The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1898-01-27
HALF AN HOUR.
BY Priscilla Leonard,
TT WAS lovely September afternoon

TT WAS lovely September afternoon
in the year of our Lord 1893. The
worlds fair was in full swing and the
white city by the lake was filled with
sightseers from every part of the land.
People sundered from each other for
long years by the length or breadth of
the continent met in the broad aisles
of the buildings or on the seats of gon-
dola, and Kalamazoo rubbed shoulders
with Tallahassee in the endeavor to see
the jewelry exhibit or the big locomo-
tives. Most crowded and most cosmo-
politan of all, as usual, was that ka.
leidoscopic attachment the Midway
Plaisance, where, from the South Sea
islanders to the Ferris wheel, the wide
highway was thronged with multitu-
dinous enjoyment. And Tommy was
taking it all in as only small and
eagerly boy knows how TO do.
Tommy and his Aunt Isabel put
Tommy first because that was the or
der of things, his aunt having taken
charge of him that afternoon because
he had already tired out his mother
had been through a good deal They
had investigated the Javanese village
and old Vienna, the panorama of the
Bernese Alps and the Eskimo settle
ment, and seen the Hindoo jugglers;
consequently. though Tommy was as
fresh as paint, Miss Bernard was slight
ly tired and glad to sit down on the
benches of Hagenbach's great animal
show. which was Tommy's next OBJ
jective point. 1t was good seat, with
fine view of the ring; which was prob
ably the reason why the young man
who came in a minute after them took
the last seat on the row, next to Tom
my.
Isabel glanced up at him as he took
his place. Luckily. he was oblivious
OF anything beyond Tommy's seat. She
turned quickly away-a movement
which naturally brought the young
mans eyes upon her. He started in his
turn with quite .as much dismay in
his face as she had shown, and also
looked diligently at the stage. II was,
truly, most embarrassing for both.
When two young people have been
the consent and appreciation of every
body, and have broken off with each
other in q violent lovers quarrel within
six months, II is bad enough to have to
meet in ballroom or on the street;
but to sit almost side by side in public
place for half an hour is an ordeal to be
dreaded, indeed. And especially when
a man has left New York and gone to
San Francisco simply in order to put
leagues of continent between himself
and the girl. and when the girl has
been hoping and praying that she may
forget him and never see him again. IL
is little hard for both to seem uncon-
scious and cordial before small
nephew.
1t had to be done, however, for Tom
my recognized Mr.. Dick Farquhar at
once. and. having great admiration
for his own sex and an equally lofty
contempt for the weaker one, directed
his questions and observations entirely
to him. Isabel, after smiling politely
but coldly. fixed her eyes in desperate
attention upon those wonderful but to
her totally uninteresting animals, the
hounds, the pony and the lion, who were
trotting in some marvellous maneuver
before her unseeing eyes. She was WV
idly conscious, though she despised her.
self for it, of every word which Dick
was saying to the inquisitive Tommy.
"Yes, he had seen hears-yes. he had
shot one or two.-no, he was not living
in New York any more-yes. he had the
same horse-yes, this was better than
the circus" But this last remark was
made in such palpably perfunctory
way that 1t was evident that he was not
enjoying 1t at all.
Isabel hoped he didn't. She hoped
he was feeling as embarrassed and mis-
cradle as she was. He deserved it, too.
He ought to have had sense enough, at
such a place, not to get into the seat
next to Tommy. He always did go
straight ahead without thinking-she
knew that-and then, he was near
sighted. But that was no excuse. Did
he expect her to make some everyday
remark to him? She couldn't do it
and whether she could or not, she
wouldn't. No one-no girl in her place
could be expected to be more than
icily polite to the man who had pre-
tended to love her so, and then doubted
her just because she was ordinarily
courteous to a man he didn't like, and
commanded-yes, commanded her to do
just his will and pleasure in the mat
ter. Nobody ever said must" to her
he ought to have known that. He
ought not to have brought everything
to that point and made it impossible for
her to refuse without breaking their
engagement. OF course, she had to
break it-she would have died rather
than do 1t, but then, she would have
died rather than submit, too. Her
pretty mouth quivered as she thought
of the cruel unreasonableness OF man.
Dick, out of the corner of his eye
for near-sighted people see great
deal-noticed the rebellious line of the
mouth, and concluded that she was as