Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-12-05
DOUBLE POVERTY.

had gone down to my village to
work, to get that local color which is
supposed to be SO necessary to sound fic-
ton. At the end of fortnight had
not written, at the most generous COM
putation, more than dozen pages, and
I had grown very brown and trife
melancholy. The cottage in which /
lived lay broadside to the village street,
and this, under the clear sunlight, had
such lazy and pleasant aspect that /
was content to sit and watch it while
the ink dried Oh my pen. When this
simple occupation failed me, ! sat on a
fence overlooking sloping meadow.
Beyond the meadow was a climbing,
scattered wood, which ended in an
open, sunbaked heath.
As I sat on this fence one day saw,
far up on the edge Of the heath, hat
and ribbons that recognized. They
belonged to girl whom had met at
dinner party couple Of months before.
Indeed had taken her in to dinner,
and we rapidly hit upon SO many points
Of divergence and agreement that we
soon assumed the candor Of old friends
had not discovered then that she knew
my village. Indeed we were both un-
disguisedly surprised when we one day
came face to face by the postoffice
steps. then learned that she had come
down with her mother, younger broth
or and maiden aunt.
After that we were continually meet
ing, quite Unexpectedly, and began
to feel reconciled to my meager produc-
tion.
watched the hat and ribbons for a
time plaoidly, in profound enjoyment of
my morning pipe. When it was finished,
knocked out the ashes, dropped on the
meadow side of the fence and began
leisurely to wade through the grass. It
was evident, from the extraordinary
stiffness Of the ribbons, that Miss Bur-
sar was either reading or asleep.
Icould not keep my point Of destina-
tion in full sight the whole time, be-
cause the ground was perplexingly un-
even. and the trees were sometimes as
impervious as wall, but I made as
straight line as could and rather be-
gan to fancy myself in the character Of
slow but inevitable fate. This idea
had commenced to spin itself into a web
Of sentimental verse, when I became
aware Of Miss Bursar herself within six
yards Of me. She had an open book on
her lap, but her eyes were turned on me.
"How very straight you camel she
said. My feigned surprise at seeing her
collapsed instantly.
Glow do you know" I said, sitting
down beside her, that I came straight"
She pointed toward the village. My
fence was in full view, and my track
through the tall grass palpable, leading
in a bee line toward where she sat.
$50 you watched me?" said.
II saw you," she answered, quite
by chance and wondered what you were
going to do"
She was very young, SO young and go
pretty, that snatches Of verse began to
weave themselves in my brain again. I
sternly repressed this dangerous tend
ency and thereby abandoned my only
hope Of safety.
How long are you staying here"
asked.
"Oh, don't know. Perhaps for three
weeks. And your"
looked at her. "That depends on
my work" I said. She laughed lightly
and closed her book.
ut seems to me, she said, "that
you don't do much work. You spend
half the day on that fence. y
"And you," ] said, pass me at least
six times q day"
s'How hot it isl" she said. "Do You
mind opening my parasol?" / unfurled
| It for her with great tenderness. It was
| tiny, dainty, silk affair, that matched
her ribbons as eye matches eye. It had
the delicious effect Of isolatine us still
more completely. It threw pretty
| golden shadow on her face that, made
mo dream infinitely pleasant things and
grow a. bold and reckless as the snn-
lhine that drew the scent from the
heather round us.
"Miss Bursar'- began.
! "Yesi" she said, tapping her shoes
together till they made . sound like a
bury woodpecker.
II was going to say went on.
'"Whate I did not interrupt you. You
stopped yourseh. "
~ know I did. Twas going to say
paused again.
"Do you think you will ever succeed
In saying TT" she laughed, nodding at
| me.
Certainly, Il yop will give me time.
was going TO say what an internal
| nuisance II u 70 be poor r.
~ don't agree with you" abe said
s.-~ $1,000 - '-=A1--.-.