The record-union., 1895-11-23

but the girl at the window is too quick
for him. She is at the door and holding
it open before he has made half the as
cent. AS her eyes fall upon the we'll
known chirography a faint blush suf-
fuses her cheek.
"a letter from him. she murmers,
then runs quickly to her own room,
locks the door and sits on the edge of
the bed to read. 1t is not a very long
letter. The owner of the Philomela is
not much given to letter writing, but.
judging from the eager way in which
the pages are scanned, it is absorbingly
interesting. 1t begins by telling her of
the success of the Philomela, and then
says he will be in the city in few days
"Oh 1 am SO glad" she cries involun-
tarily. And then she does what any
true-hearted, loving woman would do
under the same cOnditions-She presses
the letter to her lips, and then, blushlng
at her own boldness, hides it in her
bosom.
$50 he is coming back to civiliza-
ton; back to civilization and to me. /
wonder why he said that-to me? What
could he have meant by it? Surely l
am not the only woman in the city"
Then a sudden thought comes over
her and she buries her head in the pill
low. After a little she raises it slowly,
cautiously, almost as though someone
were watching and looks around.
How foolish 1 am" she says pres
emily, and yet in spite of the fact that
he has never spoken word of love to
me-never even so much as paid me
compliment feel sure that he loves
me- and I-Oh, I love him, too, very
dearly" and here the curly head is
again buried in the protecting pillow. 1t
remains hidden a great deal longer
this time, but at last reappears. 1T is
CT, II che hi Il co IF i'm
when there are many others on whom l
could bestow my poor little heart, but
somehow he was so big and strong that
l could not help clinging to him. l sup
pose it's the love of extremes in our
nature that drew him to me, and, oh,
dear" here just the fainteSt suspicion
of a perpleXed frown appeared upon her
brow, only to as quickly disappear.
well anyway, l know what's the mat
ter with him." says Philomela pres
emily, with many wise mods and shakes
of her head.
HE has made the mistake of idolizing
me- making me out to be a sort OF I'M
winged angel, when l am not. l am only
human, after all Oh, why can't he
know that and not go on elevating me
on a pedestal and WorShiping from
afar? He is rich now, too, and that
means, 1 suppose, that he will travel.
reckon he will go back to his old home,
and maybe he will find someone there
who isn't quite so ideal, and he will
marry her, perhaps. OF course, L hope
he will be very happy, and all that, but
I don't believe any other girl can love
him as well as I do
Here Philomela INDUCES herself in
that essentially feminine luxury-a
good cry-after which she feels better.
Anyway, he must have thought
great deal of me or he wouldn't have
named his mine after me-" thinks Phil
omela as she wipes her streaming eyes
with her diminutive handkerchief, and
this is the only bit of consolation she is
able to get.
The days slip slowly by after this to
the anxiously waiting girl; each hour
seems speeding on leaden wings, but at
last there came a day, happy, never
to-be- forgotten day. when the owner of
the Philomela comes back to his little
sweetheart. He has fully made up his
mind to put his fate to the test and end
this uncertainty. Yet when he stands in
her presence the sense of his great un-
worthiness again comes over him and
he stands before her speeches.; he can
not utter the words he has come all the
long weary miles to say.
Philomela is just the same, little
thinner perhaps, and a Wistful look has
found an abiding place n her big blue
eyes As he notes these changes with
an eye sharpened by love, he wonders
vaguely If he is the cause, and the
next moment calls himself presump-
tuous idiot After awhile she sings for
him. The same song she sang before
he had gone into the mountains when
the fate of the PhilOmela was yet an
uncertainty, and as the sweet, low voice
rises and falls, obeying one of those
sudden impulses he arises and kisses
her She does not scream nor shrink
away and seeing this he gains fresh
courage He pours into her ear the
story of his love, and when he asks her
to be his wife, PhilOmela sObs out her
reply unon his manly breast. A few
weeks later the owner Of the PhilOmela
N, q rriec the maiden of his choice.