Year: 1869

IN the person OF Miss Euphrasia Lance


came between them in little breeze o


airy, vexatious, insinuating de-trop.
ness, and the result was that Sylvi,


found herself, after brief eye-parley


with her companion. separated from


him, and seated at chess on thorough


" golden rule principle. with good but


prosy and pur-blind DR.. Akerly, the


checkered field before him his world


for the time being.


For nearly an hour she saw nothing


of Elcaren. She was beginning to re-


ally chafe at this quiet puppet-handling


which the doctor enjoyed SO much,


when the voice again reached her ear.


Any other one at the same pitch she


would simply have heard and not un-


derstood, but you knew there will be


voices for us alone whose most careless
cadence rings clear as silver bells.


She could just distinguish Alfred


Mayhew's words. though he spoke in


higher key. The first were:


"Now, Phil, you may as well be hon
est. and own you're trapped at last
No girl in her senses could ever have
looked and acted that way TO fellow
who hadn't made himself pretty def
mite"


1t seemed to Sylvia as though the
blood had all gone out of our heart,
for it hardly seemed to quiver in its
still suspension, while her face glowed
furiously. So her burning ears took
in the second speakers words:


"How little you know me, ALI, to
jump at that style of conclusion. as
sure you that no word of this kind
has ever passed my lips" (But had
he not lookedl) eff you knew her as
well as l do, you would never
have fallen into this mistake. She
either wants to be married or wants TO
f1irt! and what they vulgarly call the
dead set is her plan of operation. 1
tell you, ALI, would not marry Venus
herself if that were her style of at
tack. Ny ideal of the sex can never
stoop quite SO briskly nor SO low to con-
quer."


Then that was his estimate of her,
Sylvia Farnham! How the tide rolled
back upon her suffocating heartl How
she disengaged herself from DR.. Aker-
ly she never knew; but what remained
of that evening she spent in a shaded
corner of the deserted dressing room
not crying, but knowing for the
first time what real misery meant
Yet as she donned her hood with the
rest you must have looked carefully at
her, and known her well, to have told
that hers had not been a generous
share of the enjoyment of the occa-
sion.


At the hall door she met form she
knew quite too well, waiting, before he
went his own way, to bestow her safe
ly in the carriage which bore her home
some distance out of town.


What matter if she could not hel lp
under the old look? The one
she gave back was as full of gathered |
and naughty reproach as ever cut keen
from eyes voicing an insulted heart
His own glance changed to one of sur
prised inquiry. But what of it? He
knew bis part well enough, no doubt.


So you see it was quite over. The
.ide could not well be colder and wider
which flowed between her and him.
She did not meet him very often, but
when she did, that man must have
oeen singularly obtuse who did not see
hat the ereunt omnes was thenceforth
pronounced ON all mental intercourse
If his as concerned herself.


Girls like Sylvia Farnham do not
oeak and pine over things of this sort.
She went about her household tasks, as
t were, with more gentleness and eff
,iency than ever. The only change
outside seemed that she was more ten
ler and thoughtful of actual suffering,
'r possibility of it, than before.


Her nimble needles clinked and gilt
cred among the very first which un-
'heathed themselves, on comfortable
leeds intent, for those brave but chilly
ellows, dwelling for the first time in
martial but too airy tents. What if
he lines of thought, meshed in with
very sock all these kind fair fingers
re knitting this winter, were to become
'isible and palpable as the homely
abric itself! In and out, tears never
he'd, and lonesomeness never spoken,
thoughts busy and sad as Death
)ut and in, fancies warm and bright
IS a midsummer of Paradise--high,
ender glows from full-pulsed, health
ul hearts. All these very possible in
single stocking!


The too quiet and almost too long
lays came and went for SYLVIA. "Win-
er's wild birthright" was passed, and