Passaic City record., 1893-04-08
The Tell Tale Mirror.
A BICYCLE CoURTsHIP.

Only a stell-tale mirror"-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-like device is, and, as 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-gravel
driveways, asphalt sidewalks shaded
by rows Of trees and bordered by
narrow strips of grass streetward;
on either side comfortable houses,
whose windows seem to lift
rather supercilious 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 coquets with the
country and thinks it knows all about
farming. Not far away, and just in
line with the naughty spying mirror,
stands a cottage, one of the loveliest,
coziest city homes imaginable Iits high
gables nearly hidden by two great lin
dens, and its lawn green as hydrant
can make it, with great punches of
roses growing here and there.
An elderly, tall, white-haired gen.
tleman; 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-time gallantry giving her
his arm, she trying prettily to keep
step with his unconsciously long
stride.
1t is springtime; the naples along
the street, the trees in the yards, the
shrubbery and grass on the lawns
all are beautifully fresh, and the
morning sunlight glints back from a
million dewy facets. Even catbird
ming,es his song now and then with
the rather subdued noise of city life.
Sometimes wheelman trundles by
noiselessly on his pneumatic, or
tinkles his imperative 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 four
times, he rolls along the street, going
10 the city III the morning, returning
to the country at night. He might
have taken another route once in a
while for variety's sakel The mirror
noticed that when this particular
wheelman is reflected in one of its
sections, a certain pretty face is usu-
ally reflected in the other. ssThe
angles of incidence and reflection are
equal" it says to itself.
The lady of the cottage meets him
time and again, and he always cour-
teously leaves the sidewalk, jumping
the curbstone to give her undisputed
right of way. Naturally she takes
some notice of him, and it is not very
long before the mirror sees her emile,
while he 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 city
will when they meet every day, show
each other some courtesy and pass on.
Had either remained long away the
other would have missed the presence
would have wondered for while an(
then forgotten.
Thus things went along for som'
time, until one morning the gentleman
and the lady of the cottage came ou
dressed for walk, she looking ex
ceedingly pretty in sailor hat ant
blouse, and he obviously very prout
Of her. Plainly they were bent upol
ramble along the country roads
The day was almost perfect; it hat
rained during the night, but now th
sun was shining and a fresh breez
wss busily drying up the last vestige
Of the showers. 1t was day tLa