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Show I A CHERRY-BUD IN A I FOREIGN HAND jB A Japanese Love Story m Hy Adachi K.innosuKe !'M (Copyright, by J. B. Llpplncott Co.) , Westward from the Cascade of M Nunoblkl, through the ever-shifting tracery-work of pines and wild nzi- leas, you can nee, if you would climb a quarter of a mile, on a spring day, M a Btrctch of land that looks moro Uky M a dream than the actual solid footstool ' j of Qod. M That waB her home; there wo saw her. Her environment was common her dress, her cottage, the people about her, yes, the people especially. But all these common things, because of her, seemed to mo as If I saw thorn on the canvas of Millet or Rembrandt. She was a part of tho landscape, and If we say of the ensemble that It Is Just like a picture, I do not know whether tho Higher Artist would take it as a compliment or not. Describe her? Hotter ask mo to petrify pet-rify a dream. Her lips? Oh! one folds hlu hands on his left side when lip speaks of them. , Not satisfied with her success In this, her fair masterpiece, Naturo placed her in tho rustic surrounding to heighten nil the charmB of tho girl through the touch of that potent magician ma-gician called surprise. Yes, candidly, I was surprised, and bo was Mr. Sidney Sid-ney White, who was with me. Mr. White 1b an American who has spent more yearB of his life In Paris and abroad than under tho roof of his mother. Ho was an artist, an artist ar-tist who, as ho confided to mo once, was trying his beat to fall as much In lovo with a woman as ho was with Art. . Tako my word for it, ho had that something thnt goes into tho making of a true artist, that all-absorbing something which mado him by turns a fool and a cod; ho had that Idolatrous adoration for tho beautiful; beau-tiful; jthat contompt of everything common. In order to plcturo hfs meeting with tho girl, you rnuBt fancy an artist facing Art mado flesh and That Was Her Home; There We Saw Her. beating in a woman's heart. In addition addi-tion to this, you must take Into account ac-count that polgnnnt Benso of surprise as keen as that of a man who finds a diamond In tho dirt O Tome was her name. O Tomo beenmo an object of study to Sidney. Then, a short tlmo afterwards, tho object of study not only artistic but 9 also From tho very start O Tomo was a thing of beauty to him, and in the course of time a joy forever as II woll. When, therefore, about a month afterwards I went up to his studio I was not surprised to see it converted into a hugo multlfaced mirror mir-ror of O Tomo overy poso of her figure, every expression of her features, fea-tures, tho innumerablo blcndlngs of her many moods, were caught in all tho conceivable cunning of colors. "Am I really as pretty as that, White-Ban?" "Very, very much moro beautiful, mademoiselle!" "And my hair and oh, but my oyes, aro thoy softly dreaming ns they are yonder"?" "That? Why, that is nothing but a shadow; that Is nothing but a plcturo, plc-turo, like a picture on a templo wall, a plcturo of a goddess, you know. One can look at a picture, not the goddess tho original Is too dazzling!" daz-zling!" O Tome, who was not Buro whothor she understood this poetic ambiguity of tho artist, smiled as If to say, "The best thing I can do for you Is to pretend that I believe all that you say." . "But, really, White-san, does your humble maid please her master, then?" "Hush, sweet one; you should rather rath-er Bay that your slave worships his ideal." "What do you think I have found now, old man?" ho nsked mo ono day as ho burst Into my den. Dropping my brush at the, suddenness of his entry and interrogation, I answered: "Hollo! you? Why," I have not tho slightest Idea." "Well, sho is not a beautiful study, but sho Is as bright as a Buddha's oyes I moan her mind. You ought to come nnd see her." Yes, I found out that sho had learned mtny an English word. "Say tho Arat Bentenco I taught you for us, O Tome-Ban," White said In Japanese. Then tho olive velvet of her chooks beccamo n warmer color, and a Binllo mado her lips Uko an opening bud. Then slowly Hhe Bald, "I lovo you, Sidney." Tho Inst syllable was In the merry ring of her laughter. I Baw him often teaching hor Kng-Hair Kng-Hair and French. In those happy hours ho looked Uko a'inalo mother mad with ecstasy over tho first faltering falter-ing words of his baby. Ho was very proud of her; and day by day Bho rewarded him with tho dlBcovory of tho hidden treasures of hor slmplo heart. Twice whiter chained wator; twice spring set It froo and gavo It songs; twlco chrysanthemums decked their little garden; and thoy fanned away two Bummers. Thoy wore too much In lovo to think of mnrrlago If that wore possible. Those were happy days for him for her. Then there enmo a llttlo ploce of paper Into that studio to that nest, to speak moro correctly, of Art and a couplo of spring buds. Upon that paper was a messago that came from tho other sldo of tho world. SInco the receipt of It Sidney White wan never tho same man. And poor O Tome only wondered. It wns rudo, to her Japanese way of thinking, to ask many things of a man, and then, If ho loved her, ho would toll her all Bho ought to know without hor over asking. So she was Bllent sad, bo-cause bo-cause he was sad. "Como with me, O Tomo-snn," ho said to hor one morning. "Wtfel:erb"rw"golllgT,'w,'l, " "I have found a nest for you. And I want to seo If you llko it or not." And they walked up the hill side of Kobo City. "You see, sweetheart," he explained ex-plained to her, "I have always thought that you would llko to havo a cottago all your own. And I think I've found It. We'll furnish It as you llko, and there you can do whatever you want. I will come and seo you there very often, and wo won't bo bothered with people who como to my studio; for I am going to keep my studio nB It is." They saw tho cottago, whoso veranda ver-anda laughed full-mouthed towards tho entrance of tho famous Inland Sea of Japan. O Tome wns delighted with It. It was arranged that everything would bo put In order within a week, and at tho end of that tlmo O Tome was to move into It. "But why don't you move your studio, too? I miss the pictures so much," she said to him. "Oh, sweetheart, you will havo all tho pictures you want. You bco, I don't want any of my studio friends bothering us at the cottage." It was about seventeen days since Sidney White received a cablegram stating thnt his parents would bring out his wlfo with them to Join him In Japan, whero ho seemed to bo making mak-ing such a prolonged study. Stdnoy expected thein seven days uboad. O Tomo wns to move to hor now cottago four days nonce. Sho could spenk English fluently now, and nothing charmed the artist as tho honey words from her lips. Her head nestling In his breast, her left arm nround bis nock, and tho fingers of her right hand going nstrny In tho mnzo If his hair, maklug tho long, wavy locks rlpnlo llko tho golden surface of a sunlit sen, sho was murmuring: mur-muring: "Deaf, you havo such pretty hair; It's llko tho halos of saints you paint." Thoro -was tho sound of many stops In the hall. Tho housemaid nover allowed al-lowed nuyono to enter tho studio without seeing If the artist wero ready to recelvo a visitor. But this tlmo tho steps enmo steadily towards tho door of tho studio. Just ns O Tomo lonped off tho lap of Sidney tho door flow I open. There wns a vigorous swish of a skirt. "Sidney!" exclaimed a stronger voice than tho dreamy melody of O Tomo's throat. And ho was lost bo-hind bo-hind tho flutter and whirl of foreign millinery. A resounding kiss. "Grent Heaven, Kntol" gasped a husky voice; ' ; A surprise party, my boy!" shouted his fathor In tho door-way. "Wo did surprise you!,ha! ha! ha!" Mra. White released him at last. Sho turned round to signal tho old people to follow her example. The slim llguro of 0 Tomo stopped hor eyes. At once thoy flashed back at Sidney nnd found him ashy, all In a tromor. Something hard entered the bluo of hor laughing oyes, "Pray, who Is that, Sldnoy?" Her volco sounded like tho breaking of an icicle. Sidney wna a human flamo in an Instant. In-stant. Ho stammered. "Husband, for Heaven's Bake " cried tho Indy, and then, turning to O Tomo roughly: "Who aro you?" "1 am just his model, madam," sho said qulotly In English with her head down. Mr. Whlto wanted to paint mo." Sho walked out noiselessly. That was the Inst tlmo Sldnoy Whlto saw 0 Tomo. Yes, ho Is hunting for her now over hunting. But I think ho would And" an lnsano asylum long beforo ho would And O Tomo. |