Year: 1876

the clock strikes IL. My name is
Ezra Steele, and was born in the
city of New York. 1t was a different
place then from what it is now, and
people walked in the Bowery then
for fresh air, and thought Pearl street
pretty far up town.


Our home was almost out Of town
nearly where Canal street is to-
day. We had a garden about it, and
our garden touched that of a neigh
Dor, who was a German by birth, and
fond of his flowers as German can
be.


He had beds of great gaudy tulips
and wonderful roses and enormous
double poppies, but 1 used to think
the sweet white lilies the piettiest OF
all, and L always thought little
Gretchen just like one of them.


She never had much color, but her
forehead was like snow, and her hair,
long and light, curled down to her
waist


She used to come to her side OF
the fence, and look over it, and talk
about such things as we were inter
ested in. Sometimes she came in to
play with me, but mother would new
er allow me to go into neighbor Wer-
ner's garden, for fear that 1 should
injure the flowers, through which. /
could never learn to walk quietly and
reverentially, as Gretchen did.


Indeed neighbor Werner was not
fond of children, and not one to
tempt them into his garden or his
home, or anywhere where they would
be apt TO meet him; gruff. oldish
man, who had lost his wife years be-
fore, and had no one in his house to
care for but his little girl, who was
left quite to herself, and had wo-
manly way with her at the age OF 10
that some have not at Is.


She knew even then how to make

her fathers soup and coffee, and how
to put the buttons on his shirts.
Work which was too much for her
little hands TO do, he must have
done himself; but the house was very
clean and bare and tidy, not a car
pet on any floor, and not blanket,
for-as my mother said, who had
seen-they slept between feather
beds,as though they wanted TO smoth-
er themselves.


But such as the house was, little
Gretchen took more and more care OF
it as she grew older, and helped her
father with his flowers, and knew
each individual blossom. 1t used
to seem to me that they knew her.


While l was very young, q mere
child in years, L used to say that
Gretchen should be my little wife, my
mother always answering:


Il couldn't wish you a better, il she
grows up what she is now a<
When L was older stopped saying
this out of shame, but L thought so
more than ever. knew before 1 was
old enough to be called man, that
shouldnever love any one but Gretch-
en- Werner. She never thought
about it at all, until / put it into her
head by making love to her.


For while she was very shy, and
would not listen to me; but at last
she told me she liked me better than
any one else in the world, and let me
kiss her.


L had not known her before since /
was 10 years old. Then was Land
20. Ihave seen young men kiss the
girls they love in a light, careless
way. felt that night as though 1
were touching something holy with
my lips.


A few days after this I gave her a
plain gold ring with our names upon
it, and the date OF the day on which
she hal told me she liked me, and it
seemed as though that bound her to
me. ssr,u E...s s4..f.f,.


1 was not as good as I might have
been, and did not go TO church al
ways when my mother wanted me to
do so: but I prayed that night as
earnestly as ever man prayed that I
might be worthy of Gretchen; that 1
might always know what to do to
make her happy, and always be able
to keep her from any Of the troubles
and trials Of poverty


After this, in our American fashion,
which seems so wrong to English
men and Europeans, asked her ia
therif / might have Gretchen.


"She has told me that she will be
happy with me-" I said, and stood
trembling before him, hat in hand,
for saw cloud upon his forehead,
and saw him take his pipe ont Of his
month in a hurried way, which al
ways showed that he was, angry.
fgu1You speak to Gretchen first?" he