The Press., 1910-09-14

| Ethan AtWater was we'll educated young man, with fortune, good looks, good health and a good mind. His
 occupation was both occupation and
 amusement. He studied and did some
 scribbling, occasionally sending very pretty verses to magazines.
 AtWater lived in a small place, but
 a very old one. Many of the dwellings
 stood alone and often in the center of
 large grounds. His house was quaint,
 and the grounds were a marvel of good taste. On entering his study one
 would immediately be impressed with the fact that 1t had been furnished
 and decorated by an artist with an ex-
 quisite sense for harmony in color.
 Through the window appeared grounds
 that had evidently been arranged by
 landscape gardener. Both the artist
 and the gardener were Ethan AtWater.
 Atwater had been drawn to one or
 two different women at different times,
 but had sooner or later discovered
 something in one or the other to offend
 his sensitive taste, something that
 either smacked of coarseness or an
 absence of ideality. Not that he was
 sentimental man; he may rather be
 called q man of sentiment. The senti-
 mental was as repulsive to him as
 coarseness.
 On AtWater's return from journey
 he found that the place next adjoining
 his on the east had changed hands.
 The same day he saw young lady go
 into the house whose appearance
 struck him favorably. Her apparel
 was in good taste. Her hat appeared
 to have been made neither for giant
 nor dwarf. The colors of which her costume were composed were subdued
 Her face, too, bespoke innate refine ment.
 1t was in the autumn that Atwater first saw this girl and nearly every day after that he observed her either going out or coming in or at a win- dow. His first impulse was to assume the privilege of a neighbor and go in and call on the newcomers, but it Oc- cured to him that he would take pleasure in studying the girl from the brief distance that separated their abodes. One of his theories was that a refined person could not be unre- fined; that an ideal person could not be commonplace. If she were both ideal and refined she would show her ideality and refinement to him with out an acquaintance. If there was lack of either he would be able to de tect it without speaking to her or be- ing spoken to by her.
 VHi&h3n foxr uuoo1yc hn h06 VUifnnGG- ed acts on the part of his neighbor in- dicating traits that he considered usu- al in, if not essential to, refined ma ture. He saw her receive child who came to her house and knew at once that her heart warmed to children. He was standing at a window when she attended an old lady to her car riage and was sure that she sympa- thized with the aged. These are but individual instances of AtWater's Ob- no one of which was of su- preme importance, but all, taken to- gether, indicated a nature such as he could admire and revere.
 Then he went away for awhile. When he returned he made disc0v- cry. The young lady next door did not appear either in the grounds or at a window. He began to fear that he had seen her for the last time. That fear was akin to pain. He was tempt ed to make inquiries, but knew no one to ask. After week of chaf1ng one afternoon he saw her drive up to the house in a carriage and received with demonstrations of affection by the Ao ter longed to jump out of the window and take her in his arms himself. But this was an impulse that didn't count for or against his natural idfosyncra- Bies.
 Later he made another discovery similar to the first. He saw q very handsome young man leave the house next door and the young lady follow 1 him out to the gate, apparently loath to have him depart. This time 1t was revealed to him not only that the l young lady was a person of interest | to him, but that he objected to her be- Ing of interest to any other man. From this point she ceased to be matter of study by observation. She | was to be>appropriated.
 My story up to this point has been very one sided, and 1t must continue for the present to be one sided. It is not tO be supposed that a girl may be under constant observation by a young man next door without some observa- lion on the part of the girl. Atwater had never seen her looking at him, though he had never failed to look at her whenever she appeared. Had he taught her doing so he would have considered her as overstepping the pounds set for a modest yozng woman. That she did not do so convinced him hat she did not consider him worth Ooking at.
 One morning in February Atwater law man digging up the soil n the Tard in. the adjoining grounds IL was ,lain that the ground was not intend a for vegetables. but for dowers In