The new enterprise. (Madison, Fla.) 1901-1908, 1907-06-27
A Naval Engagement.

Iona in Spanish, with his knee
thrown over the arm Of the chair. He
looked immensely picturesque with the
yellow ribbon of Elsie's 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 a 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 "Beautys
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 singing)
Then Elsie, who had always sung
with the eXpressiveness of a boarding.
school girl, with mechanical heights
and depths, sang with real grace and
feeling that eXquisitely dainty and
simple 81 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, sensitiyely and finely
constructed, felt upon him the eyes of
her soul.
The days sped along like the trees
and fields outside a train window,
each a miniature perfection. Bright,
cloudless days they were, of white sun
light and straggiing, 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 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 Queenc" to explain and an
essay to write on Much Ado"
The mildly read the "Sonnets from
the Portuguese and Rossetti's House
OF Life" He read with a great dea!
Of EXPRESSION, and Elsie thought poet
~ 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 ne count the ways" enc,
and Elsie (no wonder) blushed under
his look, After that the MILDLY did
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 a great deal and made verses
himself. He told her he had nothing
10 do but TO read and write when they
were at sea, when she, with sigh,
said she wished she knew all the love-
ly poems he did and that she were
clever and 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 were
much more beautiful than any she had
ever heard. She said over some OF
Ike words TO herself that night as she
vas getting ready for bed, and she
kissed her fingers just as If she had
al novels.
When they went to dances Elsie
,d.d not remember all the men she
.lced with, but she knew just how
many dances one particular MILDLY had.
There was a farewell dance given,
lie officers the night before the ship
sailed. Everybody was very gay.
Elsie had been reading poetry alone
nat day and looked trihe pale. She
ore light blue-you know she was
= blonde and just out of boarding
.chool. She carried big bunch al