The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-02-26
A MAIDEN'S PRAYER; A TALE
OF LOVE.

H'A1ULH y ilhiLnJ n lHLI
OF Love
James Stalkton was my chum at college
he was far from home and had the Christ
mas vacation on his hands, so 1 took him
home with me for couple of weeks. He was
Scutherner, good looking and agreeable
and 1 introduced him to the young ladies Of
our circle, who certainly led us a lively dance
during the holidays in the city. But the
theaters, operas, receptions, dinners and dan
ces at last were cut short for u.s. and with
reluctant feet went back to our quiet
New England college town to be showed r
for a winter.
Then it came out that poor Jim Stalktor
had left his heart behind him and that pretty
Jessie Dumond the girl who had it in
her keeping. I mad known Jessie all my life
but never saw anything in her to utterly
bewitch a fellow like Stalkton, to set him
signing like furnace, and scribbling notes
and poetry, and gazing upon her photograph
which he got out of ny pile and stuck uI
over his study table. He used to write notes
about nothing to her and send her books
and, when spring came, some wild flowers
last too long, so tried to make him brace up
mo, jim I used to say; what is the use
of all this? Miss Dumond is society young
lady, a belle and a natural fascinator-what
chance do you suppose you have with her"
LAS good a chance as any man." he would
answer cheeriy. why shouldn't I have?
What is the matter with me?"
1.-THE matter is that you are five hundred
miles away from her and that she has at this
moment more beaux than any other girl l
know, she has had ever since she came out
and before that, only we called them boys
then. 1 have been one of her boys since she
little thing and ate my candy and rode
my sled
THAT is chld's play, Aleck Monroe, and it
doesn't count for anything now; she did not
seem eager for your attentions when l saw
her,
"She-eager for my attentions, and show
it? No, sir; YOU don't know the abe of her
II she has got heart she does not wear it
upon her sleeve"
II am sure she is not 1irt, nor would she
willingly cause pain to any one. If you could
see the look in her eyes which | have seen
and a way she hasa trusting, confidng way
she has"
We'll, have seen it, I interrupted rather
shortly. Il have seen all her looks and all her
ways, and [ have observed that she Sprinkles
them about pretty generally among her
beauX.
At a suggestion Of this kind Jim would get
excited. He would rise from his chair, walk
up and down his room, run his hands through
his hair look gloomy, then he would open a
drawer and gaze. at a necktie which she had
admired and look over a little bundle of COM
mcnplace notes she had written him.
AS his excitement grew he would upbraid
me for my stupidity and lack of instinct
He was fond of vowing that life was nothing
with out her, that she was the only one that
had reused love his heart and that
he would win her if he tried all his life.
This was not pleasant for me to listen to
fo- I was not stupid he imagined where
Jessie Dumond was concerned, and 1 was glad
that Jim had spells of forgetting his unpro-
pitious love for weeks together. But toward
spring his attacks came on again, and at
Easter, having few days recess, he spent
all his substance in taking a night train to
the city, buying an Easter bouquet for Miss
Dumond and walking with her to church at
the sunrise service-sItting beside her while
the dazzling lilies filed the place with their
perfume and the triumphal anthem scared
aloft through arch and architrave to the very
heavens, and how quiet and still she was:
looking as solemn and rapt as if she saw a
vision, or kneeling in sweet humility with her
long eyelashes yelling her hazel eyes.
Jim Stalkton was a devout worshiper on
that occasion if on no other He came home
with a new set Of condolences to pour in nv
ears, but from it all I could judge that the
young lady was keepng him at the discreet
distance where she kept number of other
young gentlemen. He had never spoken to
her of the love which he felt for her T be-
leved that she counted him simply as an
acquaintance. I knew that she considered
me friend
Summer vacation came on and found Tim
in mood to take a long journey home
which would only put distance between him
and Miss Dumond. He said he was going to
stay up north and read law in a city office
with an occasional outing to the summer re-
sorts. Everybody left town in the hot wealth