The Portland daily press., 1889-01-26

thing in the wide world for you, and I'll keep
my word. Yes, there's my hand on it. No
| more puns, no more parodies, no more slang
| for two whole days, so help me bob Oh
no, mol | forgot Let me recall that last
| ejaculation, ejaculation is good, respect
able word. For the ensuing two days will
precipitations of the dictionary. How is
that last sentence, dear? But my beloved
| sister'-with a very dismal face-'I shall
not be responsible for the consequences The
reaction may take terrible form.
Never fear the reaction. Kleine; thanks
for your good promise, and have confidence
| in your strength of will, enOngh to know
that you will keep your word.
The day following finds very thoughtful
| and demure young female. No slang
echoes through the Railways; the ear-pierc-
ing parodes are discontinued; in fact, the
hoyden is a part of the past. In her stead,
| there moves a quiet and modest girl, en-
| shrouded in an atmosphere of deep thought.
| One hand clasps large and well-worn vol
| ume can this be that forbidding dictionary?
Alasl M! There is one word stamped up
ON the dark green binding; that one word Is
| shakespeare"
| At length arrives the evening Of the second
day, on which she is to be absolved from her
| promise, but no demonstration of joy follows
the breaking Of the fetters; on the contrary
| she becomes even more quiet and thoughtlul.
| Evening finally merges Into night, and with
the approach of the late hours, the members
| of the household bid each other"Good night
| and retire. Kleine, however, does not close
her eyes in sleep. Long after the regular
breathing of her sister. gives evidence that
she is already in the land of dreams, she
lies with wide open eyes, gazing intently. in
| to the darkness. Absolute quiet reigns
about the hours. Without doubt, the in
mates are all sleeping soundly; she is the
| only one awake.
Very quietly she slips out from between
| the bedclothes and strikes match.
There is still half-hour before the arrivalof
| the night train, going northward. Quickly
dressing, AMI donning her hat and cloak, she
| takes her purse from its resting place upon
the table, but she leaves untouched that of
| her sister, lying directly beside IL. She then
steals softly to the bed, and bending down un-
til her lips touch the soft hair of the one SO
dear to her, she kisses gently the white brow
1 and turning hurriedly, descends the stairs to
the door turning the key in the lock without
noise, with few hurried steps forward, she
| stands out in the night alone.
"Pm in for 1t now, she murmurS, beneath
her breath, but they won't care bit when
get to be great, and quieting the twinges
of her conscience by this assurance, she pur-
chases a ticket to the great metropolis, half
days journey from the kind hearts at
home, who, wrapped in profound slumber
dream not of the approach of evil.
All peaceful and happy uncOnci0usnessl
In your blest oblivion disappear the ever
wearying cares of daily toll; the torture of
grinding pain receives soothing balm and
welcome relief; heartache and disappoint-
ment becomes myth, and disappear; at
times, even crime forgets itself, and ceases
to tear the guilty conscience Tired nature
reasserts herself in that deep, dreamless. per-
feet best.
But no such soothing influences visit Kleine
| upon the night of her departure; at about 10
| O'Clock on the morning of the following day
| the train steams into the station of the great
| city of b., where our small friend, after max
| ing numerous inquiries. proceeds In the di-
rection of one of the principal theatres of the
place. A celebrated actress has been fulfill
ing wonderfully successful engagement at
the house, and the bill-boards are decorated
with many charmingly tinted Autographs.
Kleine gaZes long and intently at the hand
some face represented there.
81 must see her, she murmurs to herself;
81 must see her. Oh, but how?"
That question was soon to be answered in
an unexpected and alarming manner. She
was about to cross to the opposite side Of the
street, When the desire seized her, as she was
about half way across to have one more glance
at the snowy lithOgraph. She paused and
looked round beheld all the charms depicted
there; read again the name printed beneath
the face; was about to turn and proceed on
her way when suddenly, without warning
crash! The stony pavement arose abruptly
| before her, or she was thrown down upon the
| cold stones Of the street, sne knew not which;
| confused sound of shrieking and shouting
| filed her ears, and poor Keine lay uncon-
cious upon the hard, paved ground, struck
| by passing carriage, just as she turned to
| gaze upon the pretty picture.
| Strong, but not unkind hands, at once
| raised and bore her to the nearest drug store;
| lady of elegant appearance alighted from
| the vehicle that caused the trouble, and fol
| lowed the throng that surged around the
PROSTATE girl; she forced her way through
| the group, and raising the wounded head,
| she proceeds to battle it with cooling lotions
that have already been supplied Tenderly
| she strokes back the tousled red curls, and
endeayors to render the uncomfortable
position as easy as possible. But Kleine
knows nothing ofthat which is passing about
her.
At length the white lips make an effort to
move. The kind stranger leans forward to
catch the words which the helpless girl is
striving to pronounce, when, TO her surprise
and establishment. she distinguishes her own
name, spoken very family, scarcely above a
whisper. ts-.-. ~
YES" replies the good-hearted woman, Il
am here, doiyou know me?" At this answer,
the brown eyes open to their fullest extent, a
hand is with difficulty raised caressingly to
the strangers cheek, anda trembling voice
| cries:
''Ohi I-am-so.,.glad-I-t thought
never should see youw
That was all, for again unconsciousness
| returns. But this was the way il all came
| about.
| Long after, confession was made to the ear
| of the noble-hearted woman, who SO kindly
| befrended an unfortunate girl in distress.
| When the derium caused by the injured
| head had passed away, and Klelne awoke
once more to the world about her, she found
herself lying In the luxurious rooms of this
| strange friend. So, with the charming face
bending over her, our Kleine frankly made
her confession; she told her that she had
| hidden "Good-by" to a good father and to
| loving sisters, just 70 meet the celebrated
actress who now stood beside her; that she
begged the one who had already done so
much for her not to return her to.a home she
| would disgrace, until she had shown to those
there what she could accomplish.
| And thus was the matter settled. A letter
/ was despatched to the almost distracted
/ family calming their fears and assuring them
| of the safety and welfare of the missing
| member of their circle. At the close were
| added these words:
| Papa | left home to become great actress
| | know you will laugh at me- and blame me,
| but will not give you cause to be ashamed
| of me. papa; am good girl, and shall al
| WAYS remain so; /; the lovely lady, of whom l
| told you, has become my kind and true friend,
| and She will assist me to do what L desire;
YES, papa, you will yet be proud Of your red
| headed good for nothing, kLEINE:
And that was all of the letter; of her, life
| in that promised future, they were TO learn
much more. She kept her word;
Years after, the narr0W-mlnde0, DIT warm
| hearted doctor took between his aged hands
that red head, its locks softened Dy passing
| wears to a beautiful auburn tint, ana Whlle
| the fast-fowing tears Of mingled prlde ana
| gratitude dropped IKE deW upon ~ Ino hn sun
| clustering curls, he blessed his cnlld, VINO
through temptation, disappointment and dis
couragement, had, at last, reached the top
most round of the ladder of fame, standing
there, with pure untarnished name, clear
frank, innocent eye, that met his challenging
gaze without dropping, Yes The indeed blessed
the one whose tireless efforts rendered his
own declining years peaceful and contented.
| For our Kleine had, at last, reaped the re-
ward of years of hard work, constant en-
deavor, and answering perseverance,, illu-
mined by the God-awarded, subtle gift OF
genius. A constant seeking for that which
seemed to her just beyond her grasp in her
chosen line of work had finally brought its
OVID reward.
Kleine could smile now as she repeated
the story of the first step to glory, of the un-
expected way in which it was taken. Her
maiden desire was TO appear in the role of
juliet In the grand love play OF the immortal
Shakespeare. By the assistance of her friend
1 She N M kQ har initial narformanpa in