his contused apology with such a sweet voice and pleasant
smile, that he had,paused' to speak with .her. And (finding
her, so crudely quaint, ,so,honest, so tenderly innocent, so
very:different: from. all : the other girls whom he had ever
known, he' was curious to know more of her. , , And so he had
exerted himself to please her. And she. had seemed so de
lighted,with his attention, that someway after that, his.idle
wanderings always led him to the selfsame spot—her favorite
resort—a little clump of gnarled old weeping-willow trees
that stood beside the lake. .
She was a lonely, motherless child, with great solemn
eyes, tt sadly sweet face, and, as he soon. found, the heart of
a poet and an inexpressible yearning for affection. She had
so little to make her, life pleasant—only a few books, and the
pleasant dreams they brought her. Girls did not like her.
She was not volatile enough. She loved the still moonlight
the woods atitwilight, the sheen , of the lake with a shadow
in it. , They appealed to her. There was an undertone of
loneliness, of unspeakable desolation,in and under them all
that touched her heart with a wild unrest, an unutera.bled
longing, a something akin to pain, and yet a sorrow that
she loved.
She was in truth a ! child of Nature, finding pleasure in
seclusion and delight in. solitude.. •And yet •she• longed for
friendship, for the companionship of a kindred nature, for
someone to whom she could appeal for sympathy. What
wonder then that the tense-strung little girl thrilled beneath
his carelessly grave words. For the grace of his companion
ship burst upon her starved soul: like sunshine, and the
charm of his personality made life strangely beautiful. •
• And as for hi m,•he was so thoroughly tired of the gay
society girls, who had such stationary pink and white com
plexions, •and were always so sure of themselves and yet so
changeable and fickle, that the society of this child of 'Nature
was a pleasant relief, a new found source of happiness which
he was not loath to enjoy. • For he, too, loved Nature and
I . I irild Rose