Year: 1875

We're together anything. the same au


thoritics declared, might be expected


Nevertheless, all the neighborhood were


Bessie Alan's friends; they all loved the


little bright head, the dimpled mischief o


the rosy face, the glistening of the brown


eyes, with their long, bright, half-curled


lashes that knew so well the demure trick


of yelling the lustre underneath them al


the ausplcious moment, and making the


face too tempting for anything but for


giveness and kisses.


She was seventeen, and though all the


neighborhood might in some way be


called her lover, vet she had never had


that single aud individual lover who be-


longs to young girls dreams; for with all
| her gay spirit there was a certain shyness


almost like that of the little wildwood


animals, which allures you and then es-


capes vou-and no admirer had ever APP


preached the lovely, trolicsome, piQuant


thing near enough to become a lover


That is to say, until this present epoch,
of which we are about to speak and then
one day the new minister-yes, the new
minister. young, heartwhole, handsome,
and believed by some of the old women
of whom mention has been made, and
some Of the young ones too, to be nothing
less than an angel in disguise, for if such
things had happened once. they reasoned,
then they might happen again-just as he
rose in the pulpit, saw Mistress Bessie
| come walking into church, and it was all
over with him.


Pray don't think i'll of the young minis
ter. 1t was no earthly love of which he
was conscious during the brief hour of
the pulpit. Only to him, that early sum
mer day, the sky was bluer, the rose was
roster, the sunshine seemed more than
ever to be flowing out of heaven itself,
like the simmer of the river of life. He
was not exactly aware that he had ever
seen Bessie Allan all that he was entirely
conscious OF was that suddenly, as if he
were in an ecstasy, the whole world had
frightened and lifted itself, and he prayed
and read and preached after a manner
that made the congregation talk, during
all the intermission, OF Tobit and the an
gel and then he went home to dine with
Mr. Allan.


AS for Bessie, she sat very still between
her father and mother in church, and for
got all about her roguish glances hither
and Won, all about this body's ribbons and
that body's hat, and heard the preaching
and the praying with a new light in her
eyes and a new comprehension in her
mind; joined in the singing Of the hymn
with her whole soul, and voice like a
bird $ and perfectly agreed for the time
hoirG with tho old women and tho VOurS
women that this was no common minis
ter, but more likely to be a spirit in NOR
tai guise than any mere graduate Of the
ology


Yet Mr. Beck With was not of such imma


terial form as might lead to such opinion
He was a deep-chested, d-shouldered
fellow, with short brown curls clustering
in thick rings upon a head OF antique out
line, with steelv glance in pair OF
great blue eyes, and was by no means
any more ethereal in appearance than a
man OF proper proportions and natural
emotions should be, except in such mo-
ments as those when his excited aspira-
ton lent singular pure and holy express
sion to the face that was usually rather
severe than otherwise.


But if this young gentleman had not
been self-conscious of Bessie's presence in
church, he became very conscious OF 1t IN
her fathers house. Not Immediately, to
be sure, for the awe in which she had been
half spell-bound did not wear off at once.
But when she found that the minister liked
plenty of gravy. when she had helped him
twice to dumplings, when she had dlscov-
cred that he had a good hearty heathen
appetite, then the mischief in her began
to get the upper hand, and almost before
she knew what she was about, the eye
lashes were doing their wonted execution.
Mr. Beckwith saw the rosy roguish face
before him on the darkness as he walked
home that night; it made a picture in the
| sunrise clouds when he woke in the morn
| ing; and after he had known her fort
| night, there was not q day or an hour in
which that face did not seem to be lurki
somewhere abort him ON his sermon
paper, between the leaves of his commen-
tary, in the very sunshine that fell across
him Mr. Beckwith was not the man to
consider this mawkish sentimentality,
or thing to be checked by tlagellations
and notifications of flesh and spirit, He
knew. in fact, that his hour had come.
with himself A child, indeed she was
he confessed, but then an utterly lovely
one Not precisely the material for a
minister's wife, according to oldtash-
loned theories, but then he had aban-
doned old-tashioned theories in that re-
spect His wife was to belong to him.
not to the parish, and in time she would
be everything the tondest parish could
wish. And as for anything more that
could be urged, there was but one an
swer - he loved her A month ago he
had never seen her; now, life would be
a hard struggle to the grave without her.
A month ago he had never seen her. yet
he was sure he had only been .ourneying
toward her. and he was as determined to
make her his own. and as confident that
he should do SO, as If he had seen it writ
ten in the book of fate When Mr. Beck
with determined on thing, he was in the
habit of accomplishing it.


But still Mr.. Beckwith had perhaps had
different subjects to deal with hitherto;
| as well calculate on will -the-Wlsp,
he presently found, as on Bessie Allan.
To-day she was all melting smiles and
glances, tomorrow she was remote as a
star; to-day she was like bird on which
he was just about to put his hand, to-
morrow she was singing and soaring tar
| beyond his reach. After he had met her
| in some of his walks, and had spent an
| hour beside her, sometimes strolling
| sometimes sitting on mossy stone, and
had been amazed at her acquaintance
with the things of nature, at the insight


into spiritual things which her young


mind in this quiet moment showed, its


sympathy with all sweet and innocent in


fuences, its ready acceptance of the great


truths to the statement of which his


words were apt to tend-after all this, he


would be just as likely as not to catch his


next glimpse OF her down in the meadow,


in company with George Knight, making
cheeses with her skirts, as If she were


ten years old. or racing like madcap


through the straight lines of the orchard,


stopping only for whirls and twirls and


swift waltz steps as she went along, like


one of the old pictures of the slyphides
or else calling the flly to the bars, and
catching her by the forelock, and gallop-
ing away down the pasture without sad


die or bride, hair blowing in the wind,
as wild as Madge Wildfire herself. MI


Beckw.th was not sure that there was not
| oo,,o+h;nr ,1nraUanerate in his heart still |,