The Van Buren press., 1899-02-04

he acquaintance o. ne At609A4fE- III
came TO her across tie field hat lay be
tween the house ard the church. ard
/ she could see his fair hair shining n the
sun. He vas tai ard handsome. she
thought.
NY mother sent me 70 tell fou that
tea i ready. It's half an hour earlier
than usual. Yes. I've Just come down.
L al seems very beautiful. after Loz-
don. doesn't it2"
ATS 50 beautiful said Aabel, that
I am beginning 70 wonder how shall
ever b. abe 10 leave IL
He walked beside her Tor awhile II
silence. then he said:
You were a. Girton. ny mother tells
ne. Don't you find this sort Of thing
strange after the stirring Intellectual
+ life fhere?s
she laughed q little
= don't think we were very intel
/ tectual-" she began
+ i feel 50 much all have missed" !" he
said. II only ny father had rot sown
wheat that year"
.'Yes.a she said. Il know; il was FeFF
hard
She was interested in the boy for.
/ though he was Of her own age, he
seemed 10 her infinitely young. His
naive. blunGering anxiety 10 lei her See
/ that he, too. knew al about the ''intel-
lectual life his respect for her as
/ Girton girl. and, above all. a certain
wistful sadness about his blue eyes
stirred her half-amussd sympathy. His
presence seemed 10 promise a rev in
terest to life at the farm.
The promise was fulfilled He At
taehed himself frankly 10 Miss ROs-
/ commons apron strings-walked with
/ her, drove her in the market cart. sal
with her under the gray apple boughs.
and talked without eeasing. He was
well-read, was acquainted with modern
as well IS classic lIterature-he quoted
almost necessarily. When he was not
quoting he talked OF authors. OF ed
tions. Of style and Of form How should
+ she know that he had his own dreams
+ which he managed 10 disguise under
F these quotations from the dreams %
F others? Miss RoSeommoa Vas the first
educated woman he had ever net. ant
be seemed angonizedly anxious TO lose
no chance Ct showing her that be. too
had beer educated. that be was not
merely the foolish boz she might have
expected to find In the son Of the
F house" al farm. At first his sensitive
F iDsisfent egofism amused Mss R0seom-
mon, then i irritated her. and al the
end Of three days she was Is near hat-
i ing Robert Fry as she had ever been
T 10 hating anyone-even the least-loTed
professor al Cambridge. Yet. after al
ii was not possible % Mabel quite 10
hate anyone. nor Vas il possible tha.
Robert Fry should ever Be by anyone
quite hated She had 5 very manly veiu
" toleranee-and he q fimid. appealing
manner, which. Il lot feminine. was a.
leas; childlike. But b. quotations 20.
on her nerves, and the quiet charm o.
her holiday was shattered. 1t was Oh
the fourth evening that she spoke. He
had been standing beside her. looking
at he SEA. and suddenly broke the calm
Of The great silence 10 quote Mathew
Ar1old's lines:
The sea OF faith
Was thus once at the full. and round esrth's
Lay liks tie folds Of a bright girdle furied.
But now
Il wish you wouldu L" she interrupt
ed, almost peevishly.
His blue eyes turned on her with the
appealing look Of a child's wear when
one whom it trusts speaks with sudden
harshness.
Don't look al me like that" she
said. her patience aud her pretty man
ners giving way together under the
strain Of that absurd appeal. Its only
that l came into the country TO rest,
and"
Il see, you don't like me TO talk to
you. am very sorry. never meant
TO bore you. It's very good of you to
4 tell me straight out" He raised his cap
and turned TO leave her.
"Oh, don't." she said again. 81 am
so sorryl Idon't mean TO be rude-but,
don't you feel it, too? One wants TO
rest from literature and all that sort
Of thing. l am sure you feel it, too,
only you think a person from Girton
wants this sort of entertaining. She
doesn't, | assure you; she just wants to
look about and see things happen, see
how the flowers grow, and what the
pigs eat, and how the sheep come into
the fold, and wonder how the chickens
know when it's time to be fed"
He stood looking at her, still wisi-
fully.
You're not angry with me, are you?"
he said.
Angry? No, of course not; and you
mustn't be angry with me. 1t was
very bad-tempered of me, because |
know you were only doing ii to please
me. Bnt you won't any more, will
you? I"s not necessary"
''Whst am to talk about, then?"
81 have an idea" she said, flashing a
brilliant smile at him. Let US never
talk at all. unless we have something We
very nuch want TO say"
He smiled back at her, but his smile
was a little sad. Yet he accepted the
new basis Of conversation. In the first
day or two their talk lost in bulk, but
in quality il gained. Then Miss Ros-
common awoke TO the fact that he was
talking as much as ever. and she more
than ever before. And now she began
10 perceive glimpses of the real man.
of the passionate love of all things
beautiful that had lain beneath his
veneer of cheap culture. He talked no
more of literature and art. Nor did he