The Washington times., 1895-04-13

and making large allowance for the BOYS
that were apparently under twenty one
Suddenly my counting came to an end
l forgot what total l arrived at, cared
10 more for the banners and notices and
was deaf to 1.-The noise of the captains and
the shouting" BY one Of those movements
that occasionally take place in a gOod-na-
tured crowd there was q little whirlpool
where / stood, everybody within two or
three yards was moved to a new spot on
the pavement, and all relative positions
We're changed. With this change sud
denly doomed up in front OF me one of the
most delightful visions OF my life. She was
taller than most of the men that stood near
her, and was perfectly proportioned. Her
dark brown hair was rolled into smooth
solid mass at the back OF her head, and
balanced it perfectly above shoulders that
seemed to have the strength of a mans
without losing the beauty of a woman's
She wore a dormer- window hat, orna-
mented by a single rosebud, with just the
the least touch OF jauntiness, and the 0cto-
Der sunlight fell athwart one of those
faces that words can never portray and
the painter can seldom do more than at
tempt.
1t might be said that it was almost
Grecian, and ii mu st be said thatit was wholly
American. But the chief glory was in
the expression, and as / edged around to
240 degree, / saw il from many different
angles, but discovered no abatement
have seen perfect profiles on plain faces,
but here it was impossible for light and
shadow, by any change, to betray a fault
or a weakness. for there was nothing to
be betrayed. She could have stood as the
comprehensive model for womankind, whose
separate eXCellenceS might be caught by
one and another of her sisters, but who in
her entirety was not likely ever to be du-
plicated.
Twice only in my life had 1 seen a sim
liar vision, and these two visions were
but pictures OF moment; yet they never
have faded from my memory. They are
nameless, but immortal The third such,
far more impressive, more real and yet
more romantic, was-who was she? When
the procession disbanded, and was walk
ing slowly home, some fragments of con-
seriousness rose and said: what is she to
you?'' Thereupon l named her Hecuba-
and Hecuba she is and will be to the end
of time.
Hecuba did not wave her hand at the
procession nor nod to anyone in il, nor smile
lmmoderately when the noise of the multi
tude eliminated in cheers or a specially wit
ty motto was carried by. But she watched
. the movement intently, and could readily
see from the expression of her face that
her politics were identical with those Of
the marching men, This Immediately eX-
cused, saying to myself: "0f course her
politics are merely heredtary-all women's
are; and she is not to blame for the stu
pidity OF her father
When the crowd dispersed after the last
troop had passed. / watched her as she
climbed into an omnibus.
Now, why" said l to myself after din
ner, should you think a second time of
Hecuba? You know absolutely nothing
about her, except that her personal ap-
tics remarkably faulty. Not So Every
lover of a fine art knows there is some
thing in it which he cannot describe, and
perhaps cannot ever account for. and we
all know that here and there, as we go
through the world, we come upon person
whose evident qualities are not to be
summed up by any words that the dictionary
affords. wish / could see Hercuba once
more, but / never shali-and YET the W ord
is small"
For weeks I found myself looking in
tently at every stage that happened to pass
me on the avenue, as if had expected
to recognize a friend inside. / could not
pass the entrance OF a photograph gallery
portrait that was displayed beside the
without stopping long enough to scan every
door
My religion was-weil, the fact was,
feared it was becoming too narrow. A man
should always try to broaden himself, es-
pecially in his moral nature. and should
listen occasionally to the services OF other
churches than his own. Yes, / must
broaden my religion, and 50 attended diff
ferent church every Sunday for many weeks
They were little tedious, all of them.