Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1892-09-24

that brave and beautiful girl who, alone
in the world (she was certainly alone as
no visitor ever came,) knew how to re-
sist all the temptations that she mus.
find In her path.
How had he come to love herr James
sometimes asked himself. She had
moved into the house the Year previous.
The first time that he saw her she had
seemed to him pretty. sud that was ALL
In the beginning he hsd scarcely paid
any attention to her. That had come
gssdually-by force, so to speak, i1svtt-
sbly-tnrough the wall.
sentiment he felt for Charlotte. He
adored her, and he was certain that the
prescnt fashion in which he adored her
was the way he would always worship
her.
n she had allowed f,in 20 sneas-
and in that case if he himself could
have had courage to ,ak-lis declara.
ton, or rather his profession, of faith
would not have been long. ''Mademoi.
seNe, love you. Vii you be ny w,rcr'
But good Heavcas 10 offer lis !.and
to lady it was necessary be able TO
put something in it. 81 asa nata:er
lone Of those artists ric 4 hone. aud
plans, but whose works ot sell. and
tatei, BIS picture, were 40 III a: 81.
The uoy had reached suca !; point that,
in order to pay his Tent, he IA pewnei
what furniture he ovnel, there re.
malned only the bei and a p,,r wicker
chair. chair so Old SO weak aud 50
tottcring, that it wa. miracle that no
could keep astride of it as he did.
James was always there, astride of his
chair and trying to hear through the thin
partition the going and coming of his
neighbor. Like the blind who, by the
| touch alone, gain an exac. knowledge Of
the physiognomy Of objects, James, by
the rustling Of Charlotte's dress against
| the furniture, by the approach or with
drawal of her footsteps, by their siIences
even, had grown to see her as we'll as it
standing before her.
''She is setting the table," said. he
| "she is eating-now she has finished
she is putting things away-she has sat
| down-she is going to sew" And it
seems to James that be, too, sat there
opposite her, contemplating her in
silence. Sometimes always astride of
his chair. his observatory as he said, he
closed his eyes aud took to dreaming.
What is she thinking about2 Does
| she suspect that am here close to her2
! If she knew how | loved her! And he
| was tempted to call her attention to him
self by an act of any kind of folly, but
the fear of displeasing her always re-
strained him, and he preferred that she
should not know he loved her, rather
than - know himself that she would
| never love him.
He constructed romhnces, too. ''lt is
impossible" he thought, ".hat she
should never be thinking about me.
She knows that | exist, that l live be-
side her. When she comes III my door
is always halt open; she can see that
there n light in my room. She is
curious like all women. She must ask
herself what am doing, why never go
out. Perhaps she has noticed me in
! spite of my awk wardness on account OF
nv awkwardness WHO Knows! Pos
sbly she has divinei that I love her.
She waits for me to declare myself, and
seeing that dare no. begin, it i. che
who will take the first steps. One day
| fevervtEin- IS possible with womenI sue
will quit her work, cross the landing,
ard merely opening the door of my
! room, she will enter as If at hom. and
say to me. Since yoa do not come.
| 1t is | who come Yes, but lt'may be
long time before she comes. WHAT
way is there to hurry herr"
And James, always sstride Of hi
char, sought the oe>s means Of bringing
| Charlotte 10 declare herself. Slip asnot
under her doort All. bow long be had
dreamed o. doing that; bu. would she
read III Aud supposins that she began
to real, at the :irst burning phrase she
would tear up the paper. Get her ie
speak through salTi partys Ba'
whoml They had no nutual friend.
No, decidedly all those ways were bal
or ,mprac.icatle. and the only course
for James vas to wait. But how long
mus. ne waitf