Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1891-07-09
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Copyrighted by American Press Association

And Florence was also little anxious
and distressed; upon the whole they
made a rather lugubrious group OF
pleasure seekers. Florence was not
disturbed by admiration, having been
accustomed to praise from earliest child
hood, when she was passed from one lap
20 another to be handled, and when she
was stopped in the street by strange la
dies and kissed for her beauty. Such
homage and tenderness she took as
matter of course and as her natural due
and birthright. Moreover, she had had
lovers, and had heard VOWS and signs;
and such incidents she had come to re-
gard as inevitable, and to be uncom-
piainingly borne. But the situation
lust now was rather novel and embar-
RAISING. She saw that Stevens loved
her; that for years he had, perhaps nm
consciously to himself, hid her image IN
his heart, nourishing one of those slow,
secret, smoldering, pernicious fevers of
hopeless love which at her coming
blazed into an active passion.
This would have been painful to
woman of Florence's kind and sensitive
nature under any circumstances, but &
matters stood it was dOubly so, and awi,
ward as well. She liked Stevens well
enough. and would have enjoyed his so
ciety had there been no bar of reserve
between them. As she told her mother,
from whom she kept only her very
choicest secrets, Stevens was a very re-
spectacle, agreeable young gentleman,
sensible, moral, competent, and all that;
no doubt a good and true friend to
Windward, and man of worth. But
ne was not interesting, he made no i'm
preston, did not appeal to the imagina-
ton. She liked him as she liked twenty
other commonplace, respectable young
men, but he met no ideal, satisfied no
longing. filled no heroic role. To marry
him would simply be to move into one
of block of houses, and live a dreary
life with man not much unlike the
husbands who lived next door and
across the street and around the corner.
HE is very good, of course" she ex-
planned to Mrs. Bassett. He Is not the
kind of man to make fuss, or say ugly
things. or annoy one. But now and then
trying little times like this come. al
luded yesterday to his college Grafton,
Just to say something, and joldngly asked
him how the country was getting on.
You drew such a dreadful picture that
day of the Dangers of Representative
Institutions" that was quite alarmed!
That was my piece, wasn't itr he ex-
claimed, I declare I'd forgotten all
about it. The only thing l remember
about that speech was the bouquet at
the end of it He tried to smile as he
spoke, but his voice faltered; hes in
love as plain as day, and I'm very, very
sorTy."
"Of course" she added, Il don't want
to do anything to lead him on, and yet
we are much together, and l want to be
friendly and obliging. 1t is real trying,
and almost wish hadn't GOMEZ
Almost" Just in the little compass
of that word lurked one of those very
choicest secrets which were kept back.
almost" translated meant, except for
Lieut.. Quire."
To this young woman, fresh from nat
ure, fond of ideals, and already little
weary of the humdrum, comfortable
life of lady of leisure, the lieutenant
came as new type of man, and most
delightful type. That he had faults was
evident, but that is the lot of man. Sc
had civilians. He had his faults, but
the beauty of it was, he had some posi-
tive, definite and charming merits. He
was military officer, wearing the uni
form of his country.
Moreover, he had already won dis
tinction in the service for bravery, hav
ing been complimented in a genera
order for saving sailors life who haC
fallen overheard. Florence had Travelled
on the Long Island Sound boats a
night, and at such times it had been he
favorite amusement to look down int
the foamy wake of the ship and thinl
how dreadful it would be if anythin:
happened. Yet here was a man laugh
ing and chatting and idling time ava,
with her, who at the call of honor hat
plunged into those black depths an,
calmly and strongly fought for
strangers life, careless of his own, til
succor came. He did it and made ligh
of it, and would do it again. VIVA
would not such a man do for one h
loved?
Then his conversation was delightful,
He had gone around the world, and thai
too, in unbeaten paths. His vocabular
was different, his stories new; to hea
him talk was like reading--a novel. T
be sure his adventures, apart from til
gallant act Just mentioned, had not bee
very thrilling. So far from ''hairbreadt
escapes in the imminent deadly breach,
he had never smelled hostile gunpowde
and though he had seen in the tropi,
large numbers of anthropophagi the
were sharks. The modern OthellO,
these matter-of-fact days of peace an
easy travel, finds it harder and harder
scare his DesdemOna into love.
Lieut.. Quire had indeed circumnay
gated the globe in ships of war and We
sells of trade, going to and from distal
stations, and in doing so had visit,
many strange lands, and still ''tl
dangers he had seen" might be SUNNI,
mp thus: Missed a washout on the Uni,
Pacific railroad by only twelve hom
lost hat overheard in the Pacific ocea
tipped out backward from a jinricl1is
in Yokohama; saw cobra with a sna
charmer in Bombay; attacked by feas
Egypt; caught cold in Rome, and pass
the New York custom house. Still, ev
Il 1.
of Washington tattle, and made I