL
secondly, because the building was old
and lll-cared for; thirdly because the
street was by no means a genteeI one.
However, [ had hired it, and | had
taken thlther my small possessions. My
bed, which became a lounge by day, my
table, my three chairs, my striped car
pet my books, the shelves that held
them, my bachelors cooking apparatus,
and my tools, and [ had gone to work at
the illustration of the next weeks Pub
lie Astonisher-a mysterious figure. clad
IN foldless dressing gown, and some
thing, presumably turban, which, sit
ting in modern kitchen chair, held up
Its right hand mechanically, as though
1t were voting, while something that
might have been the ironing board on
castors, with a veil atop, tumbled in at a
barn door with curtains to t. with both
hands up like those of the figures little
boys draw upon their states for ghosts,
The Sultan and the Lady Miranda
mutually astonished at each others ap-
pearance, said the text, and the OBJ
server mentally added, "And no won
der"
Twas doing the Lady Miranda's nose
"a very long Grecian-when lifting I'D
my eyes [ looked across the weli-like
space between my window and that of
the opposite house, and caught sight of
the prettiest face that had ever met nv
eyes-a face of Cuban darkness with
great velvet eyes, and black hair that
clustered about the smooth forehead in
statuesque waves, and lips rounded and
soft as an infants, and red as reddest
coral
1t was the face of young woman of
twenty, and she had been looking at
me. When she caught my eve she at
once averted her gaze and left me free
to look at her; and now saw her pro-
file. Nothing could have been more
regular or sweeter, and the neck and
bust seemed perfect. Her dress was
black, with scarlet bow in the hair
and knot of the same color at the
breast, and she seemed to be at work at
something which required delicate care.
Looking closer [ saw that she was color
ing photographs.
The Sultan and the Lady Miranda de.
attention, of course; but every
now and then / lifted my ewes and
feasted them on the beautiful face of nv
0aS-@-ots. Some people deny that there
Is such a thing as love at first sight.
Perhaps they are right. But, then,
what was it that came into nv heart for
my lovely unknown neighbor? There
is no other name for it. When the eve
nng shadows fell and hid her from my
sight it was a grief to me.
About midnight I retired. I had
all the evening in the dark to
see light III that opposite window, but
none had appeared, and had decided
that 1t was q work-room, whence the
workers departed at eventide. On the
morrow she would be there again. no
doubt. l would hasten the morrow bv
sleeping as soundly as possible. bv
dreaming of her if L could. [ was fool
Ish enough, l remember, to 90 thrOuoh
a certain rhyme which an old French
aunt OF mine had declared would alwoys
bring a dream of ones Culture" if re-
peated Just at the stroke of twelve, if
one refrained from speaking, taking n
drink OF water, or saying ones PRAYERS
The last stroke of twelve had dropped
upon the air from clock hard by as
ended the foolish lines, and nv ewes
closed with that odd weight upon them
which has given rise to the nursery
fables of ''Ihe Sandman" [ felt that +
was about to slumber.
How many minutes passed2 7 do not
know, but / was awakened by a sbrilI
scream-the cry of woman's voice
Such sounds are common enough in the
,ity, and at first it gave me merely a
feeling of annoyance, in that it had dis
Jurbed my repOse; but when it was re-
Deated and | heard the words "Help
Help! in voice which was neither
coarse nor vulgar, it occurred to me that
instead of coming from the lips of some
drunken brawler, as [ had at first sup-
posed, it might be that of some innocent
)eing in distress, and without a mo-
nents hesitation hurried on my clothes
md dashed out of my room and into the |
treet
Here I stood staring about me with
mt eeing anyone. The street was de-
erted and utterly dark, save for the
,lue and crimson CLEANS from the win