374 



THE AMERICAN HKK KHKI'FU. 



December 



LOVE'S HAPPINESS. 



Oh, clo you e'er remember, love, 



now en one sumr.er's night 

 ■We strayed npon the sandy beach 



Beneath the soft moonlight, 

 And as v.'o sat beside the sea 



And listened to its roar 

 Ipress'd thy liand and vowed, dear one, 



To love thee more and more? 

 Oh, then, indeed, our hearts were light, 



And, like the summer liowers, 

 We dii'.nk in love as their frail buds 



Drink in the April showers. 



The moonbeams with a holy light 



Fell on the glassy sea, 

 The stars shone pure jewel'd gems, 



But I— saw only thee. 

 I heeded not the beauties rare 



Wliicli all around us shone. 

 My thoughts weie all en one who was 



My beautiful— my own. 

 I only knew I clasped thy form 



Of classic grace with pride. 

 I heeded not the sea's low voice, 



For thou wert by my side. 



— Finley Lhnson in New York Ledger. 



A YOUXG DIPLOMAT. 



The proudest sometimes unbend, and 

 the botanical gardens were, for one aft- 

 ernoon, throwing off their usual re- 

 serve. Ordinary folk had only to come 

 across Regent's park from Chester gate 

 and present a card at the entrance to the 

 gardens, and the bowler hatted old gen- 

 tleman at the gate welcomed them as 

 though they were most important mem- 

 bers. Miss Llewellyn and Master Ken- 

 neth Waller, her friend, walked on the 

 grass in the direction of music. 



"Anybody you know here, Miss Llew- 

 ellyn?" 



"I don't suppose so, Kenneth." 



"You don't know many people, do 

 you, Miss Llewellyn?" 



"Very few. " 



"Wonder at that," said the small 

 boy, "because you're not bad looking, 

 you know. Did you use to come here 

 when you were well off? Do they sell 

 lemonade here?" 



"Seems possible. You think that ev- 

 erybody ought to have plenty of 

 friends?" 



"Plenty of friends," said Kenneth 

 wisely, "but one in particular. Wonder 

 how old you are?" 



"That," said the young woman good 

 temperedly, "that is the only question, 

 Kenneth, that you must never put to a 

 lady." 



"1 should guess, " he said critically 

 as they sat down in the low chairs near 

 the retreshmeut tent aud watched the 

 people, '"that you were about 2^.'' Miss 

 Llewellyn gave a quaint gesture of hor- 

 ror. "Well, "25 then. Fancy!" The 

 small boy whi.<tled aniazedly. "Twenty- 

 five anci not ujarried yet. " 



'Young man, ' said Miss Llewellyn, 

 flushing au(i affecting a tone of grave 

 severity, "1 find your conversation 

 much too personal. You would like 

 lemonade, 1 think, and two pieces of 

 cake. ' 



The scarlet coated band perched on 

 seats near the glass house, with a crowd 

 of smartly d!-essed folk in front of them, 

 started a cheerful selection from a comic 

 opera. Miss Llewellyn, a composed 

 young woman in an ordinary way, as 

 young women are who work for their 

 living, found herself in quite a delight- 

 ed mood. Iviusic can do much when it 

 tries. 



"Of course, " said her candid guest, 

 with cake at his mouth, "1 don't mean 

 to say that yon mightn't get married 

 even now. 1 had an aunt once who W'as 

 close upon 80 before she could get any 

 one to look at her. " 



"The instance is encouraging, Ken- 

 neth. Don't eat too fast, mind. " 



"Still," said the youth wisely, "if I 

 were a girl 1 should be jolly careful not 

 to miss a good opportunity. Are those 

 orchids they're carrying there? Hasn't 

 that chap got a brown face who's telling 

 the men where to take them? Seem to 

 have seen him somewhere before. 

 Shouldn't like to be an orchid, should 

 you. Miss Llewellyn? Why, you'd have 

 to grow out in South America and peo- 

 ple would have fearful trouble to find 

 you and risk their lives — hello, brown 

 faced chap's coming this way!" 



Miss Llewellyn looked up and then 

 looked down again quickly, and for a 

 moment her face went rather white. 

 Her hand trembled as she held it out. 



"Mr. Bradley, " she said. "How do 

 you do? 1 did not expect to see you 

 here. ' ' 



"I did not expect to see you again 

 anywhere, " he said. 



There was the pause that comes after 

 the banalities of greeting. Master Wal- 

 ler, not having spoken for quite half a 

 minute, felt that he was in some dan- 

 ger of being overlooked, and coughed. 



I 



