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Show i ftty Firs! Experience I with Dan Oupid I By Elalo Chnataln. ! Shu was sweet, susceptible lfi. He was one over whom 18 summers had lightly pnssed, leaving his hair uu-tlnged uu-tlnged with gray, and thu gray matter underneath the wnvy crop unburdened. unburd-ened. Hut to her ho was all that was wlso, noble and desirable; and to hint I she was perfection. In truth, It bad boon a casu of love at first sight. They had llrst mut at a party. She had worn white, lie was partial to white, ller sunny hair bad been nr ranged loosely on her gracuful nock. Ho never hail liked girls who did their hair high. ( In fact, she had boon wholly, seductively charming, nnd hu hud succumbed to thusu charms. lie had worn tho regulation black suit, or course! Hut, lib! how broad his shoulders wero; how merry his eyes. A strange. Incomprehensible ecstatic, emotion hml taken possession or her soul, lib hnd asked to tako her homo, lint hIio had not thought best. 'May I call?" ho hod asked. She had felt tho hot blood leap to her cheeks, Jf she only darod say : "yes!" Hut no; there was mamma lo consider. Mamma, who was so awfully, aw-fully, uncompromisingly set on thu proprieties. Mamma, who thought her far too young to havo masculine admirers. ad-mirers. And to have one call! Oh! A shiver ran down her spinal column. Thu young man, waiting for nn answer, an-swer, divined her thoughts. "I'orhnps your mother would object?" ob-ject?" bo had suggested, and with sad conviction she hnd answered: "Yos sho would." "Hut I must seo you some time," ho hnd Insisted. Dcnr Inslstcnco! Shu hnd thought for n moment, then: "Mntnma Is going calling to-morrow afternoon and I can moot you down thu river, right behind Hluko's green-houses, green-houses, nt three o'clock. Will tbut do? Ho had been enraptured with tboplun, nnd tho following day thoy met us thoy had agreed. Ho suggested a boat rldu. Sho acquiesced, ac-quiesced, and he rented Mr. Blake's bout. He assisted her to a sent, then took his place nt the onrs. Something wns wrong about his way of handling them, nnd thu boat refused to move. "Don't you know how to row?" she ventured, utter some momenta of frun-tic, frun-tic, red faced, but vain ondenvnrs on his part. "Well, I or never did before," ho replied, then blurted out: "Can yon?" "Why, yes," sho said. "Suppose you do, then." They changed jilaces nnd she rowed him up nnd down thu river until her tender hnuds wero blistered nnd' her heart wiib Bore. Sho wns woefully dlsup pointed In him. Never before had nho mot n man who could not row. Hut he talked entertainingly, nnd alio forguve him. True lovo overlooks ninny imperfections. im-perfections. After thnt afternoon thoy met frequently. fre-quently. Synipathotln young friends discovered how tho land lay, undemun gallantly to the roscuu, us young friends will do at all times. Ono evening sho retired to her room oarly. telling her mother that sho must study. Not so, however. She had, Instead, promised him lo tako a moonlight stroll. Her window was not far from the ground, and with thu aid of n foreordained cracker box sho managed man-aged to escape from tho house. During thnt stroll he proposed. Told her how ho loved her. Fell on his knees In knightly fashion nnd bogged her in Impassioned tones to lly with him; to leave her cruel mother mid hor unhappy homu for a llfu of honey and roses and himself. Sho blushed, sulforod him lo klat hor limit!, and consented. In ono wvek sho could miiko thu nocesnury prepar-ntlons prepar-ntlons nnd then they would fly. Ah! the uuuttornblo bliss of that meeting! meet-ing! Flnnlly they parted, and sho crept stealthily around the house. As sho nenrcd tho pnrlor window sho hoard sounds or merriment. Shu poured In. A peculiar scene revealed ItwOir to her view. Thoro sat her usually dignified mother, laughing until the tears ran down hor chouks. On Ills knees ho-fore ho-fore her, with clasped hands and a ridiculously sentimental expression spread over Ills pug noso una freckloH, wns hor small brother. Hu was speaking, speak-ing, declaiming, and ns thu sister realized rea-lized thu Import of his words she turned cold with dread. "O-oo-oo, Celeste, darling, nngol, listen to mo! I lovo you! I lovo you! I'romlso mo thnt you will bo mine! Oh, do-oo-oo! Leave your cruel mother, your happy homo, and tly-yy with me! I.lfo won't ho notliln' without you-oo. My heart Is breaking. Ouoh-ch-cli!" Waiting to hear no more, leallzlng thnt hor secret was discovered, the young victim of unsympathetic kin mudo for hor room with all possible speed, hoping to got there before tho "cruel mother" should decide to visit It. Sho bad just mounted thu cracker box and was cautiously raising her bend over the sill when tho door opened and ninninia, not laughing now, but stern and white, made hor appearance, appear-ance, bearing In her hand a lump, whoso rays fell dlroctly on tho horror-stricken horror-stricken fnco at tho window. Thoro was u moment's awful pllcnco, then mamma sot down tho lump and enmo to tho window. "Allow mo to assist you, Colesto," sho said In tones of ominous qnlot. Colestu nllowod hor, nnd thun Hut I will nut attempt to describe what followed. Soino things nro bettor bet-tor left to tho Imagination. And, besides, be-sides, you too. my dears. I was C- lC8tO. |