The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1911-02-07

come forth unscathed from the fiery
ofdeal OF a secret love affair she was
IN a measure treasured and told her
sen tnat Jacinta's preservation from
NE "lles or The Opposite Sex was
que entirely to the sound maxims
and the long lectures on the pro
prietieS with which she had favored
her. Anyway, thank heaven, the
court was gone with all its nonsense
-ano SO there was an end of that.
idIe IN the tower now esumad its
former round, but to Jacinta life was
not the same. She tried at first to
keep herself cheerful by t~reasuring up
the o1t-repeated VOWS of fidelity which
d page had made and looked for
ward ionglngly to the time when he
would come again, as ne had prom
fsed, to claim her as his bride. But
all. the love of restless man: 1t is
out a Vagrant stream that dallies for
a time with each flower upon its bank.
then passes on and ave them al in
tears.
n days drew out to weeks. the
weeks to months. The pomegranate
rlpened: the vine Welded its fruit:
the autumnal rains descended from
the mountains in torrents: the Sierra
Nevada became covered with a snowy
mantle and the winter blast howled
disn1ally through the deserted courts
of the Alhambra. And there was no
word Of Ruyz de Alarcon. The win
ter nasSed away and once more the
genial breath Of spring breathed over
all the land. callin~ it back to life
and loneliness with song and bios
som and balrnv zephyrs. The SHOWS
melted upon the mountains until only
the topmOst peaks OF the Sierras shone
white and glistening. The heats or
unlmer came down over Anda1usia.
Still no word of Ruyz de Alarcon.
The forsaken Jacinta grew pale and
thoughtful; the Rose of the A1ham-
bra dropped and faded. Her former
occupations were neglected; the silk
lay unreeled and the guitar unstrung
beside the alabaster fountain. Even
the flowers in her garden were neg
lected and the bird in it's gilded cage
unheeded Of its song, which now had
no power to cheer the heart Of its
mistress.
"Ah, silly child" her aunt would
say when n surprised the child in
one Of her respondent moods. "did I
not say that all men were false, that
all lovers were untrue? What, in any
event, could you AVE exr,cted from
one Of that proud and Etughty fam
| ily-I know them we'll the house Of
AlaTcOn-yOu, the child Of an ancient
but impoverished line? Be assured that
if it is not his own unfaithfulneSS which
keeps him silent and absent; it is the
will Of his naughty father, the Mar
Quis, one Of the greatest mobiles about
the court, who would surely forbid the
marriage Of his son with such a dow
erless maiden as thou. Pluck up thy
resolution and drive thoughts Of thy
faithless lover from thy heart
1t was easy for F~Tedegonda tC
preach, but, alas, it was impossible
for Jacinto to practice-thouga there
is no doubt that the good aunt spoke
wisely. In short the lectures Of her
aunt upon what she ought to do in the
matter only served to increase the
gloom and dependency of Jaeinta.
The forsaken girl took to muSing alone
in the neglected garden, or beside the
alabaster bed. On one Of these nights
she sat at q late hour beside the fOun-
tain and thought that it was here that
the page had first pressed his lips to
her hand; had first knelt before her!
There was no sound but now and then
the cry Of some night bird in the
woods below, or, heard afar off, the
tinkling Of some guitar or the catch ST
some song as q belated trOubadOur
wendell homeward from s~erenading his
love.
The poor little damsel's heart was
Overladen with grief, and, leaning her
head upon the edge of the fountain,
she let her tears trickle into the water,
drop by drop. By degrees the crystal
water became agitated, and the atten-
ton of Jacinta was attracted to the
phenomenon. Then-bubbue-bubble,
the water boiled up and was tossed
about in a shower of spray in the
midst of which APPEARED a lady passing
fair and richly dressed in Moorish cos
tune. Jacinta was so frightened that
she did not stop even to say How do
you do?" but ran as fast as her little
feet would carry her to her bed cham
Der, jumped in the bed and pulled the
bed clothes over her head.
The next morning she told her aunt
what had happened. Tut sale Tia
FredgOnda, : you have been thinking
of the story Of the Moorish princesses,
and it has entered into thy dreams.'