The Caldwell tribune. [volume] (Caldwell, Idaho Territory [Idaho]) 1883-1928, 1905-04-01
CHAPTER XITI,

Output u very sorry nRuEe.
Dear me, how spruce you look this
morningP' said Martha, as came down
to bTeRkfast. And quite elatcd, tooe' :
Before 10 o'clock was In the neigh
borhood of her house 1t was too early
to go there yet; so fingered about for
a time. How very awkward it was that
had no knowledge of her name! / had
quite forgotten to ask it. AS the time
drew near began to feel nervous A
church clock struck eleven as timidly
knocked at the door. / was answered by
q stout, good tempered looking old lady.
Yone have a yonng lady staying here"
x began, In a hesitating tone.
Oh. you are the young man that Miss
Clara expects, suppose" Saying which,
the old lady deliberately drew a pair
Of spectaeles out of her pocket, and ad.
1usting them, carefully scrutlnized me.
MY appearance seemed to satisfy her, for
she said, lii a more friendly tone walk
In, young man; Miss Clara will be with
you directly" .--... -...
She showed me into a neat little par
lor. Upon the table were several water
cclored drawings, some finished, some rin-
fEished: also some Berlin wool work.
Bouquets Of flowers were everywhere;
upon the table amidst the work, upon the
mantelpiece In two vases, upon a little
stand facing the window, and upon the
cottage piano that stood In corner The
air was loaded with their perfume. In
q few moments the door opened and
Clara came into the room.
You have come, then" she said, with
her sweet, melancholy smile.
As IL aught but death or imprisonment
could have kept me awayl
She painted watercolor pictures, and
did Berlin wool work for the shops, she
told me. She sat down at once and be-
gan her work, and l waited upon her,
washed her brushes, ground her colors,
adjusted the blind, and between these
little offices I watched her busy fingers;
but oftener my eyes were upon her face,
craving its every lineament upon my
memory. Never have / looked upon an
other face SO spiritually beautiful. 1t
was one Of those heads that the old Ital-
Ian painters loved to give to their An
gels and Madonnas,' SO prefectly serene,
so utterly free from human passions.
The fair wavy hair, untrammeled by
arts the oval face, neither full, nor thin,
but perfectly smooth; the low forehead;
the blue eyes; the straight Grecian nose;
the small mouth; the swelling, gracefully
arched neck; the skin so delicately white,
tinted upon the cheeks with the faintest
carnation. Her figure was of about the
middle height, exquisitely graceful, yet
painfully fragile. She wore a black
dress, made high to the neck, with a
small, plain white collar.
We talked very little: she was too busy
with her work, and silence was more
congenial with our mood.
Ats o'clock Mrs. Wilson called US to
dinner, which we took in a breakfast
parlor below. The old lady was very
chatty and very curious, and asked me
great number of indirect questions;
those I did not care to answer con-
trived pretty skillfully to evade.
"You must excuse my questions, SIR"
she said; "but although Miss Clara is
no relation of mine, and, indeed, l know
nothing about her, still feel as much
interested in her as though she were my
own child; she Is so innocent, and knows
so little about the world, that it's quite
necessary that she should have some one
to look after her. Now, you are the
first visitor that she has ever had, and
she has lived with me these two years.
But, when she came home last night she
told me that she had met an old &C.
Quaintance who was coming to see her;
that he had come to the city In search of
employment, and had no friends nor ac-
Quaintances, and was so dreadfully mis-
erahie that 1t made her quite unhappy
to see him. At first, / set my face
against 1t, but she soon coaxed me over,
and / compromised the matter by saying
that you should come this once, but that
II l did not approve Of you, II was to be
the first and the last visit. But must
say you seem very nice, quiet, modest
sort of young gentleman. And what kind
of employment might you be seekingT
told her had been usher at school,
but that atapresent / was doing copy ing.
/ did not say of, what kind. The old
lady remarked that an usher's was a
very genteel sort of employment. Alto
gether she seemed very well satisfied
with me.
In the evening Mrs. Wilson brought
her sewing up into the parlor, and pro
posed that should read to them. And
80 the evening glided on, oh, so rapidly,
until / could no longer see In the dark
ening twilight, and then we all sat near
NAAG WAh4OWI UhESs " lISOn CIAIIluRs ana
Clara silent. She gazing into the street,
with that absent look so common to her;
] watching every motion of her face, as
1t grew more and more indistinct In the
shadows. Lights were brought,
and then we went down to supper, and
then 1t was time to go. . =.
aYou will come and see me again,
won't You ~ she said, as she gave me her
hand at the gate.
wanted no pressing, and arranged
that / would come again on Monday, She
wished me good night. and went In and
closed the door, and the day was ended
the day whose biissful memories will
never fade from my heart.
That day was the precursor of many
like ones, until, in short time, l could
perceive that she looked forward to nv
coming with expectancy, and that my
presence had become thing almost nee |
Ossary TO her. She looked for me to hand
her the painting materials, to grind the
c0lors, to select her skeins of wool, to
BE at her feet and read to her sume
pleasant book; while. between the lights,
shA would sit at the piano and impro-
wise strange, weird, plaintive melodies.
1t was strange communion, ours. In
Il we lived only in the present moment.