Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-10-31
\ The Girl of the
 II A ~~~~ Hos0ard FIcIdirS

date of my arrival in Chicago.
 After reading this statement looked back through the other letters in a vain attempt to find something descrip- tive of Sibyl's personal appearance. l would have welcomed word upon the color of her eyes, and the mention of her weight would have greatly assisted me in rectifying a mental picture that must now be far out of date. Nothing of the sort existed in these documents. Sibyls wit, vivacity, scholarship, ac- it appeared that she sang wel1-were often referred to, and especially her amiability. The last was ominous, for goodness of heart has been set against beauty since the days when our early ancestors dwelt in the branches of trees.
 My father did not say that he wished me to marry Sibyl. He was so careful not to say 1t that caught him lodging it on every page of all those letters. His satisfaction at some word of mine in a late communication to him indicating that I was bringing my whole heart home was really amusing, and 1t was immediately followed by some rather vague allusions to the number of SibyI's admirers. was not cheered by discovering that the chief among them was a young man who had just ascended the pulpit and might be disposed to hold beauty as a mere transitory earthly vanity and those traits which are commonly Jumped as goodness" to be the truly valid attrac- tons. There was also hint about Ar thur Strickland, and this was nearly fatal, for Arthur as youth was a special providence for homely girls. A fellow who has that trouble never gets over it, so far as I have been able to observe.
 Now, upon the subject of beauty I am not quite right in my mind. I can not honestly say that ever so much as asked girl to dance. except from motives of politeness, unless she seem ed to me to possess the element of beauty. For me the whole matter be- gins there. I admit the existence of all the admirable qualities that are men, tioned by name in the dictionary, but if they were united in one woman and she were not beautiful could as easily fall in love with the Data of Ethics as with her.
 It was a perfect certainty that my ia ther wished me to marry Sibyl. He had expressed such q hope long before, and knew that it was as strong In him as ever, though there was not a word directly upon that theme in these last letters. Doubtless he feared the usual rncI1If of nor ntoJ fr+ o young mans liberty of choice, and, be- sides, he was too good father to bur den me with a definite expression of his wish. Therein lay all the sorrow of the situation. If he had been the sort of father that may disinherit a fellow or invoke the wrath oA heaven to punish disobedience, shGGId have been positively pleased with the pros pect of disappointing him. But he would never do any such thing; he would always be kind and generous, al- ways helpful, sincere, resourceful in my interests, a comrade through and through, always a gentleman and the everlastingly unapproachable model of fathers. OOnfound him! That was where he had me. I should marry Sibyl out of respect and love for the dear old governor, supDosing, of course, that the girl would take me. as she certainly would, for precisely the same reason
 So that was all settled, and it re- mained only to guess and at last Gs know what particular form of ugliness the poor child had developed into since my eyes had last beheld her. She must have been almost IA on that occasion. but my memory refused to serve me in regard 10 it. The wavering, compos- ite image which I have already men, tioned was the best could exhuIne
 There had been something peculiar about SibyPs hair, It was what the children called "calico hair" because it presented a pattern in colors, wide spread but singularly inaccurate term, as calico. strictly speaking, has no pat tern. However SibyIs hair had many; it underwent change of hue much more xioleut than is ordinary andkery
 x.s.