The Daily times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1886-1889, 1888-02-03

"a
have occupicd a small room, looking on TO
one Of the narrow side canals oil Venice,
hovire, no ono about me but a deaf old
woman. who maEes my bed ana ATTENDS
TO nv food: and here ! exc out poor IN
come Of about $50 year by making
water color drawings of iloWers ana
fruit they are the cheapest models IN
Venice ana these ! send 10 friend IN
London who sells them to n dealer Tor
small sums But, on the whole, am
happy and content.
n is necessary that should descrbethe
position of my room rather minutely. It's
onlv window i about five feet above the
water oi the canal. and above 1t the mouse
projects some SIX feet, and overhangs the
water. the projecting portion being sup.
ported by stout piles driven into the oed
of the canal This arrangement has the
DISADVANTAGE (amOng others OF so limit
inc my upward view that am unable To
SOC more than about ten feet of the height
Of the house immediate opposite TO me,
although hy reaching rs far out OF the
window rs my iufirmity viii permit ! can
ye. for q considerable distance up ana
down the canal. which does not exceed
llt,.u fees IN width But, although can
500 Iut little of the material house oppo-
siIo. can see rs reflection upside down III
the canal. and cOntriyc 10 take good
de,l OF inverted interest IA such OF ITS IN
habiiauis as show themselves from time
TO time always upside down ON It's bal
comics and &C. los windows.
When nr.t occupied my room, about
six years ago. my attention was directed
10 fho reflection of q little girl Of - or 50
(as nearly ae J could Judge. who passed
svcry day on "a balcony just above the up
ward rang, of mV limited field OF view.
She lad glass OF flowers and cruciilX
ON lttlo table Bog bcr side, and as she sat
there. in fine weather. from early morn
iuz until dark, working assiduOusiy all
the time. / concluded that she earned
her living Ly nccdleUorK. she was Ger
ta.nly an industrious little girl, and as far
"a could Judge Boy 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 % interested me 10 see the
little maid wrap the old lady IN shawl5
apl briug pillows for her chair and stool
for her feet. and every now and again lay
down her work and kiss and 1Ondle the
old lady for half q minute, and then take
M her work again.
Time went by, and as the little maid
grew up her reflection grew down, ana at
last she was quite little woman Of,
suppose. rs or t.. j can only work for
couple Of hours or 50 in the brightest part
Ot the day, SO ] had plenty O1 Time on my
hands in which 10 watch her movements,
and sufficient Imagination TO weave lit
tie romance about her, and to endow her
with a beauty which, TO a great extent,
had 10 take for granted. | SAVIOR
fancied that | could see-that she began
10 takean interest in my reflection (which,
Of course, she could see as ! could see
hers. and one day, when 1t appeared to
me that she was looking right at me-l
tTed 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
II did not take me very long 10 fall in
love with her but a long time passed he
fore could make up my mind 10 do more
than nod to her every morning, when the
old woman moved me from my bed to the
sofa M the window, and again in the even
ing. when the little maid left the balcony
for that day One day, however, when /
saw her reflection looking ut mine, | nod
ded to her and threw a flower into the
canal. She nodded several times in re-
turn, and / saw her direct her mothers
attention TO the incident. Then every
morning threw a flower ia the water for
good morning, SO and anOtherin the even
ing for good night aud soon discov-
cred that had not thrown them altogether
IN vain. for one day she threw flower TO
join mine. and She laughed and clapped
her hands as the two flowers joined forces
ana loated away together And then
every morning she threw her flower when
| threw mine and when the two flowers
met she clapped her hands, ANA so did /;
but when they were separated, as they
sometimes were owing to one Of them
having met an obstruction which did
no. catch the other, she threw up her
hands in pretty ailectation of despair,
which tried 10 initiate, but in an Eng
lish and unsuccessful fashion. And when
they were Iudely run down by passing
gOndOla (which happened not inlrequently)
she pretended to cry and did the same
Then in pretty pantomimc she would
point downward TO the sky, 10 tell me
that 10 was destiny that caused the ship
wreck of our flowers, and |, in pantomime
not nearly so pretty, would try TO convey
10 her that destiny would be kinder next
time, and that, perhaps, tomorrow our
flowers would be more northumberland so
the innocent courtship went on. One day
she showed me her crucifiX and kissed it,
and thcrcupon | look little silver cruel
fix which always stands by me, and kissed
that. and so She knew that we were one
IN religion.
one day the little maid did not appear
ON her balcony, and for several days saw
nothing of her, ana although ! threw my
flower a usual no flower came 10 keep 1t
company However, after time she re
appeared dressed in black and crying
often, and then | knew that the poor
child's mother was dead Us far as knew
she was alone in the world. The flowers
came no more for many days, nor did she |
show any sigu of recognition, but kept her |
eyes ON her work, except when she placed |
her handkerchief TO them. And opposite |
a nd 4