The Irish standard., 1896-06-27

Halloo, Johnsoni!' \ said i q inf
!. snrt 81 fishing ars you doing hsIe75
Business or fun r. s-s1 s.
,1.9 : IN mostly, sir he answered.
pointing to q hand-iine hanging over
the side. Nothing Of : bigness to b
caught here. How does the lady like
the boat 2"
Every much indeed - said Miss Grsy.
You'll find she works easy, ma'am. /"
said he.
eve discovered lototdsfed mud on
the thwarts,' said I. "You can SEQ some
OF it yet = # $50.
.'The boat was az clean as whistle
yesterday. Somebody must have been
out in her tween then and now
81 believe she was in use thiA morn
Ing 4 admitted.
well, whoever 1t was" johnson de-
clared, after q survey Of the skiR, "he
T must have landed somewhere on the
flats, where there was mud, and
tracked it in when he came abonrd
ag'in. Here's another of his marks"
And he sent long arm into tho bow
of our little vessel and picked up tho
stump of cigarette from the plank
ing. AS he held 1t out for inspection
the paper unrolled, showing the dark
grains of the tobacco.
fore, Doc, and guess you have, too, but
not round these parts" he said. "Da-
goes fancy EN-
.'''And you don't, Ell? Well, I'm Of
your way of thinking, but the gentle.
man who was out in the boat this morn
: ing wasn't. Come up to the house to-
morrow, will YOU, and give Miss Gray
!, sailing Iesson?" !.
cay, ay, SIR said johnson. Tho
boats very clever under sail. I'll be
glad to show her any little p'ints she
needs to pick up" d
your colonel can't be called very
tidy mariner, no matter what his other
virtues may be- said I, as we rccntered
the inlet.
''Why do you call him my colonel?'
the girl asked, and it seemed to me that
detected slight increase in her color.
'He is friend of my aunt's, hardly of
mine, though I've always found him
very agreeable"
"And attentive?' / hazarded under
the spur of revived jealousy.
Scarcely that" she said, quietly,
Though he was always most kind to
me-
g. The spur went deeper. ..1,
'".Oh, of course" said I, rashly; .''and
he must have had such delightful OPP
portunities. s. 4
'sHe is charming man." she an
swe,ed, with smile which filled me
with misery. dare say she read me
easily, and was quite prepared to pro-
long the teasing had the chance been
given her. But, looking over my shout
der, my glance fell upon Lamar's
somber abode. The sight of it made
me silent, and, sullenly settling down to
the oars, l sent the light craft swift
ly on toward its mooring-place.
XVIII.
It is possible that men exist who, in
the period succeeding the discovery
that they have undergone the mental
metamorphosis commonly styled fall
ing in love, and preceding the critical
moment when the object of alteration
confesses her sentiments Of reciprocity
or declares the wooing to have oeen in
vain, maintain their clearness Of under
standing, their evenness Of temper, and
their soundness of Judgment. It is
conceivable, admit, that such men live;
but it has never been my lot t. enjoy
the privilege of acquaintance with one
of them. do not mean that when love
flies in at the window common sense
1.ushes out at the door; but DO hold
that the newcomer is prone to exert.
throughout that period of storm and
stress, semi-paralyzing influence
over the old tenant, making him sadly
untrustworthy at times when the de-
mands upon him are greatest. There
fore regard myself as no exception to
the general rule-general, that is, SO
far as my observation goes-in having
followed Irrational courses and behaved
erratically during three weeks OF more
of dissatisfaction, uncertainty. and
doubt. For one of them made myself
miserable through jealousy Of the man
Dorothy's aunt had been pleased to
make her guest, Without a shadow Of
proof to support the fabric of specula-
ton laboriously built up, l contrived
to persuade myself that he was rival,
favored, of course, for his wealth and
position. Even from his hasty depar-
ture gained little comfort. The buga-
boo, once installed, was not to be over
thrown by such trifie. Full of
gloomy forebodings, waited for news
that he would return, plotting, in my
more cheerful intervals, wild schemes
for turning his triumphant reappear-
snce into by-word and mockery.
Once caught myself reading with vast
approval summaries of famous cases in
q. textbook on toxioology. The vol
ume had been picked up haprhazard, but
its terse account of several noted mat
tiers caught my faneey, and / read on
until some noise about the house, in
terrnpting my recreation, brought me
to realization Of the Righteousness
Of the performance - for there were
still moments when could understand
that I was playing the fool. Perhaps,
also, the plea might be entered that at
this time was victim of a recurrence
Of my old perp]exities, recent events
having served again to force them upon
me with even greater vividness than
before.