Greene County herald. (Leakesville, Miss.) 1898-current, 1903-12-11
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A Romantic Day
are you laughing?"
asked Elsa, as we entered
the picture gallery.
1T seems a little incon-
gruous," I answered.

gruOuS, / answered..

0AC
"That this great place should belong
to such a small person, and that she
should live in 1t alone"
"Don't you think 1t would be rather
NICE she cried abruptly, as she
stopped before a portrait of George
lis reign. IF women wore powder
nowadays?"
"Every generation has its own meth
DDS of Disgusting Nature" I suggested.
Elsa raised a pair of merry eyes:
"Do you intend to intimate that
mine"
II have known it far too long to feel
the slightest doubt" I answered, with
a glance at her yellow head.
"Men," she cried, 'looked more gal
liant In those days"
Anyhow they were more inclined to
gallantry," / admitted.
"Still," said Elsa, with a sigh, II
believe that life had more of ro-
nance"
"What do you mean by romanceg"
~ could tell you better who is un-
romantic" she answered.
"Well," / suggested. your own ex-
p~erienee has been romantic enough"
81 thought / must be dreaming" she
said. when 1 heard that Uncle Rich
ard had left everything to me-"
"a veritable fairy tale"
"But still"
"Only requiring the Prince to COM
plete the fable" I answered.
at feel certain" she exclaimed with
suspicious embarrassment, that there
was more romance in those days.
Everybody says that chivalry is dead.
How long" she added. leading the
way along the gallery, sis it since you
went abroad?"
"Four years" I said.
"Oh. dearw cried Elsa. with a sigh.
show quickly the time passes!!"
"Has it seemed very short?"
"It has simply iown," she answered.
"But," she said a moment later, as
she stopped to inspect a small Dutch
interior, II never quite understood
why you left England"
"Didn't you?"
Elsa turned her back to the picture
and stared up into my face, solemnly
shaking her head.
mo suspicion entered your mind?" l
asked.
III am not Of a suspicious nature"
"But STILL"
ftYTA-v a.rrld IL xrltnn Won didn't foil
me?" she demanded.
"Isn't a good deal of a woman's
knowledge supposed to be intuitive?
I suggested.
AZ suppose I was scarcely a woman"
she murmured.
"How old are you now"
"Twenty-one."
"Yet, I fancied that you had some
idea"
Elsa shook her head again, perhaps
with a little less determination.
"'Why did you goT'
..aTo seek the root of all evil"
"Oh, then I ought to hope you didn't
find it!' she exclaimed.
"Well," I said, 81 didn't"
$50 your voyage was wasted?"
ST seem to be a complete failure"
I confessed.
ooh, but how can you possibly tell?"
she asked, with a serious expression.
I daresay 1 laughed a little grimly.
"You can't possibly tell whether you
have won or lost until the game is fin
ished." said Elsa.
Anyhow" I ~retorted, "the first hand
Is played out"
"How horribly m%ercenary you must
be!r she exclaimed a few moments
later.
"Mercenary0
"You must be very fond of money to
spend four years looking for it." cried
Elsa; and she began to take off her
gloves-they were white this summer
afternoon.
cit wasn't exactly the money"
"Then," she demanded, what was
IT."
81 happened to be fond of some one
else"
"Oh," she cried, with a laugh, snow
/ am beginning to understand. Don't
you think that is a sweet faceY' she
added, rather impetuously, the next
instant, as she held out her right hand,
with the white gloves hanging from it,
toward a Greuze a few yards away.
81 imagined you understood four
years ago." I answered.
did you have IA very hard timer
asked Elsa.
"Oh, well, 1T was pretty rough now
and then"
81 suppose you found it rather
rather lonely right away from every
body?" she suggested.
"Of course" I explained, ''there was
Howard"
81 had known him at the VARSITY"
I continued, "and we were both in the
Storage"
"You travelled in the s~teeragew cried
Elsa. with an expression Of something
like horror.
"Why not?
"When I remember you in all your
glory"
Many a better chap was there" l
said; Howard among them. We
chummed together; agreed to pool our
funds and 90 shares until we had made
our fortunes"
aBut you-you didn'tE
"No," I answered. 1--WE certainly
didn't"
did he come home with you?'
asked Elsa.
Hes dead. poor chap" I said, and
Elsa remained silent a few minutes
as we walked slowly along the gallery,
examining a picture now and then
by the way.
did he die on the way home?v she
asked, quietly.
Away up country in Australia"
"Then." she said. "why did you
return?'
Nostalgia" I answered. "You fret
and growl and get sick with every
thing You long for the old places