The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1910-02-15

-~ON~-~-~ A-~AS
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
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 it 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
a 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
either smacked Of coarseness or an
absence of ideality. Not that he was
a sentimental man; he may rather be
called man of sentiment. The senti-
mental was as repulsive to him as
coarseness.
On Atwater's return from a 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 a 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 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. II there was a
lack of either he would be able to de-
tect 1t without speaking to her or be-
ing spoken to by her.
60 ho hod xxvffn
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 a child who
came to her house and knew at once
that her heart warmed to children.
He was standing at window when
she attended an old lady to her car
rage and was sure that she sympa.
thized with the aged. These are but
individual instances Of Atwater's OBJ
servations, no one of which was of SUI
preme Importance, but all, taken to-
gether, indicated nature such as he
could admire and revere.
Then he went away for awhile
When he returned he made a discov-
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 a week of chatting one
afternoon he saw her drive up to the
house in carriage and received with
demonstrations of affection by the
other members of the family. Atwa-
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 idiosyncra-
sizes.
Later he made another discovery
similar to the first He saw very
handsome young man leave the house
next door and the young lady follow
him out to the gate, apparently loath
to have him depart. This time it was
revealed to him not only that the
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 q
matter of study by observation. She
was to be appropriated.
My story up to this point has beer
very one sided, and it must continue
for the present to be one sided. 1t Is
not to be supposed that girl may be
under constant observation by a young
man next door without some observa
ton on the part Of the girl. Atwatei
had never seen her looking at him
though he had never failed to look al
her whenever she appeared. Had he
caught her doing so he would have
considered her as overstepping the
bounds set for a modest young woman
That she did not do so convinced hin
that she did not consider him worth
looking at
One morning in February Atwatei
saw man digging up the soil in the
yard In the adjoining grounds. 1t was
plain that the ground was not intend
ed for vegetab les, but for flowers. Ir
another week the young lady came Out
with few light garden implements
and a dainty little basket full of seeds
and began to plant.
A few days later Atwater spaded 6
flower bed in his own grounds anc
planted seeds. His garden was pro
tected on three sides by bush plarts
but could be observed by the neighbor
on the east A warm wave germinat-
ed the seeds in both gardens, and tiny
green lines were soon visible. Nothing
unusual was to be noticed in the lady's
garden, but in Atwater's careful OBJ
server would have seen lines Of tender
green in which could be traced the
letters Il Love-"
AS soon as his letters were large
enough to be read from the next house
the young man kept a constant watch
with a view to discovering whether
they were observed. Days passed, and
the delicate lines were lost in the ex-
uberance of the growth, but never did
the planter see face at the window,
If his declaration had been seen it
had not met with any response.
Atwater argued in this wise: II she
has seen the flower words and is a
person of ideality, refinement and
kindness she will make reply even
| If unfavorable So he waited and
watched. Weeks passed, and neither
the heavens, the air nor the earth gave
a sign Atwater's ideality was giving
way before the Impotence of love, and
| he was about to try some more com
monplace method. Then one mornine
when the air was clear and the sur
was shining on the garden opposite he
fancied he saw in new growth just
appearing above the soil that which
might be letters, but since 1t came VI
unevenly he could not be sure at sc