The evening times., 1895-08-16
Th6 Toy HOUSE.

1t was down at the end of the road
turned my head away and shut my eyes,
but it was there still, for 1 had seen it
every night since could remember.
think 1 shall always see it.
An electric light at the corner threw its
,,scre directly across the white walls, such
{: right light it seemed and thousands of
..i.s= we're buzzing around it, their shadows
,:t.ected back again onto the white walls,
down. The little brown windows, two
above and two below, were each ex-
actly alike, with their borders of colored
glass. I had never yet seen the door open
and on each side stood a very green tree,
tapering to point like those you see the
children lift out of their boxes Of toys, the
breeze hardly ever seemed to ruffle them,
as they stood like sentinels on either side
One night 1 sat outdoors longer than
usual. The trees down the avenue were
waving more mysteriously than ever and
casting their dark shadows in front Of
the house down the road. Suddenly 1
leaned forward and gazed fose and earn
estly-something was different A slight
uOlSt anu ii W ufle manu- udO puSutu up one
of the little windows, and now a girl
was sitting in the glare of the electric
light.
rose from my chair and strolled leis-
urely along down the road till stood op-
posite the toy house. Just as 1 reached
1t the girl dropped her handkerchief to
the ground. Such bit of lace it was, I
picked 1t up and handed it to her, which
was an excuse for me to look at her. She
had the bluest eyes and the most flaxen
ha'r you ever saw, and the waxen pink
of ser complexion made me want to look
again. She smiled so encouragingiy that
-oianteered a remark about the beauty
of The evening, and befoore l knew how
it happened we were talking away like
old friends
That was not my last visit to the toy
house. 1 grew more and more fascinated by
the girl who sat in the little window. 1
forgot everything, by which 1 mean 1
forgot that only one girl had ~ right ts
fascinate me; different style of girl. with
dark hair, and who was too busy to sit
much in a window at all. But for the time
she had quite gone from my memory though
tried to mold my new friend
after her pattern.
Our conversations were something like
this:
Myself-Then you don't approve of the
new woman?
Girl at the Window-Not If she has to
work; bate work
what do you like?"
"Oh, just to sit and read or do fancy
work or talk to my friends"
But the work has to be done Who
keeps the house So pretty and neat?"
'oh mother does that. She works hard |
but she does not like to see ME
get hot and flurried these warm days"
Then another evening:
Myself-You look a little pale tonight;
Is it the heat?
Girl at the window-No; but saw them |
take sick man out of that house down the |
road. He Loo ked 90 dreadful I can't |
bear sick people.
But you will have to see eick people |
'ome time; suppose should be sick?"
eve had come to talking of our future
by this time.)
"oh. don't talk of It'll should be fright.
med to DEATH"
Then there came the last night. could
hardly drag myself down the road; q drea-
Yer.
There she sat ut the window; she wore
,ale blue that night and her pink and white
,eauty was fairer than ever. l took her
white hand up gently and said, huekily:
I could not bear to see this little hand do
lard work; but, dearest, fear that IL
What my wife may have to dol have lost
Shetore her hand out of mine and her clear
n ar-ao had
ooked at me
Your wife" she answered; "I can never
'e your wife; such q life is not for me-
But thought you loved mer'
found was talking to empty space, for
he had gone, and with q moan of despair
dragged myself back to the seat outside
ny hall door
sazed long ut the toy house at the end of
he road, while the truth dawued upon me
lowiyi she had no heart. 1 had fallen IN