The national leader., 1889-02-16
MY FIRST LOVE.

"What an old, worn-out title," ]
fancy hear somebody saying as he
or she turns the leaf and reads the
heading Of my idyll. Old. grant you,
sir or madam, but worn-out, never.
DO you say as you meet the hundredth
face in a crowd, "What an old, worn
out pattern?" No. for though the
faces possess the same features, those
faces individually and their arrange
ment are ever varied, even TO the mil
liOnth face. So it is with the story of
"My First Love"-there are features
in it which you will doubtless recog-
nize as having formed part Of your day
dream, gentle reader, but as you turn
the last leaf of the narrative, / be-
lieve you will feel, with me, that no1e
save this old, pure, sweet phrase has
any right to head these lines.
lam an Engllshman, brought up in
all the traditions or all old Tory family
by dear mother-God rest her soul =
OF whom her friends used to say: ''Ah!
but she is of the old school. Very
stiff and ceremonious, very punctlliouS
and very polite, but every action
fraught with an old-wOrld purity and
courtesy that made one think OF the
pictures of Sir Godfrey and of the per-
fumes of dried lavender. Man, says
Herbert Spencer, is formed by his en-
vironment, and my environment was my
mother, a woman Of the world, mark
you, aux bouts des ongles. You must
not imagine that was brought up to
mans estate in ignorance Of the foul
gases Of the valley and marsh while
breathing the pure air OF the mountain
top. The ony effect visible OF the
tender influences which guarded my
life till was four and twenty was a
certain reserve Of manner and more
than ordinary English" horror of
anything approaching to bad FORM"
tell you all this to show you once
more how love laughs at preIudlces
and calmly ignores precOnceived ideas.
My mother died with the tulips of
1886, and some Of the fellows at the
club persuaded me to come to America.
and furthermore, with view to a
thorough distraction or my thoughts,
prevailed upon me to give series of
readings Ii the states Of my own and
other verses. have coquetted little
with the muse, and, as would be the
case with most young poets-or rather
rhymesters-the thought Of presenting
my work raua roce to the people of the
United States caused a strange thrill of
delight. / communicated, therefore,
with Major Pond. and in the early
autumn of 1S- sailed for the states,
and commenced tour which, am
happy to say, was not unsuccessful.
The following June found me in
Denver, Colorado. and put up at the
Grand Cation Hotel for a week, during
which time / gave couy lie OF read
lngs and rested amid the gorgeous
scenery Of the State. The third day
after my arrival | had come down as
usual to take my matutinal coffee in
the public dining-room, and was hardly
seated when a lady, whom candor COM
pels me to describe as san old LADY,"
came into the room accompanied by
young girl. They took their seats
exactly opposite to me. a young girl
did say-nay. she was hardly more
than a child-seventeen or eighteen
may be, and her face traced itself upon
my soul in manner which is inefface-
able. It was a round face, with just
that slight squareness OF jaw which
promised to give to it a wonderful
strength OF personality as years weRt
on her coloring was perfect, family
flushed with the dawn of womanhoo1,
with white temples and throat. and
high, pale forehead, the whole framed
In a careless torrent OF hair like to
liquid gold. a pair of great wander
ing, but withal fearless. blue eyes, a
finely modelled nose, just the least bit
tip-tilted, and a mouth like those of
the cherubs in RaphaeI's madonna"
In the Sistine Chapel. She was little
girl, and her figure was just taking
unto ltielf the sweet sInuous curves of
womanhood, which showed them
selves as she moved to her seat with all
the untaught. unconscious grace of
perfect and healthy developments. Our
eyes met as she sat down. She looked
at me with full, frank gaze In which
there was an underlined something of
half recognition-she had evidently
known some one who resembled me-
end then, having satisfied herself of my