River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1908-04-02

Marmy was perfectly cOnLentCQ, ana
had never had an ambition in the
world, except perhaps on one occa-
sion; and then, if Marmy had been
handsome and gentleman-but
there Romances aren't as simple in
real life as they are upon the stage;
and SO Marmy's romance was hardly
a romance at all What little there
was took place at Hayfields.
THE Whirlwnd Or Sin" had had
the good luck to get a three nights
Iill at the theater there. because "The
Sorrows of Satan" had proved dis
appointment, and it was choice Of
THE Whirlwind" or closing the
house.
The company had arrived and
Marmy was looking for a place to
sleep when Marmy's romance began.
Down the High street came a dash
ing pair of horses, and behind them
sat young woman. whom Marmy
described as a sort Of queen. 1t
wasn't her beauty so much as her air
of breeding that conquered Marmy.
This beautiful young creature looked
Marmy straight in the eyes as her
carriage passed, and Nanny believes
she smiled at him, though I'm not
sure but that Nanny is a little fanci-
full here; for though Nanny was fully
satisfied with the frock-coat which he
had picked up in one of the towns on
tour, still his Panama hat and large
bow tie detracted from the air OF
smartness that one could wish for in a
gentleman on Sunday
However, whatever passed between
the young woman and Nanny caused
him such agitation that by the end of
the evening Nanny had made himself
a byword in the town, through the
way in which he wandered up and
down the High street, watching out,
though vanly, for her carriage.
On the third and last day, Marmy,
while out seeking another glance at
the young woman, found himself max
ing for the quiet Of the country lanes
surrounding Hayfelds.
The road on which lie stood ran
along the hillside; then it twisted, and
came back into the valley underneath.
lie raised his eyes and looked defect
eddy along the road, twisting up
among the bracken-fern and gorse
bushes to the distant skyline. Then,
Us he watched mournful, respondent,
the sharp sound of wheels came to
him, and over the crest of the hill
bowled q dog-cart, with the young
woman he had seen in the High street
seated in it, The horse was dashing
along so quickly that Nanny had only
time to grasp the bewildering fact
that it was really she, before she had
borne down on him and passed him.
She was sitting up very proudly and
holding the rcins with perfect conf
dence, though Nanny observed at the
time there was no groom behind; but
she flew by so quickly that he was
conscious only of a passionate desire
to see her again. and in some way
to attract her notice. The whole thing
occurred so suddenly that before he
knew what he was doing he found
himself racing down, across the
meadow. to the lower road along
which the cart would have to pass in
the next few minutes.
Anyway, he had tumbled down the
hill, and was over the fence and stand
ing by the roadside when the cart
came tearing round the bend, and then,
even Nanny, for all his amazing fool
ishness, saw that the horse was out of
hand, and was running away. When
the young woman saw Marmy stand
ing there she thought he had seen her
danger from the first, and had dashed
down the hill to save her; and &C.
cording to Marmy, the most beautiful
look of rapture came over her face,
and if she didn't call out to him to
help her, it was only because she had
such complete confidence that he
would do it.
Nanny has owned since that if he
had had time TO think he never could
have brought himself to touch that
horse, for 1t was snorting and biting
the air till it seemed more like ra-
ging lion than a domestic animal; but
such is the surprisingness of life that
Marmy caught on to the horses head,
and what is more surprising still-for
horses were as much a mystery to
Marmy as unborn babies-the horse
was actually impressed by Marmy's
bluff, and stopped. 1t was such a
wonderful moment that. Marmy says,
even before he released the painting
shetland you may be sure he got
away from the animal as soon as he
possibly could-he found himself
pinching himself to see if it was really
real. Then, as he stepped back, the
hedgerows wavered and the skies de.
scended. and he felt the ground slip
quietly from his feet and he fell down
on the grass right under the nose of
the young woman. The heavenly
providentialness of this amazes Mar.
my to this day: for if it had not hap
pened nothing could have saved him
from having to drive the lady home
which, Marmy says, he does not see
how he could have done, having had
mortal fear of driving.
When Marmy recovered conscious
ness, he found himself lying on the
grass with sharp piece of flint in the
middle of his back and the lovely
young woman bending over him.
How can / thank you, most noble
and brave of all the men | ever see?'
said the young woman, according to