The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-03-14
A ROMANTIC AFFAIR.
BY MARGARET EyTINeE.

NE. Heart, or Whatever Stanus III us
place, very much affected; but, let us
hope, not incurably So" said Kate Cor.
don, shaking her head with mock gray
ity, to her cousin Lillian, who turned
from the window, out Of which she had
been gazing, and looked inquiringly at
the speaker.
81 saw him over your shoulder" con-
tinued Kate, ''as he walked slowly away
up the street, and also saw the blush
that instantly crimsoned your pretty
face (how do you manage to have that
blush come at your call2 and the light
that sprang to your lovely blue eyes.
Again. you're in love, or fancying your
self in love, Lillian, having already for
gotten the young artist that sailed for
home only month ago; and this time
it is with poor professor of music in
great city, where there are sufficient Of
his kind to convert great country into
musical Bedlam."
"Why, Katew
''I'm sure l don't know why" said
Kate, pretending to take the exclama-
tion for an interrogation, "unless it is
because he has large, dark eyes, fine
form, an aristocratic face, refined air
generally, and last, but not least, ap-
pears to be highly sensible of your fasci-
nation. And, then, you've always been
ready to fall in love with any interesting
person that came in your way since your
first teen, especially when distance lent
enchantment to the view"
"What a romance, or semblance of q
romance, to adopt your own mode of
speaking, you are making out of moth
ing, Kate" says the younger girl, with a
toss of her chestnut braids.
"Out of nothing" repeats the other.
"Given, a pretty, a very pretty girl,
watching at her window, half hidden,
in the regular poetical style, by its lace
curtains, at nine in the morning and
four in the afternoon; a handsome, a
very handsome, young man, coming out
at the door of dwelling opposite pune
tually at the first hour and going in
punctually at the last, each time casting
profoundly respectful but Enthusiastically
tender glances at the watcher in the
window. A pink rosebud in her light
brown hair in the morning is duplicated
in his buttonhole il the evening. She
stops one wintry day at the corner of
the street to buy bunch of violets, and
unconscious, of course, that she is OBJ
served, presses them to her lips. That
same night mysterious messenger
leaves an exquisite basket filed with
the fragrant things at her door. No
doubt the young professor went without
his lunch fora week to buy them, for hot
house vioiets and exquisite baskets"
"Kate How can you2"
because can," answers Kate coolly.
Sand what's more, can ask how is it
all to end? know it is nothing but
reality On II ms and Ra' snow me- II youI
delicate sensibility will admit of it, to
recall to your mind the fable of the boys
and the frogs, where what was fun on
one side was death on the other, and to
kindly suggest that you find some new
occupation at the hours of and L."
"Kate, never was more deeply i'm.
pressed in all my life, that is, never as
deeply impressed-that is oh, pshaw
you know what mean. Don't you be.
lieve me!"
Designating the question, Kate went
on: "And granting that your are il
earnest this time, which l don't grant,
BY the by, nothing could come of it.
Your positions in life are far apart-that
is, society DEGREES that they are-and
being we'll bred foreigner, he no doub
accepts such decree as inevitable, ani
unless you meet him half way you have
already taken the first step, he viii
go beyond the tender glance and thu
basket of flowers. And besides al
that, you will remember that Lady
Clare We're de Vere' did not monopoliz,
all the pride. The yoeman had hi
share, and the better part, to my way tt
thinking. And, if I'm not mistaken
your handsome professor is just Al
proud"
skate, how do you know all this?'
asks Lillian, rising and coming to stani
before her. "You say mo doubt ant
If am not Mistaken but the tone O.
your voice says you know" ...
"Because, my dear, while you hav
been dreaming l have been acting.
felt sorrowful interest in the poor fel.
low as soon as l discovered that you hat
made up your mind to look at him, ant
SO 1 went to work and found out al
about him."
Down on the floor beside her sanl
pretty Lillian, saying as she seized on
hand: go on, Kate; that's adarling.
ffThat he is professor of music you
discovered yourself at the LuttreIl's
where the duil-haired and envious. com
plexioned Miss Gertrude condescends tt
be taught by him. To me belongs tn,
credit, if it be credit, of finding GU
all the rest, and at the risk of shocking
you. l will proceed to tell you how
did it. l made friends, at the confec
toners one day, with his landlady. tina
funny little Frenctwoman with tn
corkscrew curls and the very much up
tilted nose. and / told her" Lilial
made gesture of Impotence. ''Well
I'll skip that and come to what she tolt
me. Now, what should you guess hi
name was! His first name, of course
for it couldn't be expected that 20,
could guess his last"
Walter, Hubert, Reginald, Roderick
Sebastian"
"Wrong, every one. It's Robert
not bad name as names go, that is i
they don't shorten it to Bob--and
harmonizes very well with his last name
which is Lear. And he's poor, as l salt
before, so poor that he and the ira
ditional church mouse might shak
hands and call each other brother
the mouse happened to be that kind @
a mouse-is part French, part German
goes nowhere but where duty calls
sings in the solitude of his own shabb
room 'Achl war-'t du nur mein eiger
and songs of that ilk, as you have heard
and is fast falling head over heels i
love with my gentle cousin LiliaL-a
exceptionally pretty girl, who reall
don't and never would care two straw
about him, being at the core of he
heart devoted to the purple and fin
linen of life, and only unmarried as ye,
because, as she herself has confded t
me, none of her admirers could offer
million"
"Stuff and nonsense, says the "ger
Gle" cousin in no gentle voice, as Oh
rises from her lowly position, and lear
ing her elbow upon the mantle an
her head upon her hand, looks dow
where she has ! cen looking up. "Yo
know nothing about it, Kate. l neve
never, never was so attracted towar