The Press., 1911-12-13
THE TIN
 FIDDLER He Was Chock Full of
 Romance
 By F. A. MTTcHEL Copyright by American Press Asso- ciation, 1911.
By F. A. MTTCHEL

| rev pSTSOus uEe 5dLlSueu WlLu Juell station in life or their occupation. am an exception to that rule. l de
 light in my work, and yet I am only a tin peddler.
 For heavens sake, why are you sat isfled to be tin peddler?
 For a paradoxical reason. l am full of ideality and romance.
 Ideality and romance in a tin ped. dler! Nonsense!
 Yes; listen to me and I will prove to you that there can be romance even in a tin peddler. And because there is romance in me I enjoy my work. It gives me opportunity to dream. For instance, l drive my peddling wagon along a road of a bright spring morn ing. The air is laden with the fra grance of opening buds. The birds are chirping in the trees, fitting here and there, one carrying a bit of straw, another a string, another a horsehair with which to build their nests. They are chattering at each other just as persons would do who were building house. White clouds are rolling along silently on the horizon. On my left forest trees rear their topmost branches as if reaching toward the blue sky, where a hawk Is sailing. On my right and beneath me lies a lake. Around about the country is a patch work of farms dotted with houses.
 l was driving my wagon one even ing i'll October. looking for a place in which to spend the night. The woods were atiame with patches of yellow or scarlet My eye was resting, as I supposed, on one of these, deep red, but in another moment I saw that 1t was the setting sun shining on a win. dowpane. 1 drove on toward it and stopped at a little farmhouse beside the road.
 Hitching my team to the post before the gate. l went to the door and knock ed. There was no answer. Looking about, saw no signs of life I missed chickens scratching in the yard, chil- dren's playthings on the porch, the bark of a dog. The barn was closed and locked. The place was deserted.
 Finding a window where the curtain, not hanging perpendicularly, left an opening through which I could look inside. I saw that the house was fur. nished. I was peering into the living room. There were a center table, a little library of books, lounge, while in fireplace were andirons on which were logs ready to be kindled.
 The twilight was deepening and if went on I might be obliged to ride miles in the dark before finding an. other place to stop for the night. By breaking a pane of glass I could un. lock a window. raise it and effect an entrance. It remained to be seen if could put my team into the barn. I succeeded in both. Having stabbed my horses and fed them-there was fodder at hand-I entered the house. Having lighted the fire on the hearth, I ex. plored every room. The beds were made" though they gave evidence of having remained so for long while There were provisions in the larder. but time had rendered them useless Fortunately carried my own lunch hamper. After finishing my explora tions l brought some water from the well and, sitting before the cracking fire. ate my supper.
 For q long while sat and dreamed of those who had occupied this house, and why it had been deserted. The appearance was not that of having been left temporarily. 1t rather gave evidence of having been left a number of years before. Who were these peo pie? .-
 I've heard it said that there are cer tain scientists who from seeing bone can tell the animal of which it formed a part. So did I begin from my sur. roundings to form theories as to who had occupied this house. There were no toys; therefore there were no chil' dren. There were a few mems and a few women's garments; therefore there must have been a married cou- pie Or the wall among other pictures was one of those stiff photographs one sees in the country-and, for that mat. ter. among city folks-of bridal cou. pie. l inferred that 1t was a likeness of those who had occupied the prem ises. There were pictures of old and young persons. evidently the fathers and mothers of relatives of the bride and groom.
 My first theory was that th" house had been occupied by young married couple: that one had died and the other had shut up the house just as fl was and gone elsewhere. Secondly, l fancied that the couple who lived in II had quarreled and both left 1t to go away by different paths. Thirdly, no ticing the photograph of a sour look ing old woman, 1 concluded that the family had been broken up by a moth. er-in-law. Rummaging in an old desk, I came upon check book, figures on the stubs of which indicated that the Iy overdrawn. This led me to fourth IIveury-JnaU Une occupants had suf- fesred from financial difficulty and this Wns the cause of the house having been deserted.
 How many other theories I might have formed had my reveries not been interrupted I don't know. The inter ruption was a tap on a windowpane behind me. Quickly turning, looked to see the cause. but apparently there was no cause. was turned from my suppositions as to the former occu- pancy of the premises to wondering what had caused the tapping. I arose, went to the window, threw up the sash and, putting out my head, looked about me. Seeing nothing, I went back to my seat before the fire.
 In a few minutes there came an. other tap. Turning again. I saw the cause. The flame on the hearth light. ed up the face of young girl.
 Now, maintain that there's nothing prettier on earth than a pretty girl, and when a lonesome bachelor in a house by himself sees a pretty girls face at his window, illuminated by firelight, it's the prettiest sight he ever saw. At any rate, if a vista of heaven had been opened to me couldn't have