Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-08-31
on disgust for life in general. readily

snakes without stingS that can be
taught to Irvine around your neck and
feed out OF your hand
As she spoke thus indeed it seemed
that l was transported to the land Of
which she spoke; her eyes were SO
sparkling, her face 50 bright and sun
ny, her form so foreign in its slender
beauty-;lnd her earrings glistened, and
her beautiful ivory teeth CLEANED
and l saw her walking in that land, Il
wonder among all wonders there, with
nuit and flowers over her head and
brilliant insects floating around her,
and luminous snakes cleaning harm
less i'll her path; and duSky slaves
waiting upon her doing her courtesies
For it must be borne i'll mind that l had
been studious boy, fond of reading
wild books OF travel and adventure
and OF picturing i'll my mind the Won
derS OF foreign lands. Much that l
had fancied of dWellers in distant re-
gions was realized in the face | now
beheld for the first time.
| At what age is a beautiful human
creature-and more particularly one be-
| longing to the gentler SeX-inSensible
to admiration? [ am certain that my
new friend preceived mine, and that
it cid not displease her. 1t was ut any
rate genuine, quietly expressed, almost
against my will in the pleased yet
| timid glanceS of my eyes. When she
next spoke her clear, impetuous tone
Was greatly changed and sOftened and
Il kinder light dwelt on her face.
If you will come with me-" she said,
/ 4 will show you the place. There is
not much to see but the garden and
that I like well enough. VIII you
Gomez"
| rose aWkWardly, as if at q word of
command; and, taking my cap from
the peg where it hung, swung it in my
hand as I followed her to the door.
Ashamed, yet pleased, to be chaperoned
by girl, | wondered what my school
/ fellows would think of it.
Close to the school-rOOm was the
play ground, or rather the capaciOus
piece of lawn dignified by the name.
! My schoolfelloWs We're playing cricket
thereon. They paid no attention to me
as [ passed, but looked at my compan-
ion with Il curious and not too friendly
expression. She, for her part, passed
along imperiouSly, without deigning to
cast single look in their direction; and
| noticed that her look had changed
again, and that her dark broWs were
| knitted with the former unpleasant eN-
preston. She said nothing, however,
! for some minutes.
Our first visit was to the top Of 4
high knoll behind the house, whence
we could see the surrounding country,
and, some miles to the southwark, the
distant sea, with Il white frost OF bill
lows on the edge Of the livercolOred
sands. 1t was a quiet, sunless day,
but far away there were CLEANS OF
Watery light on the white sails of
ships passing by under full canvas.
The girl looked seward at the passing
sails with much the same peculiar eX-
preston she had worn on our first en-
counter How could I fathom her
thoughts? / guessed she was thinking
of her home, but / was wrong.
Are YOU clever? she asked sudden,
! ly.
This was a question which l, as a
modest boy, felt totally unprepared to
answer. / looked at the ground, peep
ed at her, and laughed. Her express
sion did not change.
I mean, do you know much" she
continued, in explanation. Have YOU
learnt much before?
l explained to her, as well as posi-
bic, that my requirements were very
slender indeed, and merely consisted
Of the stray crumbs of knowledge
which I had been enabled to pick up at
day schools in the various towns where
my father had resided during my child
hood. In point of fact, | was thor
oughly uncultivated little boy, and had
never been crammed with the solid
pabulum SO much in vogue at our public
schools / could read and write, of
course, and knew arithmetic as far as
the rule of three, and had got through
the first four declensions in the Latin
grammar. but all was a chaos, and |
had no accomplishments. | did not ex-
plain all this to my interrogation, for
[ was too proud.
IF you are not clever, and know so
little" observed the girl, thOughtfully,
take care Of the other boys. Why
don't you make friends with them ?
Why do you like to sit alone and be
sullen? If there were girls here, /
should make friends, | know. But
boys are different; they have cruel
ways, and they hate each other"
All this was said in tone rather of
reflection than of conversation, and
she still kept her eyes on the distant
ships, as if from some secret source
far away the current of her thoughts
was flowing
The boys hate me-" she pursued,
because they think me proud. | am
not proud, out I am quicker and
cleverer than they are, and I come
from a better place. l beat them i'll
the class and at all things, except
figures, and have helped the biggest of
them sometimes, when they were too
stupid to understand"
All this was a revelation to me-
Until that moment | had never suppos-
ed that my companions place was
among the common scholars. During
my first two days in school she had
been absent-a circumstance which she
soon explained to me withC : any
questioning.
I have been away on a visit, and
only returned this morning. l do not
/ come to school every day, because