Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1893-04-12
The Tell-Tale Mirror.
A BICYCLE COuRTSHIP.

Only Hell-tac mrrOr"-other-
wise ga busybody"-set at tantaliz-
ing angle outside the window! Its
Office IS espionage pure and simple;
for Of the passersby ninety-nine in a
hundred do not know what this plain
black box-likc device is, and, 40 a re-
suit, 1t performs its little role all un-
suspected, witnessing and repeating in
pantomime the little incidents Of the
the neighborhood.
The avenue is pretty one-gravcl
driveways, asphalt sidewalks shaded
by rows of trees and bordered by
narrow strips of grass slreetward;
OH either side comfortable houses,
whose windows seem to lift
rather superciIious eye brows from
their privacy of shrubbery and
trees. One end of the ave.
nue. leads into the business heart of
the city, the other coqrcts with the
country and thinks it knows all about
farming. Not far away, and just in
line with the naughty spying mirror,
stands cottage, one of the lovclicst,
coziest city homes imaginable, Its high
gables nearly hidden by two great lin
dcns, and its lawn green as hydrant
can make ii, with great punches of
roses growing here and there.
An elderly, tall, whi;c-haired gen
tcman; beautiful girl, brown
haired, gray-eyed, neither tall nor
short, always unimpeachably but sim
ply dressed, and their servants, occupy
the house. These the mirror has seen
passing in and out hundred times,
father and daughter usually together,
he with old-,imc gallantry giving her
his arm, she trying preltily TO keep
step with his unconsciously long
stride.
1t is springtime; the naples along
the slect, the trees in the yards, the
shrubbery and gra's Oh the lawns
all are beautifully fresh, and the
morning sunlight glints back from Il
million dewy facets. Even q calbird
ming'es his song now and then with
the rather subdued noise of city life.
Sometimes Il wleelman trundles by
noiselessly on his pneumatic, or
tinkle' his impcl alive bell at pedes-
trian. One of them especially rides
up and down the avenue much more
frequently than the mirror thinks
necessary. Twice day, often foul
times, he rolls along the street, going
to The city in the morning, returning
to the country at night. lie might
have taken another route once iii g
while for variety's sake! The mirror
noticed that when this particular
wheelman is reelected in one of It's
sections, certain pretty face is usu.
ally reflected in the other. "The
angles of incidence and reflection are
equal,' it says 10 itself.
The lady Of the cottage meets him
time and again, and lie always cour.
teously leaves the sidewalk, jumping
the curbstone 10 give her undisputed
right of way. Naturally she takes
some notice Of him, and il is not very
long before the mirror secs her smile
while ho lifts his hat as they pass neal
the cottage.
In this rather distant and intangible
fashion they became quite we'll ac'
quainted, just as people in the cit.
will when they meet every day, show
each other some courtesy and pass on
Had either remained long away th'
other would have missed The presence
would have wondered for while ant
then forgotten.
Thus things went along for SOM
time, until one morning the gentleman
and tho lady Of the cottage came on
dressed for walk, she looking ex
ceedingly pretty in sailor hat ant
blouse, and he obviously very prout
Of her. Plainly they were bent upo'
ramble along the country roads
The day was almost perfect; it hat
rained during the night, but now tn
sun was shining and n fresh brcez
was busily drying up the last vestige
of the showers. 1t was day tina
makes people feel kindly toward them
selves and even toward their neigh
bors.
Whcclmen rolled along towar
the city, tinkling their bells a
they came, compelling the pc
destrians, among them fathe
and daughter, TO step out Of th
] way again and again. Once or twic
he turned his face, looking after tll
j rIlcrs with a fine contempt. He spok
to the lady and she nodded her head
Evidently they commented upon tn
unmannerly men. Hitherto the ol