Year: 1873

to stay there, certainly shall never object.


After such beginning what could we ex,
pect? 1t will not do, to say that the tickle
young man spent the winter in studying this
absorbing girl much more diligently than he
ever pored over his books. He never
thought of studying Susie, or Of understand
ing her; but he did think of her ten times
oitener than he thought of anything else
if rose-colored reverie may be dignifed with
a name so profound always deciding in his
own mind that she was incomparably the
sweetest, dearest little being in the universe
and that she was becoming yet more and
more engaging every day, as she developed
in beautiful womanliness, under his very
careful tuition.


Whenever this sunshiny pupil was away
from school for day. the whitewashed
walls OF the school-room looked as dingy as
the blackboard in the eyes of the disgusted
master. All the children had poor lessons
and were wonderfully stupid in catching his
explanations. In those days the heavy
boys boots scraping the roug Oh floor grated
upon his nerves the dresses and manners
OF the girls were hopelessly country6ed
and all the little ones had influenza. In
| those days the master studied diligently all
through the incoming. even while he MUNICH
ed pie and bread and-b for lunch; but
if any curious eye had looked over his shoul-
der it might have discovered little pencil
drawing of Susie Auber's face doing duty as
book-mark between the ponderous pages of
Blackstone.


And what of the young girl herself? Can
one be the object of so much earnest deyo-
ton without knowing it? Hardly. Pledges
and good resolutions are rarely strong
enough to bind glances from adoring eyes,
and to hold the tones of a voice in letters.
At least there are unguarded moments when
these will slip the leash to enjoy brief mo-
ment Of delightful freedom.


For the first six weeks of school Susie
felt sure that she was becoming very dear
to the young teacher; as a natural conse-
quence, the teacher was fast becoming very
dear also to his sympathetic pupil. 1t was
her right. He had spent fortnight Of that
| time as boarder at her fathers house, and in
her own mind she was entirely assured that
her parents believed in the young man as a
very eligible party for general family adop-
ton. Then our Susie had not been bright
and pretty all her life for nothing. She ex-
pected every young gentleman of her ac-
quaintance to bo little fascinated as a
matter of course. But in this case she was
not perversely disnclined tosomething more
serious and more permanent.


The months went by, yet the master had
become more reserved or shy than in the be-
ginning. He had always chatted freely and
cordially with his pupils, and in this excel
lent habit he still continued; but there had
been no advances in love-making. Susie
was piqued-perhaps a trins indignant
with growing sense Of being somehow
wronged and defrauded. Either the master
sometimes looked too much, or he said alto
gether too little; and the child found herself
quite unable to solve the puzzle.


1t was only fortnight now before the
school would close, yet no progress had been
made. They met one evening" Unexpectedly
to both, at the house of nelghbor. When
it was time to return home, Mr.. Gladstone
could hardly do less than to act as attend
ant but that half hour in the bewitching
presence, with all its school -girlishness laid
aside, had entirely overcome his prudent
resolution to delay the period of his love-
making. He forgot that Susie had shared
none Of the golden reveries in which he had
lived all winter, and where in his thought
she had reigned as queen of realm sacred
to themselves. Delighted, excited, and ire
pressibly in earnest as they left the house,
quite too hastily and abruptly he asked her
to become his wife.


Susie was startled her best feelings re-
ceived shock. To become engaged with
out those sweet preliminaries of which she
had always shyly dreamed, seemed like a
perversion of right. Spirited and wayward,
without taking time to consider, she said no
promptly, perhaps a little Indignantly.


Even then it might have all come right
during the ten minutes walk which follow
ed; but unluckiy they were overtaken by q
party of chattering young people. Mr..
Gladstone, in his present reckless mood,
kept them in merry conversation till they
left Susie at her own door, when he turned
back alone into the darkness and tramped
over the frozen ground, feeling a kind of
satisfaction, as though he were stamping out
all the remnants of sentiment in his own
chilled heart. Susie shut up in the dark
ness of her room, repented at leisure. Evil
IDENTIFY at the bottom of this odd style OF
wooing there was an intense sincerity.
Why. then, had all this happened? and
could they remain still at cross-pmposes
Could two people throw away happiness SO
perversely


The next day she found that they un-
doubtedly could. Something stin and life
less in the manner Of the young teacher
toward herself chilled the blood 10 her veins,
making reconciliation seem Impossible. Her
smiles fell like moonlight upon an iceberg.


So the days crept slowly on Everybody
was demonstrative Of their regrets at the
approaching close Of the school term; but
the teacher, and one pupil at least, would
over at once and forever. To meet every
day as before seemed to both of them too
severe lesson in selfcontrol They count.
ed the days, and at night they were both
sincerely thankful that there was one less
Their estrangement grew with every thing
which occurred, Neither looked willingly
in the face of the other, or exchanged syl-
liable more than was necessary between
teacher and scholar; but two young hearts
were both aching sorely.


And now there were but two more days
to the close of the school. These over, they
could 20 their several ways again, each
learning to bear alone the sharp sting oi
| that painful but not easily forgotten past
Alasl how often has this happened before


Goodnight, Square Auber, and ladies
both of you" said the principal trustee
stumbling into the little sitting-room of the
family, and rubbing his unmittened fingers
with zest. This spring weather is colder
than real winter, I calculate. When
every thing snaps like icicles, then the cold
seems brittle and dry; but this wet cold is