The Press., 1898-12-01

Ol Ihe Hfln ndu fGa.t l. l6 lUUked toward the closed desk again so l knew what must be i'll the dispatch The pookkeep- CT was watching over his shoulder, and by and by he plucked up courage to ask a Limid question of his employer The antwer made him look very grave. Whatever the news may have been he communicated it to the light haired youth and the square shouldered fellow 1 in the latter edge of the luncheon hour before the chief had returned. They l took it very hard, and the younger of them stood by the window afterward ] when he should have been at work. and he looked the picture of grief. Yet the girl was on hand at the usual horr the next morning and was the re- Cipient of cordial greetings, though she had to ask the bookkeeper for his. In the afternoon, when she stood by the open window for few minutes, l thought she looked quite i'll, and worse than that, she seemed apprehensive. The blight of melancholy was on her. l 1 fancied her as one of those unfoEtunates who ill youth are told that there will be no maturity, that the seeds of death are planted and must grow Three days later she was absent again. Then l saw her on three success sive days, leaving out of account an in tervening Sunday. Again she failed to appear, but only for day. and the re- mainder of the week she was in her &C., customed place.
 { Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday passed with no glimpse of her. In the later afternoon of that last day a man who could be known for a doctor half mile away made long call upon the head of the firm. They conversed very seriously for a few minutes and then drifted to general themes and laughed and puffed their cigars as if nothing were wrong. That fixed my estimate of the gray haired young man at a very low point in the scale.
 | There was no sign of her during the week. On Monday saw unusual sights in the office across the way. First the old bookkeeper came in, and while he had the office to himself he sat ill her chair, and saw him shed tears. Then the young man with the corn colored hair appeared, and upon my word I was afraid to see him stand by the open window, with such a look upon his face, lest he should cast himself down to the bottom of the gulf
 A little later the three clerks, the gray haired man and an eldeEly person whom took to be the second member | oas 8le firm just arrived from abroad for I had heard 8 rumor that one of them had been in Europe nearly year assembled in conference on plane of equality which only mutual deep sor- row could have justified. After awhile two clerks brought in some large paste board boxes, which contained flowers, for though they were opened ill part of the office that my view did not we'll command got a glimpse of white blos- soms and green leaves.
 I think those men were all sincere, but not one of them-not even the old bookkeeper-felt grief that matched mine. Nothing just like that has ever come into my life. Perhaps l should have found nothing sympathetic or at tractive in that woman if I had met her face to face, but when that meeting on this side of the grave had become i'm possible pictured her in speech and in | had promised.
 tonged to share with those who had known her the privilege of expressing my sorrow at her early death-indeed resolved to do so, even at the risk of committing an impropriety. Therefore, when l saw the pasteboard boxes dis patched in the custody of the messenger boys, l hastened to intercept them on the street. It was easy enough to read the address upon the boxes, but there was no name-only street and number in Brooklyn.
 That was sufficient, however. has tened to florists and gave orders for such tokens as seemed to inappropriate
 And so that was the end The sight of her at the window day after day a feeling of cheer from her bright pres ence near me, and, then the sorrow for the loss of one whose very name did not know. 1 missed her heartily in those succeeding weeks.
 Even so late as September had by no means forgotten her or the incidents connected with that tima of strange and fanciful sorrow. It was3bn the fifth day of that month when a man of familiar aspect, yet certainly not an acquaint- ance, walked into my office. He came slowly up to me and laid two cards upon my desk. One was my own, and the other bore the inscription, "John M. Douglas, M. D.
 The name was not familiar, but the man himself had certainly seen. An, to be sure! He was the doctor who had come to the office across the way, when the end was drawing near.
 'tThat's my card, and the other one is yours, ,isn t it?'' said he.
 nodded.
 "You sent it with some flowers tc 811 De Vaux street. Brooklyn, on June 28, didn't you?''
 "Yes." replied. "they were fol her. .
 And l glanced across the way
 "Well, you probably have some rational explanation for it. :" said he