The Logan County banner. [volume] (Logan, W. Va.) 1889-1903, 1889-05-23

PYctrt 5s AOW lRHOrHub Oh MIN 10
suppose can not enjoy these precious
books without being stiff, angular,
s.strong- minded old thingt=IMantat
TO Ike dear Aun tie Wakefield's only
son, but now can not Such mar
row. conceited fellow! I've half a
mind to fool him BY acting the part Of
q frivolous, fashionable girl, without
an idea in her head. could do 1t.
But he ISM worth the trouble. Bet
ter-lcaye his majesty entirely to him
sell. aa-=s=i--
Nevertheless, IL was a. very cour-
-teous and Agreeable young man whom
Ruth found when, two hours later,
She descended TO the tea table and was
formally introduced to Mr.. Ralph
Wakefield. -s-----
For several days their acquaintance
made little progress. When not en-
gagged in household duties the young
lady wandered in the woods and
felds.- as had been her wont, or sat
in her little room holding sweet COM
partnership with The sIandcrcd books.
When she talked with Ralph, 1t was
usually about the dressing OF salad,
the relative merits Of currant jelly and
raspberry jam, or the kind of gerani-
ums that always prospered best under
her care. Once when she asked his
opinion as to the trimming most APP
propriate for the caps she was making
for his whether he preferred
quilted ribbon or muslin frills-and he
answered that he knew not one from
the other, she was moved TO tell him
in the most innocent manner that she
had some books upstairs which he
needed tosread for instruction. All the
young mans attempts to draw out any
opinions she might have ended in
failure. He received but tho shortest
and dryest of answers. Yet there was
at such times something iii her
eyes and in her manner that puzzled
him. She could not school her tell-tale
features into proper immobility, and
after time Ralph's wonderment be-
gan to border on enlightenment.
Finding himself growing more in
terested in her every day, in spite Of
her reserve he changed his tactics
and entertained her. with common
place topics--his life in the city, his
law studies, his ideas of Jurisprudence,
the acq1aintances he had made, his
outlook for the future. Gradually the
amiability OF each found full play; in
terest and confidence grew up on both
Sides and, in spite of her grim re-
solves, Ruth found herself almost un-
consciously acting once more same=
thing like her real self Still: she
fought against the change, and might
have continued to fight, until
is October, with her ha aflame,
Flushed brow, and purple finger tips,
Across the Southern orchards came,
And touched the apple with her fips-n-
had not an 4aecident. =aaxaritable -aeei-
don't, happened to her sowing ma
chine.
Strangely enough, Ruth began scold-
ing, not the machine, but the work.
"Oh, the supreme folly of modern
and tucks, bands and ruffles, puffings
and fittings! And now that the hem-
mer will not hem, and the gatherer
will not gather, what can / do with
this mass of trimming?3 Auntie. l
hope that. if / ever come into this
world second time great wave of
reform will have swept away all such
flummery as muslin paffs and ruffles. II
Same of potato-bugs, murmured
Father Wakefield, slcepily. from-.his
chair. {
A voice from thee doorstep. Il
have no desire to re-appear on this sub
lunary stage when the=curtain falls
upon my present mortal existence; and
! have no faith in Reichenbach' alb
surd doctrine of re- incarnation." 1t
was Ralph. u
Ruth, who had believed the young
man was at tho post-office, a mile away,
gave a great start that threatened to
overturn the unfortunate sewing-ma-
chine. But she was not to be discon-
certed, and answered promptly:
- Are you sure of that? Now, / can
not give this old world up so willing
ly. | like it. 1t is the only world I
knowaany thing about want to know
what will become of the Anarchists;
and how long England will remain a
monarchy. Then there is Japan, grow
ing SO interesting; and the NORTH
Pole.n .-:.zs-=r
"I'll excuse the North Pole said
Ralph, "butsI do feel an interest in
Pasteur's discovery, and the Bacon
Shakespeare cip her. And confess to
yearning desire to know how the
Philadelphia Public Buildings will look
when completed.
Yes, indeed, !" said sympathetic
Ruth. ''And there are flying machines
to be perfected. Then think of faith
cure and hypnotismpa
...Humbugsr' groaned Father Wake
field.
..But there are mysteries which are
net humbugss every thing connected
with electricity is mysterious Think
of the photophone, and all other
phones. What a mystery is the phono-
graph; and-oh, SO many other
things!"
Name some Of them, please said
Ralph.
They can hardly be named she
said. with sort OF reverent hush in
her voice. II call them the Reserves
of nature. They are so fine, so subtle.
What hints there are in what Ruskin
calls the choices of the atoms, shown
in capitalization. What miracles are
the lovely singing flames, as Tyndall
shows them, and the light waves that
have their choices, also. Think of the
musical sounds that lie outside the
gamut of our hearing, our present, this