The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1898-12-23

nelgnDor surprised INN by appearing
at the street door. bonneted. With
rapid strides she disappeared down
the avenue-to appear before he had
smoked three pipes at her favorite seat
in the window The light fell strong
~ on the profile, which now seemed
rejuvenated by some inner glow. Hill
house snatched the clay and made haste
to finish the interrupted sitting. He
had not worked long, however, until
he was sharing his models quiet mirth.
"a street falSir had evidently in
weighed her into buying mechanical
toy, such as abound in the streets of
our large cities during the holiday sea-
son. Far into twilight this stately au-
tumnal flower sat playing with the
trivial thing; and the footprints of
time magically vanished from her
sweet face, as she repeatedly pulled the
string, and the grotesque wooden
monkey, with it's multi-colored jacket,
slid up and down the yellow pole.
Through the veil of snowfakes Hill
house continued to watch his neighbor,
tics broadened his outlaws filled the
lonely studio with companionable
echoes. Suddenly there was rift in
the lutte. The incorrigible monkey
was perched at the top of the pole
and refused to bulge. In vain the sor-
ceress cast her spell. The toy fell
from her hands wreck; disaster, dire
distress, beclouded her face. Not a
shadow escaped Hillhouse. In a iiffy
he had seized his hat and was knocking
at her door,
81 have observed from my window
am your neighbour he exclaimed, To-
eating his eerie den across the way
that you have met with an accident.
| am not without some mechanical
skill, and thought might be of serv-
ice
''She opened the door wide for him
to enter In the dignity of her pres
ence the shabby gentility of her sur
roundings vanished
"'You are kind, sir she said. To
morrow is Christmas
''.Ah! so it is said Hillhouse. .Ihad
forgotten
81 promised to take Christmas din
ner yesterday after long years of sep
aration. There is a little boy in the
family, and l thought the toy would
amuse him.
"'And so it will, laughed Hillhouse,
sas it has you and me-
"She colored like an oldfashioned
garden pink, and her limpid gray eyes
dropped us he picked up the mutilated
monkey. In less time than it takes to
tell, this grotesque representative of
the missing link was restored to it's
pristine agility.
"'How can / thank youY
"'By telling me some day. said Hill
house. that your young friends en-
joyment of the toy has been greater
than ours
''Some days elapsed before Hillhouse
had the courage to knock second time
at his neighbours door. In the inter-
val he had learned little of her his
tory. 1t was not without purpose that
he scanned the bookcase until his>eyes
lighted on a strangely familiar volume.
81 see Miss Foxglove is an admirer
of Lucille remarked Hillhouse.
cit belongs to the past
"'Then it has not been opened for
some time?'
Miss Foxglove's gray eyes turned
within.
"a quarter of a century, she said.
HE took the volume from the shelf,
and with strange misgiving turned the
leaves until arrested by much under
scored canto, from which fell faded
foxglovc.
With smile whose divinely deep sweet
ness disclosed
Some depths in her nature he never had
"The eyes of Lavinia Foxglove met
his.
The volume has never been opened
she said-sudden pallor in her queenly
presence since an old, old friend bor-
rowed it, returned it-and then
then
"'What happened?'
He went away
"sAnd then?'
The world changed
"She took the volume Hillhouse hand
ed her to read in the lines the foxglove
had stained. the confession she had
waited in vain to hear from the lips of
the borrower SO long ago."
you don't mean to tell u.s." cried
Miss Dashaway, "that there lives in
this age man stupid enough to ex-
pect q woman to look in book for a
proposal?"
"But that happened quarter OF a
century ago." laughed Mrs. Pentland.
True" said Betram, "and the poor
lout supposed that the girl had eagerly
devoured every word underscored,
while she naturally laid the volume
away and never looked at it again until
Hillhouse opened it and babe her read
the lines which embodied his proposal.
Not having heard from her, he went
ovvau II, vnavpopf Of v,ir,,o md rovov.