Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1915-03-19
The Mocking
Bird Girl
BY F. A. Mitchell

/ visit to Washington | was sitting on
bench in one of the parks. The leaves
were half blown, and among them
birds were twittering. One little song
ster in a tree above my head was now
and again giving two melodiOuS notes,
the first higher than the second. Then
suddenly just behind me these notes
were repeated by human voice, fol-
lowed by girls laugh | cannot say
which was the more musical, the imi
tation of the birds piping or the laugh.
l turned and saw three girls, all with
their backs toward me, moving away.
Cupid has many arrows in his culver,
but there is one, called fancy, that he
uses more than all the others. At any
rate he had let drive at me with such
an arrow and pierced my heart. l had
been caught by the trifling incident
that l have mentioned and was en-
amored of the girl who had Knocked a
bird and laughed. / fancied her the
embodiment of feminine mischief; her
smile between dimples was doubtless
and her eyes laughed as well as her
| lips ana ner voice.
Had l been Il trife less fanciful and
more practical | would have arisen
and hurried after the girls to get a
view of the one who had bewitched
me. But by the time / became aroused
to the situation it was too late. l went
/ after them, but the park was full of
people, and they were lost in the
| crowd
A few evenings later l was attending
a reception at the White House. l
was standing near the opening to the
conservatory with "A married lady to
whom | was indebted for invitations.
Suddenly from within the conservatory
/ heard the musical laugh that had
charmed me. But unfortunately high
growing plants were between me and
the person who laughed, and / could
not see her.
would have given all l possessed
If 1 could have left my companion and
hurried around what screened the girl
l longed to see. But no. Convention
atty held me. To leave woman
standing alone at function would he
objectionable. And what excuse could
| make for such an act? Could l say:
Madame, pardon me. There is Il
hooking bird girl behind those palms
with whom | am cnthralled. | must
leave YOU to go to herr" such course
would bc to commit social suicide, for
| have observed that of all the women
in society the most sensitive to the at
tention shown them are those who
nave huSpahus' relll'lileu Ut Ill!
post put heaven KNOWS What 1t cost
me 10 40 So Later Noulu nave lrled
10 llHu her' "ut now '"uIu no 80 ieN
er naNlhS seen Iler race
Inc next 'lihe l near" my ilockihS
plru flu@h l was at 'lle capitol up III II
gallery unicr lHe u"ille' pl'c'u| ne
low me walked man. Il Wohi"h anu
girl ooalu see the tops OF 'helr
headS ana shoulders put nothing more.
Then up came the laugh. 1t was the
same had heard twice before. |
would know 1t among thousand
l was tempted to jump down nifty
or n hundred feet ana land before my
charmer. Instead turned and ran
down the stairs so fast that | fell and
when tried to rise found it impossi-
bic to do so. | had broken my leg.
cursed my fate for many reasons,
but the principal one was that must
give up hope of ever finding my charm
er-that is. if she was stranger in
Washington. If not. | would remain
there as long as | lived in order to find
her.
did NOT e,ot tho ,,.o IF my, loo, o,,oi,
fin Julv. and then if was foo hot to re-
main in ono Of tha hottest cities in
America wonld have dane so hut
T didn't holio,.o +bo ,rirl ,,.oo loo,,in,,
for would ho tbera with - heavy
hoort wont portbuord
In Octohnr rotnrnod 70 n,osoorto
my soorch oo.o,,tod oil +ho in,.ito
ton. ,.ooo,,.o1 ho,;u,, 60 ,,,''+ 49,.