Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1897-12-17
MISCELLANY.
A PIECE OF FICTION.
-, Richard Hamilton Potts.
Copyright. 1897. by the Author.1

isa man. and one would prefer to 'he
found wanting in the presence of ones
own sen Lou pauses and gloomilv
chew, the end of her pencil.
"Wcll, for my part, confess am
glad of any change. 1t is so stupid
pine. l banker for sensation and the
want of it, This dreadful monotonv is
emblucring my soul. " And | wildly
clasp my hand to my left side where I
suppose my soul to be
II feel for you and long and banker
with You, y responds Hortense genially.
"Aud l. 80
and l, rejoin Lou and Kathleen.
Cannot somebody do something ont
Of the way" 1 ask. From the silence
which ensues it seems that somebody
cannot
Kathleen, 1 continued. turning in
despair to girl who had only been one
Of us few weeks, but who had already
given us sufficient proof that she was as
We put it, up to anything "Kath-
lr,n. do suggest something"
My mind is blank, " she answers.
Il am perfectly willing to do anything
anybody else suggests, but as for sug
costing myself-it is beyond me. -
gloomy pause. My last hope has
vanished.
Il wish my hair lay in dusky waves
and shadows on low, broad. white
brow. murmurs Kathleen at last She
has taken a small pocket glass fl ON her
desk and is pensively regarding her
charming, piquant face.
Now, what are you all laughing
at: She adds, opening her big, brown
eyes and looking the picture of astonish-
urnt. And l wish had house with
i lofty marble hall, too, and | wish
my hair was so long that when walked
dlstractedly up and down 1.-THE hall,
l mean-my hair would trail behind me
and make "a faint swishing sound "
\ burst of unsympathctic laughter
follows this speech.
Well, if she has not read more nov
els than any girl 1 ever knewr ex-
claims Hortense.
"Hushr I whisper. Here comes
Miss Banks -
We all smother our laughter and re-
sumo our copying Of a problem from the
blackboard. That is, excepting Kath
lecn. | am seated next her and no mark
mars the whiteness of the paper before
her She is evidently in brown study.
Never mind" whisper, If your
hair is not long and cannot swish on
marble hall, it's a pretty color and
curly And then by the time you get
the hall yom hair will probably have
grown, YOU know" But she only smiles
and relapses again into thoughtfulness
That evening Lou Devine and are i'll
our room studying. There is knock at
the door and Kathleen enters. Her pref
~, short hair is wet and pushed off her
iorehead, as if she were the victim of =
severe headache-or composition.
Her eyes, usually sparkling with mis-
chief, are large, dark, mOurnful. she
assures us with emphasis, i'll answer to
our sympathetic inquiries, it is nothing
but slight headache. She wanders
around like an uneasy spirit, but as
usual we have left our lessons until the
last minute and are too busy to notice
her.
"Bess," she says at last "Bess-er
lend me pencil, will you:'
Don't forget to give it back to me.
Battle of Waterloo, 1918; battle of Wa
terloo, 1915"
"Bess-are you studying your his
tory?''
Liverpool and Manchester railway
opened, 1880; Liverpool
"Bessie?"
looked up. Something in her tone
attracts my attention.
"Well?" l ask rather impatiently.
"Er-now-er, did you say the bat
tie Of Waterloo was in 1882
well, " l say scornfully, Il thought
you were going to ask me something o.
some importance OF course 1t was
And | return to the Liverpool and Man
chester railway. Kathleen turns TO inc
door.
She has her hand on the knob, wher
She pauses.
"Oh, by the way, Bessie" she says
with somewhat studied carelessness' Il
the new teachers name-er-Wh mixer
Yes" l answer, surprised at ne
manner.
Such a queer name, you see Hi
Van Wrinkle, you know, and-er-
that" And she is gone.
Lou and l stare at each other Il
amazement. %.
what makes Kathleen so peculiar;
asks Lou.
Give it up" I answer, she cel
tainly was rather queer. And we re
sumo our studying. But the dates WI
not stay in my head. 1 cannot mel
thinking of Kathleen and her strang
hesitation, her very evident CONFUSION
One by one the first class in hteratuI
6les down the staircase which LEADS
the room. where stands Miss Banks GU
worthy principal, and Mr., WlnKle-
first kathleen, then Hortense, then
and behind me Lou.
As we reach the door Kathleen stoI
short, puts one hand to her neau' s'at
gers little and gasps, ION, calhoV;
Then, before we can move or spear
she straightens up, dashes open the u !,,
aud marches in, her head just it'l
ayerted and held very stiftiy, as II IL
an effort to hold it up at all. We reac
our seats, and Miss Banks in lew al
propriate remarks introduces MT WI
tlc to the finishing class. AS he DOW
Hortense and hear Kathleen mute
bitterly. "Ah, he can seem cool az