Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1899-02-09
THURM0NT Frederick County, Maryland Thursday February g. 1893.
with q mans easy indifference to oaught
h,,t utility

with q mans easy indifference to oaught
but utility.
And as to the encompassing ca.
pacity of the matter there could be ne
odubt. Swallowed up therein, all that
was visible of Sylvia was q pair Of
wonderful blue eyes and a fun OF
golden hair at one emu and two tiny
white satin slippers at the other.
To Sylvia the hanson was chariot
sent direct from fairyland for her con-
veyance to some enchanted world.
The gayety and glitter of the London
night delighted and amazed her. At
Piccadilly circus Sylvia was entranc.
ed, in Leicester Square she was IN
ecstasies, and when, having reached
the snug seclusion Of q curtained box,
she could gaze across a valley Of dim,
smoke-wreathed figures, which the
moving marvel of form and color de-
Rned as a ballet, she acted and moved
as though in a dream-world.
What they witnessed need not be de-
tailed. Is it not written in the daily
papersy Suffice it to tell that Sylvia
remained Obvious to all Brunton's
hints as to the lapse of time until he
murmured that the hour neared II.
ward, Sylvia returned to earth again,
and sighed at that she felt like Cinder'
ella in having to leave the ball at it's
height. And Brunton tentatively sug-
yested that there mad been no prince ~
her ball; whereupon Sylvia avowed
hastily that of course he was tho
prince-then faltered and blushed.
After that it must be confessed that
the trees fringing Regents Park wit.
messed some callow love making.
Yes, Sylvia was sorry, very, very
sorry, he was going, and perhaps when
he returned III three years he would
nave forgotten her? And Brunton was
equally convinced Of his own faithful,
ness, but feared the strain Of time and
absence on hers.
Brunton thought he would like their
next meeting to take place. as this one
had, in a garden; and Sylvia remem,
bered that a certain green door In tha
nigh wall encircling her grandmother's
grounds opened on a quiet side road.
1t was quite near; they could drive
round that way and she would point
It out.
Thereafter the stars witnessed SOL
emn compact that, that day three
years, at the same hour, Sylvia would
unlock the green door to give Brunto1
entrance.
They were very much In earnest.
Two real tears glistened In Sylvia's
eyes as she spoke of the years that tho
green door must remain closed. And
Brunton's voice got husky and he had
difficulty In rendering his farewellS
as many as he would have wished.
Re-entering Mrs. Derrick's garden
cautiously, the culprits had scarce
gained the safe vantage Of the shrub
berry before encOuntering an emissary
in search Of Sylvia. Lady Martingalo
was going, had been going for quite
ten minutes, and both her cloak and
her granddaughter W. to seek!
Athwart the little green door the
moonlight glinted lily, and Brunton.
standing in the near shadow Of an lick,
would willingly have dropped the COM
ing hour out Of his life.
Since his return to England a few
days before, the memory Of this ap-
preaching assignation had persistently
required to him. AS man of honor,
he knew he dare not shirk it. And yet
TO look into those innocent, trustful
ayes-for Of her constancy he had no
1oubt-and confess how he had chang
ed, and to tell boldly that their meet
ing had proved but an incident, OF no
moment Iii the ordering Of hic life.
He must undeceive her as tenderly as
possible, speak Of Eleanor regretfully,
At least not let Sylvia guess how en-
tirely happy their union was, or that
she, Sylvia, had long ceased to be
aught but pretty, sentimental re-
membrance to him.
Even as he schooled himself distant
clock struck the hour, and with tho
arst faint chime came the steady sound
If an opening lock. She was there!
Gently turning the handle, he passed
through thfe green door and entered
Lady Martingale's garden, Beside tina
great stone basin of the old fountain
stood Sylvia, the moonlight sparkling
IN her hair. and adding an ethereal
glamour to the sheen Of her robe.
A swift pang smote him as he saw
that as when they first met, she wore
white, forgetting that he, too, had
sought to recapture his former aspect
for her view.
Her eyes met his In questioning ap-
Deal, and for a moment mad rush
If pity, romance, affection, call 1t what
you will, overcame him, and, spring
ing forward, he caught her hands.
"Sylviaw
"Yes."
"You had not forgotten?'
mo. And yOu?
II am here"
After the greeting there fell sense
If constraint, which Brunton realized
was not all of his own making. She
was lovely, even more lovely than of
yore-taller, too, with the lapse OF
years-and with an added something
In her expression that was new to
him.
Behind them the fountain splashed
md murmured. Then Sylvia broke tha
silence, speaking as If in answer to his
thoughts.
"You-you have changed-are not tho
same. OF course, you look older and
oronzed Il don't mean that. But there
IS something else-your manner
Brunton felt there was no escape
for him. He must tell her, and at
once.
"Sylvia," he began, breathlessly,
three years Is long time
"Oh, yes; is It not3' she interposed,
"And you know, ones circum.
stances alter-new people Intervene.
Eyes, yes; so they do"
W.. ,,naxpoctad acOuipSCpnce WAS