Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-06-26
S HREW S Blu RY. !"
BY STANLEY ]. WEYMAN.
Written for The Evening Star.

Written for The Evening Star.
Continued from last Saturday.
Leaving me in seventh heaven Of de-
light, my blood fred by her kisses. my
fancy and without one after
thought. Doubtless had / been less deep in
love (wherein / was far overhead or deep
er in experience. 1 might have noted it for
curious thing that she should be so
quickly corforted and be able to rise in a
few moments, and at the touch of my lips,
from passionate despair to perfect control,
both of herself and ME-
And starting thence, might have gone
on to suspect that she possessed her full
share of the finesse which is always wo-
mans shield, and sometimes her sword.
But such suspicious are foreign to
youth, SO are they especially foreign to
youthful love, which takes nothing lower
than perfection for its idol. This 1 can
say for certain, therefore that they no
more entered my brain than did the conse-
quences which were to flow from my pas
sion.
For the time. indeed, 1 was in an ecstasy,
rapture, walking a-tip-toe and troubled
by none of the things that trouble common
folk, so that to this day l look back to
that period of innocent folly with yearn-
ing and regret the sorer that when l try
to analyze the happiness l enjoyed l fail,
things should be changed for me, and 1 be
changed In my own eyes-so that L walked
head taller and esteemed myself ridicu-
louSiy-by the fact that kitchen wench in
q dEuggst petticoat and clogs had let me
kiss her, and left me to believe that she
loved me, seems inexplicable now, as in
explicable as that the daily glimpse of her
figure fitting among the water butts and
pcwdering tubs should transform that mis-
cradle back garden into Il paradise, and
MIR D-'s school, with its dumplngs. and
bread and dripping, and inky fingers, into
d mansion of tremulouS joy.
Yet 1t Nor did il matter any
thing to NE, great is the power of love
when one is young, that my mistress went
in rags and had coarse hands ana spoke
ruStically. Touching this last, lndett!
must do her the justice TO say that from
the first she was as quick to note differ
ences of speech and manner as she was
apt to initiate good eNemplars, and more
over possessed under her rags a species OF
refinement that matched the witchery OF
her lace. and proved hei to be. as she pres
emily showed herself. no common girl
OF course |. in the state of happy de-
lirium on which l had n6w entered and
wherein even afr. D and the boys wore
aT,iable air, and only Mrs D, be
cause she prosecuted my love, had the
senl5icnce of a female Satan, needed no
proof of this, or i had had it when my
Dorinda-so L christened her feeling Jen-
ME too low d name fer so much beauty and
kiEdnesS-proposed ct our second renueZ-
4
the first flush of the proposal found read
ing poor thing because she did not pos
sess it. at the second | ad0red her for the
humility that condescended to learn; but
at the third l the convenience well
as the sense of a proposal which was as
much above the mind of ordinary maid
in love as Dorirda appeared superior to
such q creature in all the qualities that
renCcr sense 2--ltable.
Yet, this much granted, how to teach her.
seeing that we seldom met or ccnversed.
ard never save under the kindly shelter of
darkness? The obstacle for a time taxed
all my ingenuity, but in the end l
mounted it by boldly asking Mr.. DIS
leave 10 hold the afternoon classes in the
playground. This. the hot weather giving
color to the petition, was allowed after
which, as DoriEda was engaged in the
back premises at that hour, and could
listen while she drUdged, the rest was
easy. Calling up the lowest class, would
hnd Ta>:tt with their reading, and after
flying cut at them In d simulated passion
would remit them again and again to tie
elements. SO that for fortnight CT more
and MI the noise OF the lads chcrus:ng
the Lesson annoyed Mrs. DIS ears
the playground Tang with nothing but alb.
alb, 60, eb, cat. cat, dog. dog. and the
like, with the alphabet and the rest of the
horn book And all this so frequently re-
peated that, with this assistance and the
help of 4 spelling book. which 1 gave her,
ard CT she stEGtS! before others aE-Cf.e
my mistress al the end CT two months could
rCrn Hand.
Heaven knows how delicious were those
lessons unGer the shabby, ragged tree that
shaded one-half of the yard! l spoke to
the awning, grubhy-fngered boys who
sloucned and straddled around me, but /
knew to whose ears / applied myself: nor
had pEpl ever q more diiigent master or
master an apter pupil. Once a week / had
my fee of kisses, bu. rarely, very rarely
was permitted to cross the fence; reserve
on my DorinGa's part that while it aug
men:2d the esteem IN which l held her,
maintG.ned my passion at a white heal.
w hen. nevertheless, l demonstrated vita
her. and lover-iike complained of the ria,or
which in my heart L commended, she child
me Ter setting a low value On her: and
when i Persisted. Go on she said, draw
ing away from me with an air Of offease
Tell he in SO many words that you think I"
kitchen drudge 1 appear 10 be-
Her tcGe was pregnant of meaning, but
as had never thought her aught else and
yet an angel was dumb.
You do think such?" she cried fixing
me wish her eyes and speaking in a tone
that 6erlanded an answer.
1 Eutt2red that 1 had never heard had
never known, that-that-and so stammer-
ed into silence, not at all understanding
her
Then I think that hitherto we have been
under mistake" she answered, distantly
and in a voice that sent my heart into nv
boot. You wera fond--or said you were
of the cook maid. She does not exist No
sir, little further away. if you please
my mistress continued haughtily land
know that / come of better stock than that
YOU l can remember playing, as a little