The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-05-31
A Naval Engagement.


played the guitar He sang ia Pa
Iona in Spanish, with his knee
thrown over the arm Of the chair. He
looked immensely picturesque with the
yellow ribbon Of Elsies guitar against
his uniform.
When the latter ingenious young
woman said she liked Spanish songs,
he sang "Pepita's Mouth" and "Hasta
La Manana" with glances at the blind
girl, who was as different as possible
from the Pepita OF whom he warbled.
Mrs Forbes poked her husbands
foot little. He looked at her blank
". OF course he had not noticed any
thing.
Then Elsie sang, too, with the piano,
'The Garden of Sleep" and "Beauty's
Eyes" The MILDLY said she should
have let him sing the latter, which he
did to her accompaniment, with great
expression and fervor. (She had love-
ly little shiyers down her back that he
did not know anything about while he
was singingD
Then Elsie, who had always sung
with the expressiYeness of a boarding
school girl, with mechanical heights
and depths, sang with real grace and
feeling that exquisiteIy dainty and
simple 4 Leaned Out of the Window"
She did not look at him as she sang:
Oh! my sailor, make haste,
For the time runs to waste
And my love, my love lieth deep
but the MILDLY sensitively and finely
constructed, felt upon him the eyes Of
her soul.
The days sped along like the trees
and fields outside train window,
each miniature perfection. Bright,
cloudless days they We're of white sun
light and Struggling, lazy flowers. Her
life seemed as bright and shining as
the country roads themselves, but
more smooth and even than any
streets.
She took no thought of tomorrow,
so happy was she in today. He spent
all his spare time with her when he
was off duty, walking, driving, bicy-
cling or reading aloud in the cool
porch. There the sunshine came
through in a soft green blur made fra
grant with the perfume, almost over
sweet, of the white flowers of the
clematis
He read poetry Elsie had never read
poetry before except in school, where
they had had Paradise Lost" to parse,
The. Faerie Queene" to explain and an
essay to write on much ADO"
The MILDLY read the "Sonnets from
the Portuguese" and Rossettis House
Of Life He read with a great deal
of expression, and Elsie thought poet
ny was lovely The MILDLY laughed
when she said so, and read another
sonnet looking quizzical
1t happened to be the How do
love thee, let me count the ways" one,
and Elsie (no wondeD blushed under
his look After that the MILDLY did
not look Quizzical when he read. Ell
sic might not understand poetry, but
she did understand some things.
After a week the MILDLY began to
quote poetry-in the moonlight He
knew great deal and made verses
himself He told her he had nothing
TO do but to read and write when they
We're at sea, when she, with a sigh,
said she wished she knew all the love-
ly poems he did and that she were
cleyersand wrote poetry.
Once coming home in the moonlight
he put his fingers over hers on his
arm and quoted some lines that be-
gan
My loves blue eyes are like the sea,
And there | make my home
The lines were Of just about that re-
markable degree of excellence of the
variety Of poetry known as college
verse, but Elsie thought they we're
much more beautiful than any she had
ever heard. She said over some Of
the words to herself that night as she
was getting ready for bed, and she
kissed her fingers just as if she had
al novels.
When they went to dances Elsie
eaald not remember all the men she
csd with, but she knew just how
sny dances one particular MILDLY had
There was farewell dance given
Me officers the night before the ship
eailed Everybody was very gay.
Elsie had been reading poetry alone
ut day and looked a trife pale. She
w0re light blue-you know she was
blonde and just out Of boarding
hool. She carried big bunch at