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Show r Y"; " ;.' . - j Well, I'm not pvach cf a man did I say man? I 8h?uld ttln not! In fact, Tm none at alU but only an eyeglass. What I meant to Imply was that be is net much of a man. Do you asfc boar I know thlaT If o. I'll you, as I sit perched upon Arthur Ar-thur Pearston'a fne nope, See how he glare through, me at yonder modest lady? Did erer snallow-pated fool loofc more aUly? "My Joye! but ehe's'a beauty!" he exclaims as he floats over the blush that his rudeness hat caused to suffuse feer face. "I'd give my aoul for a kiss from her eweetUlpsV "Soul!" Ah, Mr. Arthur, you little know that-1 can ase through yotj as plainly as you see through me. "Soul!" j I can see down through your eves Into. Tour brain. In the shallows are JUtje ! rippling- th'oughta of luxurious vices, tinted here and there with reflections of the latest styles of neckties; thoughts of newest danres, ,operaa. conAuests,' and kindred nonsense; but no soul is to be een. . j . ; . Put this is preaching, and Vhat right has an eyeglass to Judge -a human be-ing? be-ing? .An Immortal soul, even though ft be so diminutive that it cannot be seen, must be greater than I. " ' .') "Will you marry me? Bay yep, for you know how I adore you!" Wa were all tn Mrs. Andrews neat little parlor; Arthur Pearetoo, Maud Andrews and myself. As psual I was perched on Arthur's nose, and felt uncomfortable un-comfortable enough, under the circumstances. circum-stances. "Oh, this is so sudden! , Give me more How much cf the money he hopes for would hellow poor mamma?" "None ncne! lie calls her the old , worn a .already!" . - ! This waa the answer I should have 1 liked ( to scream, but instead I made mytlf two seros. . Maud smiled as she saw them. "Two naughts are no better than one unless preceded by a figure. I will take this as an answer to my Question, and reply accordingly." . I could have laughed; my pulsion was performed. . . - the next day I was bundled into a stuffy .little paper bag. Maud sealed It. scratched Jts tack a little, and carrying carry-ing me down , street somewhere, dropped me into a tight iron box, I began to think that my career was about -ended, when a fellow with a baa en his shoulder came along, unlocked the box with a bang, took me out, and pushed me Into his satchel. He carried me still further down town and into a big fcullding, where X was dumped amid a pile of other paper bags and bundles. Pretty soon another man began to pound every one of the bags. ' When he came to mine he struck so hard that I'm afraid he damaged one of nay -eyes, and I heard him growl:1 "Some idiots are forever, sending trush through the malls! After this incident I waa tossed into another baa, carried a long way, and finally dropped lnta a slot in a door. Not long- after a boy took my bag to an upper room of the house and handed me tq a person who asked: "Is! that all the roafl there was. John?" ' I knew that voice; it was Arthur Fear sum's, and I was home again. J understood now what all the carrying and bagging meant. . ' Tearing the end from my paper prison pris-on he emptied me and a sheet of paper into his hapd. "Ah, I thought aor. he muttered softly. soft-ly. "Very considerate in her to return my glass so soon. Dueced clever girl. She will make a flne wife, only I shall have to train her A little. As to the old womanr ugh! But what does she say lu the note? Perhapa she accepts me immediately, for fear of losing a good fish- Arthur Pearston, with his money prospects, la not to be despised by any girl as poor aa Maud. Let's see: "'Mr. ; Pearston :-rJ rather formal!) 'I have reached a conclusion sooner than I had Imagined I could:' (I thought she would!) 'and In order to save you the trouble of coming over again soon, (she is though tful! 'I conclude con-clude to write you the answer, which is no. ."The deuce," cried Arthur Pearston. time." Maud answered. If I could have spoken I'd have said to her, "Tell him no. Even now, when he's declaring his ove. he's thinking. 'Dear roe, I wonder if my eravat la on straight r I can see through him. Maud, and there is but one being whom he adores; that one is Arthur Pearston." Pears-ton." j "Tou know; Maud, when my father dies, have A fortune to spend, and I can give you every enjoyment the heart could wish foe. A look almost of repulsion passed over her face at the Idea of counting pnen dead men's shoes, but Arthur, seeing it not, continued: "Tou shall have horses and carriages, and operas and maids, and every luxury lux-ury you can covet, and'' "I do not care much for these things," she said, "bujt" a. great, wistful longing long-ing came into ber spft brown eyes "I Should so like to give , mother some of the comforts of life!" ' "She shall not suffer ff you marry me." said Arthur; but spying- down Into his secret thought I saw a very different differ-ent answer; it was. "Does she suppose I'm going to have the old woman in the famUy, too? Well, hardly! It's the girl I'm after, and her alone."- ". In vain I stared at Maud to make her see his real thoughts. J tried so .hard that the moLsture started from every pore; but the only result waa that Arthur Ar-thur removed me from my perch and poked me into his pocket My ear are leas acute than my eyes, but I heard him urging Maud again to marry him,, and, she still asked for more time. As he bade her goodrbye he nervously drew a silk handkerchief from his. rocket; ' I hung to it, and - dropped unnoticed to the floor. , Immediately the door closed upon her retreating: lover Maud flung herself her-self upon the kofa, crying vehemently: "Oh, I do not love him! I can never Jove him! Tet why did I hesitate? I must marry the fellow. Poor mamma shall not work herself to dath when I have a chance to secure her comfort and plenty. Alas! I loathe him!" And she burst into a passion of sobbing. Poor girl, how I dd pity her! And how I should have liked to tell her mother what) a sacrifice she thought of making to mammon for her sake! But I lay helpless or the carpet, until Maud, having somewhat calmed "herself, "her-self, espied me. "This ia his." she mused, looking down upon my senseless eyes. "If this Inanimate object could tell me what it haa seen of him I should know his very soul, and could fashion my reply accordingly." ac-cordingly." j But I lay there like the thing that 1 was, and never spoke a word. WhUe yet' she was dreaming I heard a quick step and a knock upon the outside out-side door. Maud colored a little, as it ashamed of her thought; then, pushing me under a table, admitted a flne, frank looking young man, dressed in a plain suit of black. His eyes brightened at sight of her, and I could divine from my hiding place that she was not sorry to see him. Alter a lew ivnuuuuiun i ciuai vs young man said: "Maud, yeu are aware of my object In asking this Interview?'' 8he looked surprised. "No, Mr. Long, I was not aware 'of It. Tou wish to see mother?" "Oh, Maud," he answered, "can't you see that I love and worship your moth-er's moth-er's daughter? I feel that I must speak now. I have already been silent too long. " I am a poor man, but I bring you a wealth of love. Do not turn away from me tell me that I may hope." Maud had Indeed turned her head, but only to hlda her blushing face. "Mr. Long, I I cannot give you hope. I do not I mean I cannot answer you at all now." "... "Only tell me that you do not love another and I wlU try to gather hope from that."! "Tou have no right I cannot say I do not know." The young man studied-her face in dismay, uncertain what to think. But he Anally guessed at the true situation, for taking hts hat, he said: "Miss Maud. I will for the present drop the matter, but I will call again for a final answer. And remember that wealth does not alwaya bring happiness." happi-ness." She gave, him a comprehensive look as he passed out. After he had gone she took me from my hiding-place and continued her broken meditations upon Arthur Pearston. i . "Could I ever love and respect him?" she asked half to herself, half addressing address-ing me, ' ! "No, oh, nor T felt, and would have given my told rim to have been, able to articulate that one little word. i . 'It 1 truewwealth is not everything. And would his love for me endure?? she .continued. '"Last, and most important, im-portant, would he care for dear mam. ma? Charlie Mr. Long does, I know; already he feela toward her as a son.. But U pearston capable of an unselfish "flevotlon? 1 1 fear, net, -or1 ha . woulcV scarcely count on hie father's death. |