Chicago Daily Tribune Newspaper, August 30, 1874, Page 11

O WA e =3P e i | e THE CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE: SUNDAY, AUGUST 30, 18.74. 1 e ———— = THE ISLES OF SHOALS. ‘A Begatte—The Sea and Its Sug- gestions, Celia Thaxter, the Poet of the : Isles. Her Lifc---A Visit to Her Home---How $he Looks, Star Island and Its Points of In- terest. Correspondence of The Chicago Tribuns, REGATTA-DAY, T5LE8 OF SHOALS, Aug. 20, 1874, So, 28 T eat npon Apriedore, Tn tho ealm of a closing summer-day, And the broken lines of Hampton sliore In purpic mist of cloudland lay, The Risermouth rocks their story told. Not, however, tho talo which they told to the Quaker poct of— Dead faces looking np, cold and white, From ssud and seuweed, where they lay for though, to-day, as *two hundred years ago sand more,” many a boat * full of a goodly com- pany” has gone “eailing out on the summor- ses,” 00 witch-wifc's mutterings that The broth will be eoid that waits at home, For it's one to g, but snother to come, pave cass baleful shadow on tho dsy’s festivities. Everybody has had e godspeed for THE GREAT YACIT REGATTA, 25d 2 good word for ite doviser sud forwarder, Mr. John H. Poor, of “The Ocemnic,” Star Tsland. Wave-god and wind-god, Poseidon and Amphitrite, *Enrus, Notus, and Africus to- getber,” and the whole raco of Nereids and Tritons, Glanci and Phoci, must have felt their souls stirred and their fingors cager to grasp trident, chariot-rein, or dolphin-steed, and curb the winds £nd the eounding tempests in favor of {he sea-race, recalling ancient heroic ago, and ro-enacting Greek romance and gala-day on Now England’s, * rock-bound cosst.” Howevor these high divinities may liave viewed tho contest as compared with thoee of the Phrygian biremes, and * Muestheus, Sergestus, and the brave Cionnthus,” tho patron dcities of the Shoals, whom old William Wood describes : ‘The King of watere, the sea-shouldering Whale, The suuting Grampus, with the oily Scale, T ok tnd Car 0t aid S Dheze, e o Stargoon, cony-mouthed Hollibut, floundering Ssmmon, Cod-Asb, Greedigut, Th:ee' z;:‘ddocki Haicke, the Thornbacke and the Saat te, “onsorting Herrings 2nd the bouy Shad, iy Sives, Sackrils ricnly cisd, “The Spotted Lamprons, Ecics, the Lamperdes, * have never seen such a commotion in their watery domain sipce the golden age of the islands in the ecventeenth century, when their world-renowned * fishing-stages” drew hither the shipping of all pations. And, though the Delphic oracle be wanting, we had what suits the Yankee far better,—the *‘guess” of “ Old Probabilities” and the oldest Shoaler on Star, that—in spite of the dense fogs which, after Inte breakfast, still hung over Kittery and Now- castle, and shut off from view Rye, and Hamp- ton, and Salisbury, snd made dim aud indistinct the Whale's Back, and our neighbors, Smutty Nose, Dack, white, and Malaga Islands—the day wonld yet prove to be a *gailor's delight." ! At last the rain ccaged to drizzle on the gray rocks, the fog lifted, 8 bit of blue in sky and sea appeared, and finally the sun burst forth i all kis splendor, chasing away the rolling vapors, and disclosing to view the brosd expanso of weiers ALIVE WITH SEA-CBAFT of various desriptiong,—yachts, stenmboats, Bchooners, row-boats, etc.—each crowded with Interested epectators, or manned by eager, ex-’ pectant crews. Flags and pennants streamed in the brecze, whistles ehricked and borns tooted from boat to boat in jocose responses, hats and bandkerchiets waved, strains of music floated over the water, and Eigual-guns, booming, an- nounced, at ha!f-psst 12 o'clock, that tho races bad begun. Gen. Butler's yacht, the America, started first, amidst rounds of spplause from the throng gathered on sea and land; for the rocks, dotted with pavilions and swnings at vanous peints of view, and the brord verandas of tho Gceanic Hous , afforded o fine prospect of the harbor and the raco-courge. With glass- esand straining eyes we watched the doparting sails a8 one by one they spod awsy toward the red bue the ‘goal near Kits's Head, and bent wd bowed their swelling canvas fotho suff areeze. Only the practiced eyo or the near be- tolder could follow the various competitors for famo and prize with any intelligent zeal. 8o we \bnndonmr all thooghts of the main point of imterest,—Who was t0 win,—and gavo ourselves up, for the time being, to enjoymentof the bezuty of the scene. IT 1§ INDEECRIBABLE, 1his gudden inspiration and sense of triamphant ecatasy which one gets from the contrast of tho ton, alive, sad throbbing, snd palpitating with its humau activities, and hopes, and delights, to tho ocosn 88 it wes but a dsy ago, beating the lone crag with its low monotone and porpetus! daeh of waters. Thep, it soemed so vast, 50 remote and disengaged from all the petly concerns of men's Lives,—a part of the Kternities: now it looks proud, fond, caressing, atercal, tenderly bearing on jta broad breast e tinicst bark committed fo it, a3 goma stern and rough ret loving father takesto his arms the infant of days, 28 if he feared to hart it with bis too rude touch. How gay and fearless the row- boats and smaller sail-boats scud from steamer to steamer, avd from yacht to yacht, on their errands. Lilipats hovering sbout some Luge Gulliver they seem; and how picturesque tho caft aro decked with & tzbnnfizd devices and rying colors, and bright with the varying cos- tuzies of the crows. ~ Then the namen. Thore 16 eomething exhilarsting in tho_pleaasnt surprise of spelling them ous a8 we glide about among the boste, or study the letters with our glass. ‘They' Dave a certain flavor of BOMANCE AXD SENTIMENTAL SUGGESTION a8 ore £oes them at the bost's prow ~lesving the blue, which is quite hopaleesly los wnd gone when wo meet them in printed columns of time- tables in newspapors. Just as our ees shells and pebbles, so bright and beautiful beneath tho lapso of tho wave on the shoro, are only poor, dull stones, or bleached clam-and-enail-shells, when wa take thom from their brine-washed beds to our cabinet-shelves and eshibit them smong our treasures. So I o E3y that, to the careless eye, the names that wtill keeg for me something of the charm of this MOrning's summer-tea will seem the merest trite tommopnplaces. The Sparkle, the Posey, the Bonita, the Sprite, the Magic, Nautilus, Ripple, Yhitewing, Curlew, and the Agnes, Aline, Gra~ e, Napoleon, Saxon, and such like, hint of Iriend, lover, hero, *fair women and brave men.*’ The giving of Dersonal and character- istio or appropriate mames to vessels, it socms tome, has something more in it than the mere matter-of-fact convenience of designation. Though wo have a thonsand chairs or pieces of {furniture, or carriages, wagons, landaus, phae- tons, etcetera, one nevor thinks of giving each s name; and even strcets, which, as somebody may remind me, we *‘name,” keep always the ‘st.” appendage,—an indication that they never tise in our estimation above the level of thor- oughfares. But with the names of our vessels it 18 otherwise. They ceaso to be the boat Liz- Zie, the ship Nautilus, tho yacht Curlew, znd bocomo the Lizzie, the Nautilus, the Curlew, with an _almost individuality of their own. And, when one sees how the gracefol, majestic, strong ship yields to the skitl of tho helmsman, and becomes, to skillful tonch of mg: snd sail, obediont well-nigh 23 is the hu- man body itself to the will 10forming and direct~ 1o its mechanism, ooe can partly apprebend the se-captain’s strong and sensitivo affection for bis good ship. But ah! how many a brave heart aad stout ship IAYE GONE DOWX IN THESE SEAP ° that now look so smiling! And, when the * White Isle kindles its great red star ™ to-night, ¥ho Imows but it will be to throw its beams over the haploss victims whoso boges wili then bo crunched by the rock-teeth of the troacherous giant that now caressca! Such forebodings soms Tearful hearts could not forbear to whisper as the yachis sped blithely out toses, and the witch- Warning croonod through half-conscious mem- ay: _ It one to go, and another to come.. While gazing down into the dark dopths, amang kelp and sca-weed, at the barnacle-cos- ered spars, and off at the grassy grave-monnds on shoro, relics of wrecks and agonics long years forgotten, they racalled legends of the Inles, diro disastor and doleful doom ; how Spanish sailors perished, and Spanish eilver and gold mado rich theso caverns, and Spanish iven motbers, maidens, whaitully, in vainy lone o nce of t] o Lring back thetr betosed, o 08 B But theso whispers of evil foroboing were only ac undertono of the general glad, chorus: and, after all, it was, perhupaat best, but a luxary of lamentation,—tho spasm of sympathy_with tho panish womon over tho far sons.” Tt did nos disturb materially the flow of small falk about programmes and prizes,and the important sur- 1niges and queries as to how soon dinner would be eerved, and how everybody would be “ fed,” aud why wo alwaya have jemon, sod never choe- olate, ice—cream for dessert, &e., &c. As to tho young ladies.—by the way, I noticed somo of Chicgo's fair and good girls among tho joyous throng of youthfal visitors,—most of them were too breathiess with exclaiming their profound in- terest in tho respective yachts which their gen- tlemen-friends of the hour had specially at beart, to waste worcs or thoughta on tho dolor- ous discouree end gastronomical speculations of their mammas and aunts,—lost night's hop 2ud to- night's anticipations furnishing prohfic theme of digression from the abzorbing topic of the hour. Dut, as was said in tho outsst, all WENT MEREY AS A MARRIAGE-BELL, Tho forty-four yachts that eniled out all camo bLome iu * splendid time” and * splendid condition.” The Vindox, which mado the 32 miles iv 4 hiours 53 minutes 17 scconds, received 1o fust of the prizes awarded for the first raco, —a solid silver punch-bowl aud ladle, which might havo made the eyes of old Bacchus bim- self eparkic, and caused the * classic ™ drinkers who &o delighted in ivy-crowned pocula, palera, cratera, etc., to regard with covy the yachters of this land of steady habits sud probibitory laws. The other prizes—two manne glasscs, 3 Dpair of silver napkin-rings of nuique nautical de- vice, a silver pitcher, and a barometer of value— were awarded, in the order of merit, to the Fear- less, of the firel race, of 32 miles; tho Era and Tarcellus, of the sccond, of 17 miles; and tho Fanuie and Posey, of the third, of 11 miles. Of courso, tomebody was not estisfied, or felt zegrieved, or did pot try fair ; and so it is rumor- ed there moy bo a different decision, or & try- again of the third-raco prizes. How that muy be, I donot koow ; but it is ressonable to Bup- Poso justice will b douc 23 far us may be in dis- tributing the genorosity of the prizes. The total amount of monsy paid by ir. Door for theke was $400. 1t is hardly neceseary to t=ll the traveling or the reading public that the Isles of Shoals lic off the coast of New Iampshire and Maiue, about 12 miles from Portsmouth, the Rivermouih of tha Piscatague. Tho poets Whittier and Lowell bavo mado tho memo of Appledors a honsoliold- word; and T. B. Aldrich has invested all the streots of the quaiut old Rivermouth town with the charm of his inimitable psychologieal myths and romances: bub truest, becauso most loving of all the poets of the Iley, is CELIA THAXTEE, the child of the sea, the gray rocks’ own nursling, cradled almost xmong tho billowe, and hearing ever rasounding: n her cars the ccaseless jullaby of ocean. How, ae a child of 5 years of age, tho went, with Lor father, and motlicr, and brother, 10 the lonely isle, sud lived and joved its overy rock, and flower, und bird, and ivscct, sud watched every cloud and shadow on ses, and sail, and clill, and day by day yearned and longed, and darst not veoture to atierin words the wonderful thoughts which stirred within her soul, ehe Ler- self given us gliwpees fo ber delighitul book, * Among the Ixles of Shoais,” and in her poems. It is marvelous, tho nunate, painstaking affection with which tho lovely girl studied an watched the scanty, as most of us would call 1t, life—vegetablo, and animal, and human—around ber; how each bit of moss, the little sand-piper on the beach, the floating spar, becamo to her s rich storchouse of visious sad phantasms; and also how sha noted every peculisritw of crag, and coast, ond fish, cud bird, snd heast,—cultisating a power of faithful observation such as many of tho most book-aud- society-taught studonts lack and would give much to possess. It interests me much now to_recall my first sight of Celia Thaxter, before she had become known to fame, and while she still lived comparatively unknown at Appledore. We were spending a week—a party of merry young peo- ple, cousins and frienda—at tho Appledors House, then kopt by Drs. Thaxter's father, Mr. Laigh- ton,—now by her two brothers. THE FATUEL'S JISTORY was interesting, and the ubject of rouch epecu- Iation to the loungers sbout the hotel-verandrs wnd holls. He, it Foems, mas & dizanpointed politician, and, disgusted with the thauk’ of the dear people, liad fled the world, and to live 1 solitude in thcee wilderness wistos. But somehow, though ho would notgo to the meiniand, the mainland Lad come to bim, sud, will or nill,—nobody knew which,—hoe had found himself the ceutre of a throng of summer-visit- ors. * We girls,” however, cared not 60 much about the politician father's mental struggles 2a for the romance of his only daughter.—the very young woman, with the babies, whom we saw tilting about, in fearlees fashion, in her little boat, emong the breskers; or weed- ing her 'garden, aud .picking vegetablos, and doing homely househoid-duties, st the cottage above tho hotel. “Ouly to think of it!” exclaimed dsiuty Aliss Aristocrat, of Beacon street, Boston. * Alr. Thaxter, her husband, is s Harvard graduate, and, they sy, is ‘culti- vated’ and polished. and might have married in Liis own or tho first circles. But he is so dread- fully eccentric; aud hs came down hero, and fell in love with that rough girl, and I dare soy he'il be as coarse 28 she is some day.” And we all shook our heads, and sighed nt the perversities on with our embroiderings, and crochetings, £nd gossipivgs, until our week's pleasure-trip was over. Then we went back to our verious *“cir- cles” of society, such 88 our respeetive modi- cums of money. blood, or cultura, hed mado them, and Celis Thaster went her way, and “milked tho little dun-cow” as of old, in the matchless summer-mornings, and gathored unto her heart the peace of morning and evening, sad the strength of noon, and the grandeur of tha sea and eky, and tho tonderness of eympaily with all living things, and reverent faith in the All-Father; and evor, as sha sags, sho longed to gpeak theso things that o lifo 8 —to speak tbo wind, the clond, the bird's flight, the sea's murmur,— . . . until it was impoesible o bo silent any longer, snd I was fain to mingle my ¥oice with her myriad voices, only aspiring to be in accord with the infinite lmrmoug, however feebleand broken my notes mighs be.” This afternoon, just before wo took oar leare of Appledore, I paid 2 visit to THE COTTAGE OF CELIA THAXTER 2gein. The door of the parior stood ajar, and & gentleman eitting there invited me to enter and wait for Mrs. Thaxter's return from s walk. I bad but a few moments to spare, aod could only glance around. The room, though plain sud simple as to the fumitare proper, was a very bower of beauty aud delight with its store of treasures and goms of Art and Nature, I cannot tell what it was that gave such an air of warmth and luxuriousness to the rustic,” even perhaps avkwardly-constructed furniture, unless it was the extraordinary beauty and richness of the col ors of the flowers which were lavished escry- where, The peculiar quality and mysterions virtus of the Shoals soil to produce rare brill- iancy of hue in dowers, Thaxtar mentions in her sketches. One shell £ remember particu- larly, haoging over the centre-table of books, and filled with nasturtiums, pacsies, and some blue flower,—all ** very common " flowers, quite old-farhioned snd out of date in greenhouses and gardens of good socicty, bus dearly loved by the poet-woman of Appledore. Inoticed also 2 painting of violets undor the mantel, and vines hanging over it ; & writing-desk in the corner, also with flowers on it ; and o head or bust, life- size, garlanded with a running vine,—a morn- ing-glory, I think. While I was looking and trying to get something defnite out of the gen- eral impression, the mistress of the house— THE GENIUS LOCI— came in, a bright, breezy, cordial, self-sustsined woman, of apparently 35 years or therenboute, with possibly 3 dash of brusqueness in her man’ ner, or at least & refreshing absence of the lack- adsisical or eentimental~ * Let mo pick you some pansies,” wera the quick, impulsive words of gennine hospitality 28 I hasted to apologize for and make brief my unintroduced call. As I watched har litho eud_gracefal form bending over thebed of blooms, T thought of the * rongh "girl,” and the eccentric Harvard student, and my aristocratic acquaintance, of the years gone. Ido uot know her history, but it i8 to be pre. sumed she hug heard of Celis Thaster, and would bo proud_to receive her into the. * firat circles * of Bescon street. It my tale were not alresdy oo long, T should ke to tell about the placesof inferesion .. tho_monument to the metsory of Capt. Jol n e memory of Capt. Smith erected there, tnd s insosiption resonot. ing his_virtnes and_discoverics: Ho named these isles for himself, and the thres islands near Cepo Ann, from’ s cost of arms, the Thres Turks’ Hoads. The old mecting house, too, s of much historic interest. Its appro. priste wastbervane—a fish—gives it quaint and primitive air, quite in keeping with the stylo and atmosphere of the ancient Town of Gosport, of which it is almost tho only building unchanged b the hand of modern Improvement. ‘When I first visited the 1slands, the Star was a mere fishipg-village, curious and queer enough._. and eccentricities of Harvard students, and went | with ite footpaths winding in and out among tho houses, around whose doors lsy spread the scincs and mets of the fshermon, and ageiust whose walls the men cat sunning themseives and smoking their pipes. Now, tho villages are ~ almost all removed, their houses torn down or remodeled, znd the island is dotted with the outlying cottages aud Liouses of the Oceanic Hotcl. The grassy foot- paths are made iuto walks of concrete or gravel, aad gay parterzes of flowers bloom where the nets used to bedrying. Tho Oceame will aceom- modato 600 guests, aud give thom the luxury of g86, bath, and enisine,—everything that the most comfortablecity halei furnisies. Appledore also bas, if uot in so modern a fashion, its own pecu- liar and indeecribeble excellencies. The Laigh- tons—Oscar and Cedric, as the [ather, with sten- torian voice used to call them, shouting for them toattend his wauts—keep all the friends who once learn their sicrling virtues and homelike hospitalities, and add yearly many more. Now, s tho boat pushes off tho shore, and we_leavo behind tho Iast trace of tha regatta, we ¥ il>ane the years mey bring many such summen.-days to the Shoals and Rivermouth Rocks. 8. L. B. CONTERT. To bo content ill the day fa done, To Jio down at night in peace, Though browned by the weather and kdssed by the sun, “Till life’s full span sbail ceane, Were better than murm'ring overmuch, And freiting tho time avsy ; For never Remorse would come in, and 0 clutch The uingly gleat of das. But tho hardest thing, somehor, to learn, Is even to by content : We grumble a1l day, and unkindly spura The littlo goodness zent. Oft sorrow stands in the open door At the Grat faut blush of morn; And our hearts forget all the good, 28 before, And thus grow bard in scora, 1f we, in sooth, would but try our best ‘To make thove aroand ns less #ad, Perhaps e'en the dey and the night would be blest, Aud our own Learis be glad. WarTER SPENCE PALMED, HURICR. Western railroad warning—Look out for the Indian when the boll rings. - —Goldemith Mnd is & musical mare. Sho can beat hor own time. —The coal merchant’s favorite aphorism— One good ton deserves another. —Undertaker's motto—Circumstancea burial cases. —Tlhe bardest thing to deal with—Aua old pack of cards. —Why is 2. son_who objects to his mother's socond marriage like an exbausted pedestrian? Because he can't **go” a step-father. —Why bas a hog the most brains of all the :.ll;imme Becauso ho Liasa hog's head full of thom. —What is wanted in Kansas is moro telegraph poles, or stropzer ones. The average pole Lolds only about four Lorse-thieves comfortably. " {little girl sad of her ill-tompered wucle s *Tlo haun't got a singlo laugh in his faco.” —A Capo ey youth used tho deods of his father's farm for gun-wads. The stamp on‘tho bottom wasn't ensthing like the impression the oldman mede on tho eame pers of the lad's anatomy. —Itistme thero is nothing like advertising, but o public ofiicer, with nothing but his salary of §2,000 a year to live on, rhould be careful not to gire his wife more thaa $5,000 worth of diamonds at a time, —A Jilwaukeo man stated that horeally ueed- ed some aciive, rezular excrcise, A friend sug- gested that he mix Lis own cocktails. —A young man asked for & copy of Homer's * Odyssey™ atu bookstore in Norwich, Conn., the other day, 2nd tho clerk not finding it, ro- marked in & reflective way, “Well, wo beven't any of Homer's letest works in at present.” —A now game called ** Granger oven-up” is announced. Thres persons play for a can of ovsters. The first man out gets the oysters, {k:a last man out gets the oyster cay, and tho *mid- dio man " don't get anything, —There is ope recen decision of the Treasiy Department in_which = thankful public, or (l:a adult portion of it at lenst, will readily acquicece. Tt is that children's whittles, tin horne, cic., are * not musical instruments.” 8 —iperrel trounes now dispence with mid- dle-men while performing in the country, in deference fo the Grangern. Thia is 88 reason- able 23 o dispenso witi * bones " in deferenco to cremntiomss. —\ rustic couple, newly married, marcked in- tn = drog wiers and called for rods-water. ‘Tha ouliging clerl inquired what sicap they would Dbave in it, wiion the swain, deliberately” lezning over the counter, replicd : ** Stranger, money 11 o ubject to me : put sugar in it." 3 —T,ord Braxfield, & Scotch Judge, onco said fo #n cloquent cuiprif at tho bar, * Yere a vera clever chiel, saon, but I'm thinking ye wad bo none the waur o' 3 hanging.’ —An cnterpricing reporier o Arkansae, who was laleiy sontenced to the Slate prison for Lores stesling. spolied to bis employers to bo continued on the jownel as penitenfiary corre- spondent. —A farmer ncar Prairie City complains that 5 Book-and-lsdder company bas beeu organized in pis neighborhood. He states that the ladder is ueed afier derk for climbing into his chicken- house, after which the hooking is done. ‘tempernnce advocets at one of our police- stations aeked s man who had been arrested on iho charge of intoxication if be, the arrested man, did not think it a bad thing to get drunk. Yer," replied the mwell-bead, *Dut it's not Balf so bad as getting sober.” —Ono meets with an_inexhaustible variety of characlers among ” the 20,000 people now congre= gated hese. One is the young lady of 40, who as gon back to short clothes sud pantalsttes, and who lisps to o gontloman: * Mamma sajs I'm 50 giddr, such o giddy young thing.” A smag on either rido represents her departed teeth.— Saraloga lelter. —A Iady sitting in ber parlor, and engaged in the dreamy contemplation of the moustache of fhe young gentleman who was to escort her and her sister fo o musical festivel, was suddenly awakened by an ominous whisperin a juvenile Soice et the door, ** You've got Ann's teeth, end €l wants ‘em.” AR —1In a little town in Aissonri & Indy teacher wes exercising’ & class of djuvem!an in mental aritbmetic. Sho commenced the question: “If you buy & cow for £10—" when up camo a little hand. * What ie it, Johnny?” *“Why, soucan't buy no kind of o cow for 0. Fathoer sold one for &50, the other day, and she was a regular cld scrub at that.* ; —Xever bet on 2 horse-rece, myecn. It ia srvong to bet, and, besides, the horte that ought to win is likely, in nino_out of tcn cases, to ba jockeyed to the rear. Do not bet &l all, myson; ut, if you bet on horses, get acquainted with {ho'riders in advance of the contest, and sea hotw the thing is coming out.” —The pounding of the stomach for the cure of dyspopsis_was tho cause of a good joke the otherdsy. Two men were describing what they 1ad done to cure themselves. ‘“Doyou knead Your stomach?” ‘‘I—I—conldn’t get slong withont it!” responded the other, in the Isst stage of sstonishment. s —A Terre Haute teacher named Joab went ont for a ride and & day of pleasuro. He got ik, In attempting to ford s river he was nearly drowned, and then he drove over & steep bank & feet higli, the horso and wagon rolling over him eod nearly wrecaing the whole business. Hav- ing repaired damages, he started for home, but bad not got far when ho was waylaid by a high- wayman. Ho stated his case ta the footpad, and a5 ho had no money, was not robbed. —An accommodation train botween Jamee- town and Lake View was the sceno of a liitle incident op Thursdsy. *Youdon't think that the boy is undor 10, hey, and you won't pass him for balf fare? Just look at that, will yez” And from out the old capet-bagthe old lad, with trembling _cagorness, brought tho well-worn family Bible, and turning to the page resorved for birthe and deaths, held it trinmphantly up under the conductor's pose, with, **Docs that look as though I was o liar, young manz" _With such testimony before his eyes, the conductor coutd do no less than pass the boy for half fare, and subdued applause from the passengers. —Apropos of thio comet, a Paris paper tells & good etory: Alonsienr S— enters o barber's shop to be shaved, and the barber. as is cuazom'«‘ ary, begins_» conversation. ‘‘Ab, Monsienr. sa5s ho, ‘‘don't talk to mo about that horrible comet! Thoy say that it foretella the end of the world.” “PBah” ¢ Yes; onthelfth the beasts will die, and on the egm it will bo ov.:mf l:;::::: beings’ turn.” ¢ Good grecious, ¥ mn."g exclaims Monsienr 8—, starting up. * \ho will thers bo to shave mo on tho 19th ¥’ —_—— EPITAPH. Toy transient life was radiant ¥ 2 floars of sunshine here,— Foras one of Bappy innocence, Which had not Death to fezr. On? may we live as thon did'st lve, ‘That oar decesse Ay Like thine, as calm a8 summer-waTe Tpon » tranquil sea ; That, in the hour of Death, vie may, .12 bapry conscieuce, eing, 400, Greve! whers is iy victory ? Ok, Deatls I where ¢ thy sting?” . WELDOY GOODFELIOW, alter WHO WAS SHE? Come, now, thero may a3 well be an end of this! Every time I meot your eyes squarely, I dotect the quostion just slipping out of them. If you hed spoken it, or even boldly looked it; if you bad shown in your motions the least sign of 'a fussy or fidgety concern on my mccount; if this were no® the eyeping of my Dbirthday, ood you the only friend who remembered it; if confession wers not good for tho soul, though hsrder than ein to soma people, of whom I am one,— well, if all reasons were not at this instant con- verged into » focus, and burning me rather vio- lently, in that region where the seat of emotion is supposod to lie, I shonld keep my troudlo to myself. Yes, I havo fifty times hed it on my mind to tell you the whole story. But who can be certain that his best friend will not smile—or, what ia woree, cherish a kind of charitablo pity over af- terwards—when tho external forms of & very se- rtious kind of passion seem TRIVIAL, FANTASTIC, FOOLISH ? And the worst of all 18 that the heroic part which 1 imagined [ was playing provos to have boen al- most the reverse. The only comfort which I can find in my humilistion is, that I am capable of foelingit. There isu't a bit of a parzdox in this, a8 you will see; but I only mention it, now, to prepare you for, masybo, & little morbid sensitiveness of my moral nerves. ‘The documents are all in this portfolio, under my etbow. I bad just road them sgain com- pletely through, when you were sunounced. You may examino them aa yoa like, afterwards ; for tho present, fill your glass, taske another Cabana, and keop silent until my *ghaetly tale” has reached its most lamentablo conclusion, Tho begioning of it wes at Wampsocket Sorings, three years ago last summer. I sup- ‘pose most unmarried men who have reached or passed the age of 30—acd I was then 83—ex- perience & milder roturn of their adolescont warmth, 3 kind of fainter second spring, sinco the first has not falfilled its promige. Of course I waen't clearly conscious of thisat the time: whois ? ButI bad had my youthful passion and m y tragic disuppointment, s you know; I had looked far enough iuto what Thackeray used to call the cryptic mysieries to save mo from the ‘Scylla of diesipation, and yet prescrved enough of natural nsturo to keep me ontof the Pharisaic Charybdis. Ay devotioa to my legal studics ha d already brought me & mild distinc- tion ; the paternal legacy was a good nest-cgg for the incubation of wealtl,—iu short, I was A FAI, BESPECTALLE ‘* RANTY,” desirable lo tlie humbler msmmas, and not to be despised by the haughty exclusives. The fashionable botel at the Springs holds 300, and it was packed. I had meant 1o Jounge tharo for a fortuight, aud then finish my bolidays at Long Drauch ; but eighty, at least, out of the 300, were young snd moved lightly in mushin. With my years of experience 1 felt'go safe, that to walk, talk, or dance with them became fimply a Iuxury, euch 28 I bad never—at losst 5o freoly— posecived before. My uame aud standing, known to some familics, were agreeably exag- gerated to the others, and I enjoyed that su- Preme gatisfaction which a man always feels wken hio discovers, or imagines, that he is popu- Iar in eociety. Therc is & kind of premonitory apology tnylied in my saying this, I am aware. You must remember that I am culprit, and cal- prit's counsel, at tho eame time. You have never been at ‘Wampsocket ? Weil, the hills sweep zround in a cres~ cont, on the nporthern eido, and four or five radiating glens, descending from them, unite just sbove the villsge. The central one, leading to a water-fall (catled 3inne-Lelie ” by 1o irrovereut young peoplo, because there is go littie of it), is the fashiona- Lle drivo and promenade ;_bat the second ravive ou the left, steep, crooked, end cumbered with Lowlders which have tumbled from somewherd and lodgea 1n the most extraordinary groupings, became wny favorite walk of & morning, There wes & fool-path in it, well-trodden at first, but gradually fading out a8 it became more like o Tadder than & pach, and I soon discovered that no other city feet thun mine were lizely to scalo a certain rough slepe which scemed tho end of tho ravine. With the aid of the tough laurel- stems 1 climbed to tho top, paseed through a cleft a8 Datrow as & Goorway, snd prescatly found mygelf in A LITTLE UPPCR DELL, a8 wild, and ewcet, and strange as one of the res that haunt us ou the brink of sleep. & pond—no, rather a in the centre; hardly 20 yards across, yet the sky in it was w0 vore and far down that tbe circle of rocks and summer foliage inclosing it seemed like & planes- ary ring, flouting off alone through epace. can’t explan the charm of the spot, nor the self- iehuess which instautly suggested that I should keep the discoyery to mygelf. Ten years earlier, 1 skould bave looked around for kome fair epirit to be my “minister,” but now— One Torenoon—I *think it was the tbird or fourth time [ bad visited tho piace—I was startled to find the diot of a heel in tbe earth, Lalf-way up the slope. Thers had been rain Quiing the night, and iho earth was still moist and soft. It was the mark of a woman's boot, only to be distingnished from that of a walking- stick by its eemicircular form. A littlo higher, I found ‘the outline of a foot, not g0 amall as to awake an ecstacy, bub with o suggestion of lightness, elasticity, and graco. If hands wero thrust throngh hoies in & board-fence, and noth- ing of the sttached bodies zeen, I can easily im- agino that some would atiract and others repel us: with footprints the impreesion s wesker, of courre, but we cannot excape it. I awm not sura whether I wanted to find the unknown wearer of tha boot within my precious personal solitudo: I was ofraid Ishould sec ber, while passiug throngh the rocky crevice, and yot was disappoinsed when 1 found no one. Dut o the ilat, warm rock everhanging tha tarn—my speclal throne—lay gome withering wild-Lowers, AXD A BOOK! 1 looked up and down, right and left; there was not tha slightestsign of anothier human life then mine. Then I Iay d for a querter of za bour, and listened; there were only the noises of bitd and squirrel, as before. At last, I fook up the book, the flat breadth of which suggested only sketches. Thera were, indecd, some tolera- ble studies of rocks aud troes on the first pagos ; & few not very striking caricatures, which seemed to bave Leen commenced 2s portraite, but re- called no faces I knew; then a nuiber of fragmentary notes, wnbten in pencil. I found no name, from firet to last; ouly, under the sketches, » monogram 6o complicatod and laborious that the initials could bardly be dis- covered unless one already knew them. The writing vas & woman’s, but it bad surely. taken its character from ceriain featuros of her ownj; it was clear, firm, individual. It had nothing of that air of general debility which ususlly marks tha maauscript of young ladies, yet its firmnces way far removed from the stifl, couventional slope which all Englishwomen scema to actnire in yonth and retain through life. I donteee how any man in my situation conid have ieiped reading & few linos—1f_only for tha e=ke of restoring lost property. Dut I w8 Grawn on, and on, and finished by reading ll: thence, since no furthor harm could bo done, I reread, pondering over certain passages until they stayed with me. Here they arc, 88 1 set them down, that evening, on the back of a legal blank: i "It makes a great deal of difference whether wo wear social forms as bracclets or haadcuffs.” # Can we not still be wholly our independent' selves, even whilo doing, in ¢he main, sa others do? I know two who are 503 but thoy are mar- Tiod.” “The men who admire these bold, dashing young girls treat them like weaker copies of themselves. And yet they boast of what they call *expericrco!'” “T wonder if any one felt ths exquisite beau- of the noou 88 I did, to-day? A faint appre- ciation of sunsets and etorms is taught us in youth, and kept alive by novels and flirtations ; but the broad, imperial splendor of this sum- mer moon!—abd myself standing =lone in if,— yes, utterly slono!” Theman I seck must exist : whero are they. How make an_scquaintance, when_oae obeequi Qualy bows himeelf away, g3 I edvence? ‘Tho fault is surely not all on my eide.” Thero was much more, intimato enough to in- epire me with A EEEN IXTEREST IX THE WRITER, vet not suflicintly £o to make my porasal a painful indiscretion. 1 yielded o the impulse of the moweut, took out my peocil, and wrote a dozea lines on ono of the blank pages. Theyrzn something in this wi ¢ Igxot1ys I6NoT= !—You bave bestowed with- out intending it, and I Lave tzken withous your knowledge. Do not regret.ths accident which has eoriched another. This concealed idyi of the hills was mine, as I supposed, but I acknowledgo your oqual right to jt. - Shall e ehare tha pos- esvion, or will yon banish'me?” There was & frank advance, tempered by a roper caution, I fancied. ia_the words I wrote. t was evident thay she was unmarried, but oui- g hido of that certainty thora lay o vast range of possibilitics, some of them slarming enough. Iiowever, if sny mnearer acquaintance should arise out of the incident, tho next step must be takca by ber. Was I ono of the men she sought? I almost imsgined so—certsinly hoped 50, I lasid the book on the rock, as I bad fouud it, bostowed another keen scru- tiny on the loncly Iandscape, and then descanded the ravine, That evening, I went eatly to the ladies’ parlor, chotted more than usual with the various damsels whom I knew, and watched with a new intorest those whom I kiiew not, My mind, involuntarily, had atready created a picture of the unknown. Sbo might bo 25, I thought: a refiec- tivo habit of mind would hardly be doveloped be- fore that age. 'Lall and siately, of course; dis- tinctly proud in her bearing, ‘aud somewhat re- served 1o her manoers. Why she should have largo datk eyes, with Jong dark lashes, I conld wot tell; but so I eccmed to sce ber. Quite forgetling that I was (or bhad meant to be) Jguolus. § found mysel! staring rather eignifi- cantly at ono or the other of the young ladies, in whom I discovered some shight general rescm- blance to the imaginary character. Ay fanci 1 must confess, played strango prauis with me. They bad been kept in a coop eo many *years, that now, when I suddenly torned them loose, their rickety at- tempta at flight quite bewildered wme. No! thero was no uso in ospecting a sudden discove: I weat to the glon betimes, next morning: the book was gone, and 50 wero the faded flowers, but some of the Iatler were scat- tered over the O.DP of another rock, a few yards from mino. Ia! this meaus that I A NOT TO WITHDRAW, I enid to myself: sho makes room for me! Buat Tiow to surpriso her?—for by this time I was fully rosolved to make ler acquaintance, even though she might turn out to be 40, scraggy, and saudy-baired. T flnew no other way 60 likely as that of vlait- ing the glon at oll times of the day. I even went 0 far as to write a lino of greeeting, with a re- cret that our visits had not yet coincided, and aid it under a stone on the top of her rock. The note disappeared, bus there wae no answer in ite place. Then I suddenly remembered her fondness for the noon Lours, at which time she was ‘“‘utterly aloue.” 'Tho hotel table d'hole was st 1 oglock: her family, doubtless, dined Iater, in their own rooms. Why, this gave me. at leust, her place in society! The question of age, to Le gure, remained unsetiled; but all olso was safe. The next day I took a late and large breakfast, and eacrificed my dinner. Defore noon tne gueats Lad all straggled back to tho hotel from glen, and grove, and lane, o bright and Dot was the eunshine. Indecd, Icould bardly bave supported the roverberation of heat from the uides of the ravine, but for a fixed belief that 1 shonld be succeseful. While crossing the nar- row meadow upon which it opened, I caught a glimpsa of something white among the thickets higher up. A moment later, ithad vanished, aod 1 quickened my pac, feeling the beginning of zn absurd nervons excitement in my limbs. At tho next turo, there it was agam! but onty for avotber moment. I paused, exulting, and wiped my drenched forchead. ‘*She canmot escape me!" I marmured between tho deep draughts of cooler air I inhaled in the ebadow of & rock. A few hundred steps moro brought mo to tho 100t of the steep ascent, whero I had counted on overtaking her. I was too Iate for that, but the dry, baked soil had surely been crumbled and dislodged, here and there, by arapid foot. I fotlowed, ' in reckloss haste, apatching at the Tanrel-branchios right and left, and payiug little heed to my footing. -About one-third of the way up I slipped, fell, caught o bush which enapped at the root, siid, whirled over, aud, be- foro I fairly knew whnt bad bappezed, I was Jving doubled up &t tho boltora of tho slope. 1 roso, mado two steps forwazd, and then sat down with 3 zroan of pain; 3Y LLFT ANELE WAS BADLY STRATSED, in addition to various minor scratches and bruises. Tierc was a revalsion of fecling, of course,—instant, complete, and hideous. I farly bated the Unkzown, “Fool that I was!™ I cxclaimed, in tho theatricel manner, dash- ing the palni of my band softly against my brow: “Jurod to this by the fair traitress! But, no!— not fair: eho slows the artfalness of faded, desperate spinstertiood; sho is all compact of enamel, *liquid bloom of youth,” and hair-ye ! "Fnerowas a ficrce comifort n this thought, but it couldn’s help me out of ths scraps. I dared not eit gtill, lest a sun-stroke should bs added, and thero was no rosource bat to hop or crawl down_tho rugged peth, in the hope of finding o forked eapling from which I conld ex- temporize a crutch. With endless pain and trouble I reached a thicket, and was feebly working on 3 branch with my pen-knife, whon the sonnd of & hesvy footatep surprised me. A brown harvest-hand, iu straw hat and shirt- «ceves, presoutly appeared. e grinned when ho eaw me, and the thick snub of his nose would liave seemed like a eneer st any other time. + Are you the gentloman thbat got hurt?” he asked, *“In it pretty tolerable bad 2 ** Who said 1 wee hurt#" I cried, in astonish- ment. *One of your town-women from the hotel—I reckon sho was., I was binding oats, in the field over the ridge; bu I heven's ostno timein comin’ hero.” . v While I was stupidly starinz at this announce- ment, hio wlflxpped out a Lig clasp knife, snd in & few minutes Tashioned me a practicable crutch. Then, taking me by the otier srm, he set me in motion toward the viiiage. Grateful s [ wzs for the man’s help, he eggravated mo by his igoorance. When I asked if he knew the lady, he answered: ** Ii's more'n likely you know her better.” Dut where did ahs coma from? Down from the hill, he guessed, but it might ha' been up the rcad. How did she look 7 was she old or young ? what was the color of her eyos ? of Lier Linir 2 There, now, I waa too much for him. When & womsn kept one o' them speckled veils ever her face, turned ber head away, and held her parasol between, how were you to know ber from Adam? I declare to you, 1 couldn't arrive at one pozitive particular, Even when be affirmed that sho was tall, beadded, the pext instant : “Now I come to think onit, she zccgped mighty quick; so I guces £ho musc bha’ bosn short.” @ By the time we reacizd tho hotel, I wasin a state of fever; opiates and lotions hnd their will of mo for the rest of the day. I was glad to excapo the worry of questions, snd the conven- tional sympathy exprossed in inflections of tho voico WMCE are moant to eoothe, and only ex- asperate. The next morning, as I lay upon my wofa, restfnl, pationt, and properly choerful, the waiter entered with o bonquat of tiowera, * Who sent them ?” I asked. T found them oateide yout door, sir. _Mayba thore's a gards yos, bero's bit o' paner.” 1 opencd the iwisted slip he bandod e, and read: *'PEOM YOUR DELL—AND 3mNE." 1 took the flowers; among them were two or three raro and beautitul varioties, which I had only found in thatone spot Ioal, agzin! I noiselersly kissed, while pretending to smell thom, had them placed on a stand with- in reach, and fell iuto a etatoof quiet and agree- able contemplatlon. Tell me, yourself, whether any male human being is ever too old for sontiment, provided that 1t strikes bim ab the right time and in the right way! What did tnat banch of wild flowers betoken? Knowledge, firat; then sympathy; 2nd finally, enconragement, ¢t least, Of course ehe had scen my accident, from above ; of cotrze she had sent thio hacvest laborer to aid mo home. 1t was quite natural sho ehould imsgine somo Bpocial, romantio interest in tho lonely dell, on ‘my part, and the gift took zdditional valuo from her conjecture. Tour days sftermards, thero was_a hop in the large diniog-room of the Lotol. Early in the morning a fresh bouquet had been left atmy door. I was tired of my enforced idleness, eager to discover the fairnnknown (she was agaia fair, to my fancy!) and I determined to go down, be- Leving that & cane and a crimson velvet slipper on the left foot would provoke a glance of sym- pathy from certain eyod, and thus enable me to detect them. The fact was, the sympathy was much too gen- oral effusive. Lverybody, it seemed, came to mo with kindly grestings ; seats were vacated at my approach, even fat Mra. Huxter insisting on my taking ber warm piace, at the hoad of the room. But Bob Leroy,—you know him,—ms gallant 2 gentleman as ever lised, put me dova at the right point, and kept me there. ITeonly meant to divert me, yet gavé s the only place where 1 conld quietly inspect all the young Iadies, a8 dance or aupper brought them near. One of tho dances was sn old-fashioned cofil- lon, 2nd one of the figures, the *coquette,” brought esery one, in turn, bafore me. I re- celved 2 plensant word or two_from Lhose whom I koow, acd & long, kind, silent glance from ilisa Aay Danvers. WIERE NAD BEEX XT EYES? She was tall, stately, 95, had large dark eyes, and long dark lashea! Again tho chsnges of the dance broaght her near me; I threw (or strove to throw) unattersblo meanings into my7 eyes, and cast them mpon hers. She seemeil tartled, looked suddenly awey. looked back o and—blushed. I know her for whatls calied o girl "—that is, folerably frsnlf, geutly inzelligoat.” Was 4 80 much char- feminine, tud not dangerons it possible that I bad overlo acter and intellect 2 As the cotilion closed, she was againinmy neighborhood, and her partner led ber in my di- secdion. I was rising painfally from my chair. wken Bob Leroy pushed me down again, whisked I Thad p ‘notus informed Ignota of the necessiss another geat from somowhers, planted it at my side, aod theso she was! 7 Shie knew who was her neighbor, I plainly sar; bus, instoad of turnivg towards me, whe begea to fan herself in a nervous way, and to fidget with the buttons of her gloves. I grew impa- tient. “Misa Daavers!" I said, at lnst. “Oh!" was oll her answer, as she looked at me for a moment. “ Whero aro your thoughts »” I asked. Then sbo turned, with wide, astouirhed eyes, coloring softly up to the roots of Ler hair. My ‘heart gave a suddenleap. T8 can you tall, if I cannot 2" sho seked. “May I guess 2" . She made a slight Aiclination of tho head, say- ing pothing. I was then quite sute. 3 “The gccond raviae, to ths left of the main drivo#” This timo ehe sctually started; her color be- came deeper, aud a leaf of tho ivory fan snap- ped belweon her fingors. = ** Let there be no more a secret!” I exclaimed. % Your flowars have brought me your messages ; T knew I sbould find you ™ — i Full of certainty, I waa speaking in a low, im- paseioned voice. . She cut me short by rising Irom Ler seat; I felt that she was both angry aud alarmed. ' Fisher, of Philsdelphia, jostling right and Jeft in his hasce, made bis way towards Ler. Sha fairly snatched Lis arm, clung 1o it with a warnth I had never seen espressed in o ball- room, acd began to wiisper in his ear. It was not five minutes Lefore Lie came to me, alone, witha vory storn fuse, oot dou, and sl I you bave discovered our secset, YOU WILL KEE? SILENT. You aro certainly a geutizm I bowed, coldly aud savazely. There was a draft from tho open window; my sukle bocamo suddenly weary and painfal, zad I went to bod. Can you beliove that I didu't guess, immediately, what it all meant? In s vague way, I fancied that I had been premature in my attempt to drop onr mutual incognito, aod that Fisher, a rival lover, was jealous of me. This wa rather flat- tering than otherwise; but when I limped down to the ladies’ Jaslor, thonest day, no Miss Dan- vors was to be scen. 1 did not ventnro to ask forher; it might Bcom importunate, aud a woman of 80 much bidden capacity was evidontly not to b wooed in the ordinary wa. So another nigat passod by ; and thea, with +113 morning, came & letter which made me. fecl, at tiie samo instant, lisaa fool aud a hero. Ithea beea dropped in tha Wampsocket Post-0i legibly addressed to mo and delivered o other lotters which had arrived by the night mal. Hero it is; listen! +Noto IoNoto!—Haste isnova gift of the gods, and you have boen impatient, with tha usual result. Iwas almost prepared for this, and thus am not wholly disappointed. In a day or two moro you will discover your mistak which, so far as I cau learn, has done no partict Jur hatm. 1f you wish to find me, thera is only ono way to ek mo: should I tell yon what 1t is, I siould run tho risk of losing you,—that is, I should prociude the manifestation of a certain quality which T hope to find {n the maa who may —or, rather, must—te my friend. This sounds cnigmatical, yeb you Lave read enough of my nature, as written'in those random motes in my sketch-book, to guess, at least, how mach I require. Only thislet me add: mora guessing is useless. " ¢ Being unkoows, I can write freely. If you find mo, I ehall bo justiied; if n:& Ishall hardly peed to blush, even tomy- self, aver a futile experimont. 1t is posaible for me to learn enough of your Life, benceforth, to dircet my relation iowards you. This mls be the end; if go, I shall know it soon. I sball aleo know whether you continue to ecck me, Trosting in your honor ags man, 1 must ask yon to trust in mine, as a woman.” Idid discover my mistake, as the Unimown promised. There had been o sccret betrothal between Fisher and Miss Danvers; and singu- larly enough, tho momentous question and an- swer had been given in the very ravine leading tomy mpper delif The two meant to keep ths matter to thomselves, but therein, it seems, L thiwarted them ; there was a littls opposition on the part of their respoctive families, but all was amicably settled before I left Wampsocket. ‘Fhe lotter made a vory decp impression npon me. Waat was THE ONE WAY TO FIND HER? What counld it he but the trinmph that follows ambitious toil,—tLe wanifestation of all my best qualities, ? De sho old or young, plain or beautiful, I rciscted, Lers is surely a nature worth knowing, and its candid intelligence con- ceals no hazards for me. I have sought her rashly, blundered, betrayod that I set her lower, in my thoughts, thon heractual self; let me now adopt the opposite conrse, seek her openly 1o longer, go back to my tasks, and, following my own eims vigorously and cheerfally, restore that respect which ahe acemed to be on the point of losing. Tor, consciousty ar not, she had com- municated fo me a doubt, implied in the very ex- progsion of her own strength and pride. She bad meant toaddress me as an equal, vot, despito herself, took s stand 2 littla above tuat winch she accorded to me. I came back to New York earlior than usual, worked ateaduly at my profession and with in- creasiog snccess, and began to _sccept opportu- nitica (which I bad previously declined) of mak- ing myuelf personally known to the groat, im- proswblo, fickle, - tyrannical public. One or two of my specchea in the hall of tho Cooper Institute, on Various occasions—as you may per- haps remember—gave me 3 good headway with the party. and were the chief cause of my nom- ination for the Stats office which I still hold. (Thero, on the table, lics a resicnation, written fo-day, but not yot signed. We'll talk of 1t, af- terwsrds.) Several mouths passed by, and no further létter reached me. 1 gave up much of my tima to socicty, moved fawiliarly in more than one province of the kingdom here, and vestly extended my scqusintance, especily among tho women; but not one of them be- trayed the mysterious eometbing or other— really I ean’t explain precisely what it was!— which 1 was Jooking for. In fact, the more I co- deavored quietly to study the sex, tha morecon- fused I became. At lust, T was eubjected to the TSUAL ONSLAUGHT FROM TIR STRONG-MINDED. A emall but formidablo committce en- tered my officc one moruing and de- manded 3 catogoricel declaration of my principles. _What my views on tho sub- ject were, I know very well ; they wero clear and decided ; and yot, I hesifaled to declara thom! It wasn't 3 temptation of Saint Anthony—that i3, turned the other way—and the belligerout attitude of the dames didnot alarm me in the Teast; but she! What was Zer position? How could I best. plecse her? It flashod mpon my mind, while 3[ra,—was making hor formal speeca, that I hod taken no stop for months without = vague, secret rclerence to her. 8o, I strove to be courtoous, friendly, and agrecably non-comamiutal, sud promised to reply by letter, in = fow days. I was hardly surprised to find the well-known hand on the enveiops of 2z letter, shorily after- wards. 1held it for a minute in my palm, with an absurd hope thet I mizht sympathetically feel its charactor bafore breaking the seal. Then I read it with a great gense of relief. “I have mnover awsumed to guide a man, cxcopt towards tho fall exercise of 'his powers. It is not opinion in ac- tion, but opinion in a state of _idleness or indif- feronce, which ropels me. I am deoply glad that you have gained g0 much eince you left the couniry. If, in shaping your courso, you have thoughit of me, I will Iraakly say that, fo fiat ez- fent, You have dsawn nearer. Am I mistaken in conjecturing that you wish to know my relation to the movewcut concerniug which you were re- cently interrogated? .In this, 28 in other in- stauces which may come, I must beg yon £o con- sider mo only as & spectator. Themore my own views way scem likely to 8way vour action, tho Jess I shall be inclined to declars thom. If vou fizd this cold or unwomanly, remember that it isnot easy!” Yes! 1 felt that Thad cortainly drawn much pearer toher. And fre~ this time op, her im- aginary face and form Lecame olicr then thoy Sho was 28—three seam olders a very sbove thoe middle beigut, but not scrcas, rather thaa stately, in her ements ; With a calw, almost grave m faco, relieved by tho sweelnces of ~ the full, firo lipa; and finally oyes of pure, limpid roy, such as wo fancy belongnd to the Venus of Milo. Ifound her thus, much more attractive than with the dark eves and lashes,—but she did oot make her appearanco in the circles which I frequented. Another year slipped avzy. As an offlcisl personage, Iy importance increasod, but I way carefnl not to éxaggerate myscll. ilany havo wonderad (perbaps yon among the ses:) at my success, sociog that I pocsess o romarkablo abilities. 1f 1nave any eecret, it is simply this— doing faithfully, with ell my might, whatever I undertake. Nine-tenthsof our politicians bezomo infiated snd carcless aftor tus first fow years, and are easily forgoiten whon they onco lose Tam s hitle sarprised, now, that I had 0 mnuch peiieuce with tlie Unknown, I waa too importzot, atleasl; to be plaved with ; toomature to be su! sed to = longer test; 100 earnest, as t 5 riziout a far Cromag tiz A carefully-wr communicatiny with her, appeared simnita- neously in the Tyibune, Herall, World, and Times. 1 renewed the advertisement as tha ime expired withou! an answer, and Ithinki was about the end of the third weck beforo can came, through the post, aa before. Ab, yes! I had forgotten. See! my advar- tisement is pasted on the note, as = heading o motto for the mannscript lines. I dou't know why the printod lip should grve me & particalar feeling of bumiliatton as I look at it, but such is the fact. What she wrote is all I need read to you: “Iconld not, at first, b certain that this was ‘meant for me._'If I were to explain to yon why T have not written for so long & time, I might give you one of the fow clews which I insist on kecping in my own hands. In your publia capacity, you have been ‘an far 38'a woman may judgo) upright, independent, wholly manly ; in your relations with other men I learn nothing you that is not honorable ; towards women yon aro kind, ebivalrous, no doubt, overflowing with the usual social refinements, but— Here, again, I run bard upon the absolute necossity of silence. 'Tho way to me, if ¥ou care to traverso it, is 60 simple, 60 very simplo! Yot, xfter what 1 bave written, T cannot even wavo my hand in tho direction of it, witbout certain self-contempt. When I feel free to tell you, weshall draw apart and remsin unkunown forever. “You desireto write? Ido not prohibit it. Ihave herstofors made no “arrangement tor bearing from you, in turn, because £ could not discover that any advuntage would accrue from it. But it seems only fair, Iconfess, and you daro not thiok me capncious. So, tliroe daji Lence, at 6 o'clock in tho evening a trusty mes- senger of mine will call at your door. T you Liave anything to give her for me, the act of giv- ing it must be the sign of » compact on_voar part, thst yon will allow her to Joave 1mmediately, nnquestioned snd unfollowed.” You look puzzled,I see; vou don’t catch the real drift of har words? Well,—that's a melan- choly enconragement. Neitber did L at the tims; it was plain that I HAD DISAPPOINTED IIEE IN SONE WAY, and my intercourse with, or manner towards, women bad gomething to do with it. In vain I ran over a3 much of my later social life a8 I could recall. There had been o apecial at- tention, nothing to mislesd a suscoptible hoact; on tho other ride, certainly nv rudeness, no want of *chivalrous* (she used the word!) respect and attention. What, in the nams of il the gods, was the matter ? In spite of au my efforts to grow clearer, I yrza obliged to write my letter in rather & muddled state of mind. Ihad so much to gay! sixcteen folio pages, I was sare, would only saffice for an introduction to the case; yot, when tho creamy vollim lay beforse ~ms and the moist pen drew my fiugers towards it, I sat stock dumb for half sn bour. I wrote, finally, in 3 hali-desperate_ mood, withottt regard to coberency or logic. Here's a rough draft of a part of the letter, and s gingle passage from it witl be enouzh: “T can conceive of 1o simpler way to you than the knowledge of your name and nddress. I have drawn airy images of you, but they do nof become incarnate, and I am mot suro that I should recognize you in the the brief moment of passing. Your nature is not of thosa which ara Instanily legible. As an abstract power it haa wronght io my life, 20d it continually moves my Dicars with desires which aro unsatisfactory, be- canse 80 vagne and ignorant. Let me offer you, personally, my gratitude, my earnest friondship: you would lsugh if I Wero now to0 offar you mora.” Stay! here is another fragment, mare racklegs in tone: * 1 want to ficd the woman whom I can love— WHO €AY LOVE Y. Dat this is s mssquerado where the fea- tures are Lidden, the voice disguised, even the hands grotesquely gloved. Come! I will vonture more than I ever thonght was possi- blo to me. You shall know my deepest nztaro a8 I myself secm to know it. Then, give me the commonest clisace of learning yours, through an intercourse which sball leave both free, ;bu?lh,i we not feel thie cloging of tho inevitable ond ! ™ After 7T'had written that, the poges filled rapidly. ~ When the appointed hour arrived, & bulky cpistle, in a strong linon_envelope, sealed with five wax seals, was waiting on my table. Precisely ot 6 thero was an snnouucemont ; the door opened, and a Littlo ontuide, in the shadow, Isowanold woman, in & are dresa of sty black, ¢ Come in!™ I said. “The letter ! * anwwered a busky voics. She gtretched out a bony hand. withour movioga stop. It js for & ladg—very important butiness,” said I, taking up the lettter ; * are you sure that thera is no mistake? ™ She drow her hand under the shawl, tamed withous & word, and moved towards the hall or. “Stop! " I cried: **Ibog a thousand pardons! Takojt—tske il You aro tho night messa- er 1% Bhe clutched it, and waa inatantly gone, Beveral days passed, 2ad I gradually became 80 nervous and uneasy that I was on the puint of inserting another “ Personsl™ in the daily papers, when tho anawer arrived. It was BRIEF AND MYSTERIOUS ; you shall hear the whole of it. “ I thank vou. Your letier is a sacred confi- dence which I pray you never toregret. Yomr natars is sound and You aek no mors than is reasonable, snd I have no real right to refuss, In tha one respect which I hava hinted, I may have besn unskilifal or too parrowly cau~ tious; I must have the cartainty of this. There- foro, aan generous favor, give me wix month more! Atthsend of that tume I will write to you sgain. Have pasience with these briof lines ; another word might be a word too much.” You notice the change in her tone ? The lettar gave me the strongest impression of a new, warm, almost anxious interest an her part. My fancies, os first at Wampsocket, began to play all sorts of singular pranks ; sometimes ahe wad rich and of an cld family, sometimes moderstely poor and obscure, but always ths same calm, reposolal faca and elear gray eyes. I ceaaed looking for her in society, quite sure ihat I sbould not find ber, and.nursed a wild especto- tion of saddenly mecting her, faca to face, m tua most unlikelv places sad ander startling cironm- stonces. However, the eond of it all was patience,—patience for six montha. Thore's not much mors to tell ; but this Jetter is hard for me to rend. It came punctually, to a day. I knew it wonld, and az che last I bezan to dread the time, as if a heary note were fallin due, 20d I bad no funds to meet it. My he: was in & whirl when I broke the seal. The fack in it stacad at me blankly, at once, bt it was a long time before the words and sontences be- came intolligible. #Tue stipulated time has come, and our DIDDEN BOMANCE IS AT AN END. Had1 taken this resolution & year ago, it wondd have saved ma many vain lopes, and you, pes- nups. a little uncertainty. Forgive me, first, if you can, and then hear the explanation | ““You wighed for & personal interviow : you hare hat, nol one, but many. We have met, in society, talked face to face, discussed the woath- or, tho operas, toilettes, Queechy, Aurora Floyd, Long Braach and Newport, and exchanged a weary amount of fasbionablo gessip; and you nover guessed that I was goversed by any decp- erinterest! I have purpoacly mitared ridica lons platitndes, and you were as smilingly con teous asif you cajoyed thom : T Liave lat fall ro- merks whoss hollowness end sclfishness could mot bave escaped you, and have waited in vain for & word ef sharp, honest, manly roproof. Your manner to me was ~ unoxceptionsble, sa it was to sll othor women: but there lies tke source of my disappoiniment, of—ycs, of my sor- row ou appreciate, I cannot doubt, the quall- ties in woman which men valae in ono sncther,— culture, independence of thought, a high and eamneut apprehension of life; but you know not how to seek them. Itisnot true thatz pure and unperverted worman is flattared by receiving only the geaeral obscquionsness which mos: men giva to the whole eer. Inthemanwho contradicts and strives with her, ebe discovens a truer interest, s mobler reape The empty- beaded, spindle-shanked youtas who dance ad- miravly, understand sometbiog of_ billiards, much less of horses, and still less of navigation, soon grow inexpressibly wearisoms to ns; bub the men who' adopt their social conrtesy, nover eeeking to arouse, uplift, instrucs us, are s bitter disappointment. *What would have been the end, had you really found me? Certainly a sincere, satiafyinz fricndship. No mysterions magnetic force has drawn you to mo or held you nesr me, nor has my esperiment inspirod me with an interest which cannot bo miven up without s permonal pang. 1am grieved, FOR TIE SAKE OF ALL MEX AND WOMEX. Yot understsnd me! I mean no shizhtest re. prosch. 1 esteem and honor you for wliai vus are. Farewell :" £ There! Nothing_conld bo kinder in tone, nothing more humiliating in substance. I waa sore and offended for a fow days: but I 2000 be- gan to see, and ever more and mors clearly, that sho was wholly right. I was sure, also, that any further attempt to correspond with her would be vain. It all comes of taking society just as wa find it, and supposing that conventional co is tho only safe ground on which men and women can meet. The fect js—thers’s nouse in hiding it from myzelt (and I see, by your face, that the letter cuts info your own conscience)—she is s free, co:::lg!ons, independent character, and—I am not. Lt who was she?—Rayard Taylor in £8 Afe lanyic Jor Seplember. ° 3 i b n [ n ir - WP E T O