Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1889-09-14

Il
the piano; ''she has taken the walk so many
times and it is such hot day."
| Then Louise took a bold step. She left her
companion precipitately in the middle Of q
duet and said, hurriedly: II should like very
much TO go to the woods with you Uncle Henry
If Miss Wiley will excuse me. 1 want to get
some ferns and wood-sorrel IL ii Is out"
Dear child, We can get the ferns and sorrel
| Tor you," said her uncle. DO not think II
necessary to take that long hot walk stfor
| that"
Il should like to CO." she repeated.
Perhaps Miss Wiley will come toe" said
her hospitable uncle. BY an unusual stroke of
luck, however, the cool parlor proved more
aliuring place TO the organist. who preferred
| to stay behind with Mrs. Henderson.
As they were all three going out of the gate
Grace and Susie came tearing after them and
| begged TO be allowed to go too. Their father
| gave each of them a hand, for which Louise
blessed him, and walked on ah.ad with Mr..
Matthews.
Now that the moment had actually come for
which she had longed all day, an excess of shy
ness seized her which made il impossible 70
frame sentences of more than six words.
What charming man your uncle is" Ralph
Matthews began
| Yes, indeed"
And this town is such a delightfully."- quaint,
primitive place.
In her present sensitive state Of mind these
words Jared on her.
Primitive. How unkind of him. she thought
he thinks us primitive because We had veal
pie and ham after lettuce We are primitive be-
cause we nave a six-octaved piano and an or
Bahlst who cannot speak the English language
correctly. My uncle is primitive my aunt as
primitive and IL am primitive She
could scarcely keep back her tears. at is q
pretty place, she returned colby.
Miss Louise, he began abruptly, shave
offended you in any way2'
"Oh, no."
You are not as kind to me as you used TO be.
Is there reason for it?'
Il am kind enough" said Louise: s.but il is
such a hot day."
She was as amazed to hear these words as il
they had been uttered by another person
They had crossed the road by this time and
were going into the fields behind the Osgoods'
house. At this moment Lillian Osgood came out
socially to meet them. She was charmingly
pretty, by far the prettiest girl in East Brad
held. Today she wore a most becoming white
gown. Her yellow hair rippled abou. her face
and her pink cheeks had the bloom of peach.
Louise thought she looked like a tall white lily.
She caught an involuntary expression of ad-
miration on Ralph Matthews face.
1T is al over with me-" she thought
W course Lillian would go to walk with them;
there was nothing she would like better She
spread her red unshade, which made her more
picturesque than ever, and an another moment
Louise found herself with her uncle and the
children, while Lillian and Ralph walked off to-
gether across the fields, bright patch of red
nd white and dark patch of black against
athe newly mown grass. Lillian chatted on
merrily and she could hear Ralph laugh from
time to time
"How much he likes herr she thought. Be-
fore they had reached the first stone wall she
had pictured the engagement of these two that
she might be prepared for anything and fortify
herself In time; when they entered the woods
she had got as far the wedding and by the
they ~ fh.. 49, Il. l.. 4
decided that she would be bridemaid if Lillian
asked her, as she undoubtedly would and hold
her head SO straight and stiff that no one would
ever imagine What? Nonsense! She did not
care for Ralph Matthews. She did not like his
luxurious life; Its forms and ceremonies
frightened her. She was hopelessly plebeian,
provincial. primitive.
The slender white-stemmed birches. with
their pale green leaves, dropped over the
brook and the solemn pines and hemlocks rep
resented the other extreme in the scale of
color. There was every possible graduation of
green between the two. The brook hurried on
over the impeding stones, breaking into a
golden brown in the sunlight and changing to
a deeper brown IN the shadow, and Louise,
who was usually keenly alive TO all these
things, saw none of them Low. Her ewes were
fastened on a man with laughing brown eyes,
who was talking IN an animated manner to a
fascinating girl.
Lillian had closed her sunshade and the light
yellow hair. 1t had evidently caught on some
envious branch, for it was all in a pretty fluff,
and several charming little curls had escaped
their bounds. She was standing helplessly
before the log which formed a bridge across
the brook, with one foot in its dainty red shoe
placed on the edge, while Ralph, with an air
of devotion, was holding out his hand and
urging her to let him help her.
How absurd" thought Louise sharply
''She has perfectly steady head. She is no
more afraid of that log than am"
When ii came her own turn to cross Ralph
was waiting to proffer his services
May help you?" he asked.
mo, thank you" she returned with dignity:
Il can get on by myself perfectly we'll"
So could Grace and Susie. They preferred
to go over ''all by their own selves. ;"
Louise had waited to urge them to let her
carry them across. for their father had stopped
TO speak to the hay makers. Lillian and Ralph
were by this time lost to view in the tangle of
underbrush. She walked on slowly, absorbed
in her meditations. Suddenly she heard n
splash, and turned to see Susie sitting in the
middle of the brook with frightened eyes
cousin Louise" she cried, I'm most dead;
take me out; but the log was so slippery"
There was nothing to be done but to get
Susie home as quickly as possible.
While Louise was changing her cousins wet
garments her reflections were most bitter She
had never known before how much wretched-
ness a commonplace day could hold within the
limits of its brief hours. While she was still
occupied with her little cousin she heard Ralph
Matthews voice. He was saying civil things TO
her uncle and aunt 1t was almost time for his
train to 60.
Louise" called Mrs. Henderson, ''can't Won
come down and bid our friend good-bye?"
Susie was shiyering and Louise did not dare
to leave her. She put her into her dress with
nervous haste; her fingers trembled with ex-
element. She must see him before he went.
In one moment, Aunt Mary, she called
down, but when that moment came he was
gone. She was just in time to see him whisked
out of sight in a basket phaeton, with Lillian
Osgood by his side, driving her white pony
with her accustomed grace. He was holding
the red sunshade over her and bending toward
her. to say something which made her laugh.
That night Louise watched the sun set in
pink mist of clouds. The haycocks were all
covered with their white nightcaps; the men
were returning from their work. Some oxen
and a load of hay slowly passed along the road.
1t was very peaceful and rural, primitive"
she thought-''primitive. She had dull
sense that the sun would continue to rise and
shine and 60 down on this same tranquil scene
for many long days in many long years for her.
To be miserable was new feeling for Louise
She had one ray of hope. Perhaps after all
she was mistaken, and Ralph did care for her
Possibly in those hours that he had spent with
her uncle he had said something about his
feeling for her.
what did you and Mr.. Matthews talk about,
Uncle Henry" che asked shyly.
Politics; he is on the right side. An excel
lent young man. with the best of principles