Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1902-10-24
HIS LADY OF DREAMS.
[susan Sayre Yarmouth in the New York
Evening Post.1

Evening Post.l
She came suddenly into his sight, dis
polling his brown study and interrupting
his pipe She stood beyond the table,
beside the door. tall and slight, In white
gown that chung to her arms and should
ers and rounded waist and swept about
her feet in heavy folds A cross swung
from her neck by long silver chain, and
she wore a PREDETERMINED hat with a
gauzy white veil, so her face was In
shadow. She leaned slightly towards
Ashe as he clutched the arms of his big
chair and sat forward in amazement.
IT am the Princess Constantia Grego-
RUS" she said gently.
"Of-of Russian he asked stupidity, try
ing to fan away the haze of tobacco
smoke.
There are other lands" she said indif-
ferently And not so far away"
Great Caesarv' he breathed, bewild-
cred, and his pipe dropped from his as
tonlshed fingers. With the feeling that
1t was the only bond between him and
nationality, he stopped to pick It up and
as he rose he struck his head sharply
against the corner of the library table.
Dizzy from the blow, he staggered to
HIS feet and looked towards the door.
She was gone as mysteriously as she had
come He rushed blindly around the
table and across the room, stumbling
over easy CnalfS ana IOOtSIOOlS, ana Senu-
ing revolving bookcase spinning around.
The hall was brilliant after the smoky
library. and II was also empty. No
trailing gowns had turned up the edges
of the rugs. nor could he hear any hurry
ing steps on the polished stairs. He
blinked at the sun pouring red and purple
through the painted window for a NOM
ent, and then turned back and sat down
on the nearest chair. Good heavens!
what a m Win cho7 What
was her motive in appearing and an
nouncing herself In that royal way? And
he hadn't seen her face! Well. If 1t was
as pretty as her figure-oh, confound his
head and he was still feeling of II
gingerly, too dazed to think of more than
one thing at time. when he heard his
friends cheerful whistle in the hail.
well, old chap" said Thurston. COM
ing In. "Phewl but that pipe of yours
is a fright II we don't air this room
before the mater gets into 1t, your goose
is cookedl'
why. what will she do?" inquired the
other. uncertainty.
you'll never get another bid for Sun
day." said the first throwing open one OF
the windows. Gee. I didn't realize how
rank Cissie Is getting. Retire her. Billy,
and get another. But. say what's the
matter, old man? left you composing a
sonnet and going to sleep over it. What's
wrong7"
Ashe looked down at his maligned
pipe. and then up at his friend.
Say. do you suppose she thought II
was rank7" he asked.
THE mater?" said Thurston, puzzled
she hasn't been here already. has shei
II so. we'd better go back tonight. Did
she wake you up?
mo. I just dreamed it," said the owner
OF the pipe. and began to feel of his
bump with a frown of pain. His friend
looked at him for a moment curiously
and then aimed a heavy leather cushion
from the nearest Morris chair at him
Wake up. you IDIOT" he said. This
is no sleeping-car." The idiot parrie6
the cushion.
Dick. has your sister a friend visiting
herr" he inquired.
mo" said the other.
well, there was one in here, anyway
pursued Ashe.
zone WHAT demanded Thurston.
zone princess said the other. Hi.
host surveyed him in silence for a nom
ent.
"Ashe. you're crazyr he said at last
Come out and take walk"
Mr.. Wilmerding Ashe was making fo
himself rather neatreputation with read
ers of current magazines as a writer o.
clever little occasional verses. Amonl
his friends at his clubs he was considered
a good fellow. and they chose to assume
that somewhere he kept hidden away tn,
person who wrote his verses for him
His mothers friends approved of hin
because he paid his calls. and he wal
chiefly famous with the young ladies o.
his rather general acquaintance as {
master of the arts of Welsh rarebitr,
and badinage. But no one was prepared
- ~ IL All Al
ticism of his latest verses. which appeare,
in one of the best of the monthly period
icals under the name of MY Lady of tn,
Realm of Dreams" and which would hav
done credit to a much more ambition
poet than Billy Ashe Ashe himsel
thought rather well of them; he fel
that IL in some way compensated TO
the very nasty knock on the head tina
the Lady had been the means of givinl
him. and that he had turned a most per
picking dream to very good account.
was better than taking 1t to the Societ,
of Psychical Research. which he ha,
thought of doing in the vividness of hi
first impression, but six months withou
any farther developments, waking or sleep
ing, had dulled his keen conviction of 1t
psychic value. Meanwhile. a comfortabl
check from the magazine had seemed t
take the thing out of the province o
psychic research.
Ashe was a modest man. but not to
much so to find little lionizing quite t
his taste, and he went to afternoon tea
and cotillions with a feeling that to-mor
row would be some one else's day, and h
must gather his roses while he might
So he entered Mrs. Fosters long draw
ingroom prepared to smile as he listene
to his verses misquoted by fair fiatterers
he retained that serene attitude of min
while he shook hands with Mrs. Foster
and not one minute longer. For beyon
Mrs. Foster. and standing just outsid
the ring of light from a tall lamp, wa
the Lady of his dreams. with her whit
gown that chung to her shoulders an
round waist, and hared with heavy fold
at her feet. This time she wore ia
on the long silver chain around her necl
and she had no hat nor veil, so Ash
could see that she was regarding hiI