The Southern herald., 1913-04-18

time in her life, met the admiration IN
the eyes Of a man. At this time Mar
garet was thirty years old and haG
never been asked in marriage. She
had spent most Of the thirty years in
a boarding-school, as pupil or as
teacher; and she had brought from
her clustered life a single vivid feel
ing, a passionate friendship which
death had ended. The sapphire ring
was her poor friends last token.
To be thirty and never to have been
sought like other girls, leaves a chill
in the heart. It may be lonely never
10 have loved, but 1t is bleak never to
have been loved Margaret remem-
bered her delicate, girlish dreams with
recoil Of humiliation; they seemed
to her almost immodest. She thought
she was too old to wear hats, and
wondered whether she ought not to
discard the pinks and light blues
which poor ELY had liked on her, for
more sedate colors. But she wore
pink after she met Max Butler. Yet
he never saw her save in the pres
ence Of others He was full of little,
graceful attentions, but he showed the
same attentions to the portly clergy
mans widow and the meritorious but
cross-eyed teacher Of fifty, who formed
Miss Wings party; it was only his
eyes, his eyes always following her,
aDproVingly, delighting, admiring,
pleading, speaking to her as they
spoke to no other woman. She told
herself that it was just the pleasant,
foreign way; and she wrote to her
friends in America, THE German of.
ficers have very agreeable, deferential
manners; think they are much more
gentle and polite and have a higher
respect for women than the French or
Italians" And he said no word, even
Of friendship, until that afternoon at
the Heidelberger Schloss.
He came upon her almost imme-
diately, scrambling up the bank at a
rate which had worked woe to his uni,
form. He was torn, he was scratched,
he was stained with mud and grass;
and he was beaming with delight. 81
have seen you from below" he ex-
claimed in his careful English, so |
came up. Will you excuse?" Then
his mood changed, perceiving her
plight, and he insisted on tearing his
handkerchief into strips to bind her
ankle. 1t semed absurd to refuse his
aid, which he offered quite simply;
but his hands trembled a little over
the knots. 1T will be most easy,
think" said he, that you should let
me assist you small way, to the res.
tauracion; so l can get the carriage
and you can have some ice cream
Again, to-day, is it burned"
She had laughed and said that she
never had heard Of burned ice cream
He laughed, too, and explained that
1t was burned as a custard, and some.
how under cover of this she let him
put her hand on his shoulder and his
arm about her waist. She was CRATE.
full to him for the matter.offact man
ner in which he did 1t all, saying
You will have to be my comrade that
has been wounded, and | will hell
him off the field; so l did, once, with
my colonel; 1t is better than to wait
until could bring help" In this fash
ion they walked for some twenty min
utes.
He told her Of his country and his
home; and how he loved the hills
that his fathers had always owned
and the rugged, simple, faithful peo
pie; he told her Of the plans Of his
father and himself for them; he tolC
her Of his father, who had the bes
heart in the world, but was credited
with a fierce temper simply because
his voice was loud; and his mother
who was SO gentle that every on,
loved her; and his handsome sister
and his brother, who was a diploma
and far cleverer than he; and his lit
tie brother who died and would have
no one carry him in his pain but MAJ
By now they were rafting through
the modern town of Heidelberg, tn,
plain walls Of which looked bare aftei
the lawless pomp Of carving and form
on the old castle; they had not eveI
the bizarre, affected grace Of the ar
chitecture then decking American
countrysides. But Margaret though
how homellke and honest the house,
looked; staunch and trusty, like tn
German. Butler, just then, was prais
ing American buggies, from which h,
made a general transition to the Gus
toms Of society. In America, is /
not" says he, the young ladies driv
alone with young men?"
Eyes, very often. But not wit
you?"
"Oh, no, mein frauleln, this is tn
first time l am alone with youn
, lady!"
: She had called herself old for g
t long that there was a distinct plea,
) ure in being "a young lady" to hin
} and she had not time to remember
) partook Of the nature OF deceit. bt
cause he sent wave of coufusio
3 over her by continuing: 'In Americ;
, also, one would propose marriage tc
| lady, herself, before to her father?
1T is our CUSTOM" agreed Msrgsrs
j 'but"-with her prim teachers air