The Eureka sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1902-current, 1903-12-26
MY ''WALLFLOWER"
fOrigfual1

height. I was young and impression
able. lust the age to be u away with
by a fancy, especially for a woman
One evening at n Of the large enter
fainments of the season l noticed q
Young girl sitting alone in the corner
q q sofa. There was that in her ap-
pearance which attracted me strangely.
Perhaps I showed my admiration In
my expression, for when u eyes met
she colored slightly and turned her
glance quickly away. Turning to q
lady standing beside me, I asked IL she
knew my "waIlfower' and IL she would
introduce me. The lady glanced at the
.lrl and shook her head. / tried an
other and another, with no better sue
cess. The girl o noticed that was
trying to secure an introduction to her
and could not repress an amused
smile Presently an elderly clerical
gentleman came In and took her away
from tie room and the house. / went
q the host described n young lady
and asked her mace He could not
rake cut fron nay dssciptfon %
whoa 1 referred, but suggested. in
view ~ the lack o. attention paid her,
that she r.ust - 1oro poor uainis-er's
daughter from the opunuy.
1 went home, expecting . fc. all
about the incident, hut was surprised
to find that 1t, or at least the girl. would
not be forgotten. At the end Of q week
there was no change, and at the end Of
a month I had discovered that I was in
love.
Three months passed, and when a
warm spring day came on I got out
park. A carriage passed me, and there,
lying back on the cushions, was my
wallfower. On seeing me a scarcely
perceptible smile fitted across her
face, and then she was gone. I rode
on In a flutter of excitement Then as
soon Is I could recover my wits l
turned and dashed after her. A police
man seized my bride and took me to
the station, where I paid a fine Of $40
for fast riding.
Our next meeting was at the sailing
Of IN ocean steamer for Southampton,
England. / came to bid adieu to
friends, and as the ship left the wharf,
q white cloud of handkerchiefs waving
on both wharf and steamer, there, lean
ing over the rail, was my wallfower.
She saw me, laughed, as though the
matter were amusing, and faded away
from me.
l secured a stateroom on the next
steamer for England and In less than
ten days was in London. ! had not
realized the folly of attempting to find
my inamorata till I reached the great
smoky city. However, concluding that
all Americans make some stop at the
British capital before going on to the
continent, I went to the principal no.
tells, scrutinized the names of recent
arrivals, asked questions about the per-
sons who bore them, went everywhere
where strangers were sure to go, but
saw nothing Of the girl I was hunting.
Then / went to Paris, Berlin, Vienna
and a host Of other places, returning to
London at the time of the social season
there. One day while riding up the
Strand toward the city a carriage
passed me. driven by a coachman in
claret colored livery, with a footman, to
match. Inside the carriage vas my
wallfower. I called loudly to my driv-
er to stop, but the noise of the vehicles
was so great that he did not hear me.
We were blocked for a moment. The
girl saw me, seemed intensely amused,
and her carriage passed on. I finally
caught my drivers attention and told
him to turn and follow the carriage;
but, owing to the crowded condition of
the street, before he could get a free
passage we had lost all trace Of 1t. I
remained In London a month, hoping
for another meeting, but was obliged to
return to America disappointed.
The next winter one Of my invita-
tons attracted my especial attention.
1t vas for a dinner and cotfllon at the
house where I had seen my wallflower.
Since the affair was a select one for
twenty couples 1 had no hope of seeing
O poor minister's daughter from the
country" Had it not been for q desire
to look at the sofa ON which she had
sat ! should have sent my regrets.
y - WoSp o~SSRtCas OA SAS SvSA1h9
Of the dinner I went to the house q lit
tie early, and as no one was in the
drawing room to receive me I went to
the sofa where I had first seen my ideal
and sat whsre she had sat to dream Of
her. Gradually the Dol filed, and the
host made his way to me. Come"
he said. Let me present you to the
lady you are to take to dinner. She's
not known here, though she has met
with considerable social success In Lon
don. Wait a moment. She's engaged
at present" A few minutes later he
approached me with a lady on his arm.
Great heaveni Who should she be but
my wallfiower, my poor minister's
daughter from the countryr' l did not
see her till she was directly before me.
I looked up, my lackadaisical express
sion changing to surprise, delight, con-
fusion. while she-how did this woman
whom I had been hunting all over the
world greet me? She laughed.
Dinner was nnounce and I felt tina