Fort Wrangel news., 1898-08-24
TUE poef ta the contrary. n

4 slous when "lt might have been arr joyful words. Most men. upon meeting aealu in after years thclr first loves. realize thls, and offer up prayers 1f Thanksgiving.
 IL was SO with Ilnrlhurt.
 In the early days of the Pacific cuast. Hurlburt WIS stationed at San Diego. IL WIS a picturesque little town. It's streets were hot much more than cow paths. and lts houses were mostly of che good old pattern adobes one story high. and built around patio. In such T house as this lived Manuela Lopez. and in one of the cow-path streets Hurlhurt first met her. IL was upon a Sunday. IIurlhurt had just come from Inspection. and was on his way to din- her with friends Tn town. He still wore hls regimentals. and was very gorgeous sight indeed. He wns also tall and yellow haired. and blue-eYed- quite the figure 10 strike the fancy of I pretty little Mexican girl who Was coming home from mass.
 She had read no books that could have told her that II was the accepted thing to to; she had probably never given such subjects moments thought; but when the mlnd of a child becomes the mind of woman. it k Ut one bound. hot by slow degrees. In- spiratiou struck full upon Manuela's brain. and she dropped her rosary. From which 1t may be inferred that the love of the fathers and the wisdom of ages has taught woman nothing new In affairs of the heart. The impulse of the iutrigaute and of the child of na- turc are the same.
 Ijurlburt of course. was close to returned t to her. If she had not been with servant he might have spoken. As it was. he observed more narrowly. what he had been observing for some moments as he approached. that she was graceful and pretty. Then he rais. ed his helmet and passed on.
 You can count upon any one but the typical .Auelo-SaXon. You expect men of Latin and Slav races to make fools of themselves. But the Anglo Saxon is such d thoroughly logical. reason- able. elear-headed person that the bot tom of your universe drops out when he deyates from the path of common seuSe And when he does, It Is neyer q mere Aggression. He goes, a flaming comet. whirling through space. md rf, To p plans and beliefs before him. The last thing any one would have expected of big. quiet. rational youth. such as was Hurburt. was that he should wax romantic over n street meeting with m immature ruse to attract his atten- tion Nevertheless. that same day, af- ter luncheon. he said to his host. as they sat smoking under the ramada, "Who lives in the house on the next street. where the two mocking-bird cages hang on the wall|
 You must be more explicit" his host said: there are q number of houses on the next street and one and all have mocking-birls.''
 "Yes," said IIurlhurt; but there is q hedge of red and white seranium in front of it."
 "I SAW you meet her" the civilian told him; "hcr name Is Lopez-Manu- ela, 1 think"
 Hurlburt became very red. When your phle@matic man grows embar- rasSed h. k badly embarrassed. It was some time before he regained speech and came tloundering out of the sea of silence. When he did, he changed the subject
 Not that he abandoned the cause. Ear from it. IL took him two weeks, but he got himself introduced to Senor Lopez. and had then taken to call upon him. The senor WAS d well-educatcd man. and the most hospitable of his hospitable race. He made Hurlburt free of the house at once. and showed him everything it contained, save only Manuela.
 You must come again, often," he said, as they parted. Hurlburt replied that he would, and went again in three days. Neither did he see his lady of the rosary upon this occasion. He address ed himself to Sonora Lopez, who was handsome and well preserved.
 You have a daughter, have you not, senora?"
 Sonora Lopez understood only just so much English as she chose. She did not choose to understand this. She turned her soft eyes upon her husband, and he answered for her.