Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-03-25
AN INVERTED LOVE STORY.

many years past has been confined to
bed or q sofa For the last six years |
have occupied small room. looking on TO
one of the narrow side canals of Venice,
having no one about me but q deaf old
woman, who makes my bed and attends
to my food: and here / exc out poor in
come of about $50 Il year by making
water color drawings Of flowers and
fruit they are the cheapest models in
Venice, and these | send to a friend in
London, who sells them to q dealer for
small sums But, on the whole, | am
happy and content.
1t is necessary that / should describe the
position OF my room rather minutely. It's
only window is about five feet above the
water of the canal, and above it the house
projects some six feet, and Ovcrhangs the
water, the projecting portion being sup
ported by stout piles driven into the bed
of the canal. This arrangement has the
disadvantage (amOng others of so limit
ing my upward view that | am unable to
see more than about ten feet OF the height
of the house immediate opposite to me,
although by reaching as far out of the
window as my infirmiJy will permit / can
see for q considerable distance up and
down the canal, which does not exceed
fifteen feet in width But, although | can
see but little of the material house oppo
site, / can see its reflection upside down in
the canal, and [ contrive 10 take a good
dead Of inverted interest in such of its in
habitants as show themselves from time
to time always upside DOWN on its bal
comics and at its windows.
When first occupied my room, about
six years ago, my attention was directed
,f li,tl ;rl IF
las nearly as | could judge, who passed
every day on balcony just above the up
ward range of my limited field CT view.
She had glass of flowers and a crucitx
on little table by her side, and as she sat
there, in fine weather, from early morn
ing until dark, working assduously all
the time, | concluded that she earned
her living by needleworK. She was GER
talnly an industrious little girl, and as far
AS could Judge by her upside down re-
Election, neat in her dress and pretty.
She had an old mother an invalid, who
on warm days would sit on the balcony
with her, and il interested me to see the
little maid wrap the old lady in shawls
and bring pillows for her chair and a stool
for her feet. and every now and again lay
down her work and kiss and fondle the
old lady for half u minute, and then take
up her work again.
Time went by and as the little maid
grew up her reflection grew down, and at
last she was quite "A little woman of, L
suppose, 10 or H. ! can only work for a
couple of hours or 50 IN the brightest part
Of the day, so had plenty of time on my
hands in which to watch her movements,
and sufficient imagination to weave lit
tie romance about her. and to endow her
with beauty which, to a great extent, |
had TO take for granted. | SAVIOR
fancied that | could see-that she began
TO take an interest in my reflection (which,
of course, she could see as l could see
hers; and one day, when it appeared to
me that she was looking right at mel
tried the desperate experiment of nodding
10 her, and to my intense delight her re-
Election nodded to me in reply. And so
our two reflections became known to one
another
It did not take me very long to fall in
love with her, but long time passed be-
fore / could make up my mind to do more
than nod TO her every morning, when the
old woman moved me from my bed to the
sofa ut the window, and again in the even |
ing, when the little maid left the balcony
for that day. One day, however, when l |
saw her reflection looking at mine, j nod |
ded TO her and threw flower into the |
canal She nodded several times in re- |
turn, and | saw her direct her mothers |
attention TO the incident. Then every I
threw a flower in the water for |
good morning" and another in the even |
ing for good night and / soon discov- |
cred that | had not thrown them altogether |
IN vain, for one day she threw q flower to |
join mine, and she laughed and clapped |
her hands as the two flowers joined forces |
and fioated away together. And then |
every morning she threw her flower when
| threw mine, and when the two flowers
met she clapped her hands, and so did /;
bat when they We're separated, as they |
sometimes were, owing to one of them
having met an obstruction which did |
nos catch the other. she threw up her
hands in a pretty atfectation of despair,
which tried TO initiate but in an Eng
lish and unsuccessful fashion. And when
they were rudely run down by passing
yondola (which happened not infrequently)
She pretended to cry and | did the same.
Then, in pretty pantomime, she would
point downward to the sky, to tell me
hat it was destiny that caused the ship
wreck of our flowers, and |. in pantomme
|
TO her that destiny would be kinder next
time, and that, perhaps, tomorrow our
lowers would be more Northumberland so
he innocent courtship went on. One day
:he showed me her crucifix and kissed it,
md thereupon look little silver cruel
tx which always stands by me, and kissed
hat, and SO she knew that we were one
n religion.
Il flo L.
m her balcony, and for several days saw
nothing of her, and although | threw my
lower rs usual no flower came TO keep it
company. However, after a time she re-
appeared dressed in black and crying
,tten, and then l knew that the poor
,hild's mother was dead. as far as knew
she was alone in the world. The flowers
anne no more for many days, nor did she
;how any sign of recognition, but kept her
yes IN he's work, except when she placed
her handkerchief To them. And opposite |
o her was the old laGy's chair, and |
,ould see that from time to time she |
would lay Down her work and gaze at il,
md then a flood OF tears would come to |
Ter relief But at last one day sne ~oused /
herself to nos to me, and then her flower |
anne. Day after day my flower wen: |
orth to join il, and with varying fortunes .
he two flowers sailed away as of yore
But the darkest day of all 10 me was
when a good looking young gondolier,
standing right end uppermost in his gon-
lola tfor l could see him in the flesh, |
worked mis- craft alongside the house and
tood talking TO her as she sat on the
balcony. They seemed to speak as old
as well rs | could make |
ut, he held her by the hand during III,
,ho!e Of their interview, which lasted
mite half an hour. Eyeutnally he pushed |