The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1889-11-08

broadcloth jacket trimmed with green
passementerle, and his broad white
shirt collar fresh and shining from the
laundry, set on fire the hearts OF all the
pretty girls in the country. A carbonate,
indeed, how the people would laugh
behind her back!
And who else do you suppose was
another one who had made soft eyes at
Cencia? No less parsonage than an
officer of the carabinieri, who with the
excuse of taking fresh air, often came
to sit in front of the tavern kept by
her Uncle Rocco, and who while sip
ping his wine, used to cast sly chances
at the girl, who know for fact was
not at all displeased on that account,
and when she heard him talk. she
stood still in open-mouthed wonder and
admiration. although she could not
understand a syllable of what he was
saying, for the officer was a Floren-
tine, and in our part of the country
Florentine could easily pass for a
Turk or an Indian. She was enamour-
ed, not so much with his face, (Which
by the way of parenthesis was not the
most beautiful in the WORLDLY, but with
his soft and winning voice, with his
noble and gallant bearing, and his
long mustache waxed and twisted in
to point at each end, and finally with
the superb tuft of red feathers which
he wore in his hat. AS to his person,
he was tall and thin, with long ears
and red nose freely sprinkled with
freckles at the end.
But why did not the 6rtgadiere, if he
really felt so much sympathy for her,
(and those glances were certainly
proof of it), why did he not ask her
father for her hand in marriage?
What happiness that would be to mar
ry a brigadiere! a man so highly re-
spected and used to all kinds of hon
or; friend of the mayor, to whose
house he was often invited to dine,
and to whom was granted the honor
enjoyed by but few, of sitting on the
right hand of the mayors wife, and
would not all the girls in town burst
with envy at seeing her upon his arm?
The day on which she learned that
it was forbidden to soldiers to marry
until after they had served their time,
and that not before four years would
he be free, Cencia was very sad and
shed some bitter tears.
What pity! She could not then
marry the brigadiere, and little by lit
tie she drove from her mind the men,
DRY of the tuft of red feathers that had
made her heart palpitate so wildly.
One day she went down to the shore
of the river, the Pictrone, which takes
its name from the little town, to do her
washing at the spring, and after hav-
ing spread the clothes to dry upon the
branches of some willow trees, she,
feeling very tired, threw herself upon
the ground to rest. Laying her head
upon an overturned olive tree, with
her hands clasped behind her neck,
and her eyes closed as if asleep, she
said:
1.-The first one atgoing by comes to
kiss me, even though it were a dog, I
will marry him, and if l do not keep
my word may there be no salvation for
my SOUL"
And many of the fine young fellows
of the town passed by On their way
from the fields to their midday meal;
but no one paid any attention to Cencia,
who with her eyes partly closed saw
them file by, with their spades on their
shoulders, and their faces shining with
perspiration. One of them, noticing
her, said, turning to his companion:
''Oh, see! there is Cencia, she sleeps
like dormouse."
''She is dreaming of a husband"
replied the other one.
''Oh," broke in maliciously third,
''of the red feathers of the brigadiere."
And so they went on, gossiping and
amusing themselves at her expense,
who hearing them, fairly foamed at
the mouth with rage. Until this time
she had been only pretending to sleep,
but a half-hour later, overcome by
fatigue, she was asleep in fact; whilst
the July sun darted his rays of light
upon the ripe harvest fields, and the
crickets chirped in chorus in the null
berry trees. At this moment, young
man, tall and of fine figure, but whose
black face indicated but little intimacy
with water, appeared at the top of
the winding path leading down to the
river. He approached softly to the
place where Cencia lay, and when he
was but step away from her he
leaned over, and without any core