Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1901-04-06
Bq E.arari J,o< Appleton.


>a~- with the customary bright yell
- low hair which would turn to
brown in Il few years and
blue eyes that were even on their way
to becoming gray, but though she I'M
doubtcdly rescmblcd Hopkins in many
ways. she was but child. Her moth
cr and father had both died one winter
in the South. more lhan Il year ago,
and Hopkins. being the child'S uncle
on its mothers side, had taken it for
his own because there seemed to be no
one else 10 take it. All II0pknS'S pcO-
pie were dead, also. or abroad for in
definite periods, and remembering,
with Il shuidrr, the crudity of the
chiid'S fathers relations, Hopkins
knew that his sister would never resi-
in her grave II he allowed them to
bring ii up. SO he did Il queer thine.
rs he was more than apt to do. and
took The little girl 10 bring up himself.
Not that he attempted the thing sin
Glc-handVd-iha would have been too
wild an undertaking" even for Hop.
NliiH' i'' SIlilIIN VI DNEHi IltI llDilli'. iiV
his faithful old housckccpcr and her
daughter. took the little ane in hand,
while he treated her rs if she We're his
daughter and consequently was not
bored by her presence Il great deal.
She WAS three years old when she
came TO him. and inside OF six months
she was calling him Papa quite MS if
she had never had another such rcla-
tive, and Hopkins, having Il lurking
fondnrsS for children. rather Cnco,l-
aged her TO do so, though pretending
to himself that ii annoyed him.
Very few of his club friends knew of
his ecccntricity in this case, but those
who did, and who saw him driving
with her every pleasant afternoon in
the park smiled and murmurcd:
'Thorc is Hopkins with his youngs-
ter. Queer chap, he" and passed on.
Now, added to his love for children,
Hopkins loved home life, ana being Il
Young man who had seen comparative
ly little of that life. he naturally ideal
lied what little he knew of IT. When
WV N'NilSHl'i 'slI'l' w HIS HOUSE anu
made n broad beam of sunlight whrr-
ever she went. that idealiZation grew
even larger, and he wished in truth
she were his daughter and that Kath-
crime. But here Hopkins smiled
and stopped thinking.
He was in love, Of course. There
had never lived Hopkins in all the
generation of IIopkinscS that had not
been in that condition during the
greater part of his life. but Hopkins
was quite sure that though his anccS-
tors had been ardent lovers all, none
of them could have cared for their |
chosen ones as he cared for Katherine /
"A fact which he Impaired TO them |
one night as he sat in the library and |
unused on the subject after the young
stcr was safely put to bed. And the
only answer thoS" respected ancestors |
made was 10 let Il quiet smile spread |
over each and every one Of their paint
nnd-canyaS faces, and broaden in the |
frclight'S pleasing glow.
Bat though their descendant was not
ordinarily coward, and quite as self
possessed rs most young men OF his |
set, when ii came to saving those same |
f"rvcnt words to Katherine herself. |
he found 1t just Il little more than he
could muster courage TO do The aw.
ful possibility of failure stared him so
constantly in the face that If he did |
not trcmllc in his physical knees when |
he thought o. it, he undoubtedly did so |
in his astral cotlntcrparts. Yet when !
ever he went around the square to see
her rs he did very regularly now, he
started down the steps with |
the firm determination to ask her and |
have 1t over with, ana he invariably |
came back with that strong resolve
done up in Splints. as it wcrc, and a
feeling of sclf-contcmpi, mingled with |
sclf-pity. embedded in his mind.
But one night--ir was one OF the
nights when he did not 80 to sec Kath. |
crime, and which had been spent with |
the you.@Stcr in IN extremely noisy |
ana rompin%. but entirely happy. man |
nrr-a great idea came to him. and the |
upvCrmost in his mind nowadays, he
began the next day to develop, and |
nurse, and enlarge il, and get ready TO |
make it OF use to him.
The next day but one. that idea hav-
ing been made the most of. he came
home early in the afternoon. and in.
structing Mrs. Higgins. thn house |
Keeper, to put on the Youngsters best |
bib and tucker, he ran upstairs to his |
room. where he found his own clothes |
laid out by his faithful man. |
In the course of an hour he rcappearcd |
ana mt the foot of the stairs found the
youn"stcr waiting for him. looking cy-
copliouallN pretty in dainty little
gown he had not seen before
I'VE will be back in IN hour or so,