The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-11-22

has, she strove to make him forget his
sorrow.
A staalthy telephone message to the
woman who should have been more
/ watchful of him left the rest of that
golden afternoon to them-just they
two alone together in a world of fine
failing, where an Grant father was for
gotten When the sun went down and
the time came for the fables to end
she put her soft cheek and tempting
lips near. enticing him to kiss her of his
own volition. She would neither ask for
! nor take what she felt would mean so
much given to her of his own free will.
On the threshold. as he was leaving, he
paused with quaint little air of
| grown-upness
Tive had an awfulIy good time" he
said, and then. bravely gulping down
something in his throat. he touched the
magic question for the first time during
his visit. II don't really want a moth
err. he said. 'but if I've got to have one
I'm glad it's going to be you and not
Katie"
L confess my masculine mind could
not grasp the promising subtleties she
seemed to find in his preference for her
above the Irish woman who cared for
his physical needs. But. after all. it was
the embryo man in the Boy himself
that brought about his complete sur
render.
You talk to him too much" she had
counseled me, with a wisdom that sat
oddly- on her pretty youngness 'sYou
nave never let him be Just a child. You
nave made too much of a comrade of
him, and taken him too far into YOUR
world of fancy And he, being in reality
enid, cannot discriminate between
the dream things you show him and the
real things of life. Give him back his
own-the right to be a child Let him
nave the wholesome companionship of
other little children. Send him to
school,
And 1, bowling to her superior wisdom.
gave up the dear task of teaching him.
and when the time came for him To
start TO school l turned with a strange
~ forlorn and aching heart into the
world OF fancy where / dwelt.
His glowing eyes and eager, flushed
little face when he came home in the
afternoon was like stab in my heart.
IL huft TO know l was no longer the
only human that peopled his world. He
babbled of the strange and wonderful
happenings OF the day, but / listened
with ears that heard not, and Jealous
eyes that saw only that something in
winch l did not figure had brought him
happiness. 1t was NORWOOD and call
and somehow my truant mind kent
straying back to the day we took that
memorable walk and told him the
happy secret of Her. Now. at last. I
understood. for was l not tasting the
same bitter cup had held to his child
ish lips?
The third day he was at the head of
his class in spelling, and I saw how the
pride 70 excel was lighting the altar
nres or ambition. This measuring Of
MS powers with other of his years was
new and wonderful game to him. and
ne entered into it with all the might of
ms ardent little soul. And then the
next day he calmly announced that he
was FOOT / marveled
Il just VENT he said with naive
frankness. "Maidie was there Sbe
can't spell single word an never gets
10 turn anybody down. So lust
missed an missed again. but I whis-
perez 10 her how to spell the word an
she went above me. She was awful
proud of it, -
Oh. childhood, how strange thy code
Oh honor. But in that brief explana-
loh learned volumes. Did he realize.
l wonder. that it was the eternal yvo-
man call that was his undojng: that
the face of a woman-chiId had drawn
MN from his cherished place of honor
10 lgnominy? Did he know il was the
1ght IN her eyes that blinded him to
the disgrace Of it? Many a better than
he has perished thus. and as 7 looked
at my sturdy man-chiId my feelings
were beyond expression.
Father"
I knew it was something of supreme
Importance, or he would not have in
terrupted Just when the fairies were
endowinS the beautiful princess with
all the graces no mortal could be guilty
of and live 1 closed the book on nv
forefinger and waited
What do men say when they ask
people to marry them?'
The blow left me limp and breath
less. L understood now why sleep would
not come to his wakeful eyes and why
he had tossed until ! thought to soothe
him with fairy lore. Fairies, forsooth,
when. though SO small in stature, he
had grown so far above them. How
little-hOw infinitely little l knew,
What do you say. father?'' he per-
sisted. I'D rather say whatever you
do
who are you going to say this to-"
| questioned, forgetting my grammar
in my CONSERVATION.
why. Maidie" His eyes met mine
in frank surprise as though he was
astonished l could have thought it any
one else. she's head of the class now.
an I'm next. I've told her every single
word. an she's very fond of me. The
others have made a song about Maidie
being mad an they're glad. an they
know what'H please her; a bottle Of
wine to make her shine an me to
squeeze her. She didn't like il at first.
but when she found how pleased / was
she changed her mind Don't YOU ad-
mire it?'
Very much | said dazedly ITS
beautiful song"
I've been wanting TO ask her TO