The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1914-01-02

me on 10 the mountains 10 recoup be-
fore assuming my regular duties. BY
the time l returned TO b. some
months had elapsed, and. on making in
quiries as to who lived at 63 Prospect
avenue. learned that the family had
gone abroad for the winter. But
learned that the name was Carleton
and that Il. d. c. stood for Edith ID.
Carleton. "A young lady of eighteen.
asked different persons whether she
was comedy or homely and received
different replies Some said she was
plain and some that she was neither
good nor bad looking. some that she
was rather pretty and few that she
was beautiful. I learned afterward
that these persons saw her through
eyes that interpreted her differently.
Not getting strength as rapidly az
could have wished. determined not to
60 back to business for awhile. but
take a trip abroad At least this Is
the object Of my going. My doctor
helped me in the matter, for. having
discovered that l was bent on going.
he gave me many good reasons why !
should do that very thing. He advised
me to go to bracing northern climate.
but did 10 such thing. Having learn
ed that the Carleton family were in
Italy. determined to 60 there. ! could
not discover what part Of Italy they
were in. but had been there before
and knew that / should find them In
one Of three or four of the large cities.
l hunted through all the registers Of
Americans at Naples and Rome with
out finding them. but was rewarded hy
seeing their names in the register of
hotel in Florence. ! Immediately en-
gagged a room ut the same house and
felt that the goal. so far rs reaching
the girl / had come to seek. was won.
But sort of stage fright took posses
sion of lie. l had travelled several
thousand miles to find girl ] had
never seen, and when l should see her
might fird her altogether unattractive
in my eyes.
1t was not long before at the table
d'hote necr where l sat noticed a
family father. mother. daughter and
son. the latter two in their teens. and
heard the elders addressed as Carleton.
had looked at the daughter without
any especial admiration for her comeli-
ness. but the moment l knew her for
the object of my dreams l thought
could see kindness in her face.
At any rate. my attention being fixed
upon her countenance. l noticed that II
was very expressive.
Americans abroad are unlike Ameri
cans ut home. They are rather Ameri-
cans of the early part of the last
century. when they travelled in stage
coaches. canalboats and the like. They
don't trouble themselves much about
introductions. l soon fell to chatting
with the family sitting opposite me at
table and In Il few days found myself
as we'll acquainted as If had known
them for years. /. being young man.
fell in naturally with the daughter,
whom l very soon after meeting them
heard called Edith. She was fond of
pictures and spent most of her time in
the galleries: consequently | became
fond of pictures too. We would start
in the Uflizi gallery. cross the Arno
by the picture hung passageway to
the Pitt gallery and after wandering
through the rooms of the latter re-
cross to the UffiZi. And all this time
kept nv secret, the evidence of
which remained carefully folded in my
pocketbool;.
defy any young man to go da willing
about with Il young girl. attractive or
otherwise. especially in the land so
suggestive Of dreams. Of romance. so
full OF the fine arts rs Italy. without
falling in love with her And what is
true of the man is liable to be true of
the girl One evening Edith and !
were sauntering on what they call in
Florence the Lung. Arno, which in
England they would dub the Arno
embankment. The river is crossed by
several bridges. and the streets on
either side of these bridges are at
night lighted by numerous lamps.
There is no more beautiful city scene
in the world than the Lung. Arno ut
twilight. when these lamps divide the
day and the night.
At this witching hour. leaning over
one of the bridges beholding this en-
trancing scene. took out the scrap
torn from the newspaper. on Which
was written the message that had
SO comforted me while i'm the hospital
and handed it to the girl who had
written it. There was puzzled look
on her face. She saw message writ
ten in her own handwriting Whether
or no she remembered having written
it. my production of II far from where
it had been scrubbed was too confus-
ing for her TO understand.
enlightened her pictured my
self lying i'll in Il hospital when the
paper she had donated was handed
TO me: its effect: my efforts to read
what had been erased. and my final
success. Then inspired by the scene
about us. ! told her that had follow
ed across an. ocean and would follow
around the world the girl who had by
that one little act of sympathy for one
who to her was hut creature of the