Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1906-08-09
VIRGINIA Of
WASHINGTON"
BY Eleanor Austin Harris
Copyright 1906, by l. g. PARCELS

Hasn't ne nice blue eyes, said Miss
Dressed
Horrors, child. Don't You say such
things out loud, What if ne should uu-
derstand Euglish:'
impossible, Aunt Ellen. German
blondncss, reading German paper
travelling in German train with bag
gage marked A. Won s, Bremen
"Virglnia What does possess your
l never heard You talk So
Miss Dressed laughed hearty Amer
lean laugh Il am SO glad to shake the
dust of Europe off my feet that I can't
keep it In. I'm SO glad were headed
for Hamburg, the Kaiser Wilhelm der
Crosse, America and Washington that
-that-wcH honestly | should Ike to
kick the cpaulets off the guards gor-
geous blue and gold uniform. Don't
faint, Aunt Ellen. I'll stop and not say
another word for an hour"
For an hour and five minutes Miss
Dressed sat silent. OstenSibly watching
the valleys, the German gables, the
green of meadows and forests, rs they
swept by. For an hour and FIVE min
utes their young German fellow travel
er read his German paper and for an
hour and five minutes Miss Ellen Van
strum enjoyed perfect peace of mind.
Then Miss Dressed cOughed, and Miss
VanstIum inwardly caught her breath.
Aunt Ellen" said Miss Dressed, Ia
zily waving her hand toward the seen
cry as if she were discussing it-"Aunt
Ellen, do you know that young man
has a drcadfully nice face, even If he
Is a German. Oh. don't look shocked.
Just gaze out the window as if | were
talking about the scenery, and he viii
never know the difference. I've been
looking at him off and on for the last
hour. Just see what n nice firm mouth
he has. He's SO we'll grOOmcd too. Just
look at his finger nails. Oh, Aunt FL
len. | wish you wouldn't gasp so. l
like his looks better than any foreigner
| have seen in the five years we have
spent in Europe. Really, | shouldn't
mind being married if | could get such
n handsome. well groOmed man as he
is.
"Virginia. oh, Virginia." groaned
Mrs. Vanstrum. "Its-it's indecent to
talk about Il man like that when be
can't understand"
Don't jiggle your pompadour crook
ed Aunt Ellen" said Miss Dressed
calmly. Don't worry. If hc under
stood English he would have betrayed
himself long ago. lie might hc chunk
of pink and white and yellow tatfy for
all he understands of the English Ian
guagc Thank goodness. Aunt Ellen.
here we are almost at Hamburg. Here,
let me tie your veil. You are getting
1t on crooked. No, let me carry the
suit case It's a young house. Now
for my last fec-almost-on foreign
soil"
The train had hardly come to long
screeching stop in the great station al
Hamburg when the door of the car
rlagc was jcrkcd violently open and a
young man pulled the German out
with a hearty grip. cXclaming in Eng
lish:
We're in luck. There was a state
room unengaged on the Kaiser Will
helm. and we can sail four days earlier
than we expected. Good luck. man.
Why don't you say something instead
of looking at me like daZed idiotF
The German pulled himself together
with noticeable effort and began 10
stammcr out something in German.
when the other interrupted him impa-
ticntly.
"Aw. cut that out, You know per
fectly well | can't understand word
of German. Never mind come aloug.'
The young German flushed red. and
with one appealing look straight into
the eyes of the astDuishcd Miss Drcs-
sci he picked up his suit case ANA was
soon lost to view in the hurryinG
thTOng.
Miss DRESSED silently picked up her
luggage, carefully avoiding her aunts
eye, and for a minute after leaving
the carriage she looked hclplcssly
about her. Then the label "Bcrlin" on
a carriage caught her eye, and without
word To her puzzled relative She took
her by the arm. raced her across the
station and pushed her in stumbling in
herself, just as the guard put his hand
on the door TO close il.
"Why-what- where said Miss
Vanstrum
Il don't know" said her niece dcs
perately, but most anywhere out Of
Hamburg"
But our steamer" saspcd Miss Van
strum
whats losing a steamer Aunt FL
len, compared with my peace Of mind?
I'd no more sail on the Kaiser Wilhelm
now than ia fly. Aunt Ellen, you're a
jewel not to say, ! told YOU so nor
even To look it,"
"You haven't given me time" laugh
ed Miss Vunstrum, "but | must say !
certainly think it, There, I'm glad
we're off at last | don't think ] my
self care to come face to face with that
young fellow again"
1t was the evening Of the last mu-
sicalc OF the season at the White
| House. and an unWonted air of antici-
patton pervadcd the brilliant throng as
! it gathered in the great east room
| "Thcy say she has one of the finest
| voices ever heard off the stage" said
the wife of a South American diplo-
mat But the family is ono Of the
| kind they call here f. +. v and will
not let her accept amy of the offers she
has had for grand opera. This is her
| ONLY appCaraucp i'm public since She r.