THE TWO TRAVELERS. 
A NEW POEM BY WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT. 
•Tw vs evening. and before my eyes' 
There 'ey a landscape gray and dim : 
Fields faintly seen ana twilurht skies 
r And clouds Hint bid the horizon s brun. 
r ;:ur-or was It that 1 <1 reamed ?— 
\ waUinK droaui I—I cannot say ; 
F.‘.r every shape as veal soenied 
As those that meet my eye to-day. 
Through Iea0e»* shrubs the cold wind hissed; 
The air was IhlcX with falling snow ; 
And O iward. through the frozen mist, 
I saw a weary traveler go. 
Driven o'er that landscape bare and bleak. 
Before the whirling gusts of air. 
Tlie snow-hake* smote his withered check, 
And gathered ou bis silver hair. 
Yet on he fared through blinding snows, 
And murmuring to himself lie said : 
“The night is near, tho darkness grow.-. 
And higher rise the drills I tread. 
" Deep, deep nach Biiluron flower they bide: 
Each |uft or green they whelm from sight! 
And thev who jouriieyed by my aide 
Are lost In fbe surrounding night, 
•' I loved them { oh. no words can tell 
the love that to my friends 1 bore; 
We parted wt*h tho sad farewell 
Of those who p.m, to meet no more. 
•• And 1, wlm face this tdtterwind. 
And o'er these si.own hillocks creep. 
Must end my Jim rncy soon and find 
A frosty conch, a frozen sleep." 
A* thus he spoke, a thrill of pain 
Shot to mv liuart: 1 elnsed my eyes. 
And when I opened them again 
l started wilh a glad surprise. 
’i’was evening still, and In the west 
A flush of golden crimson lay. 
I saw the morrow there and blest 
Thai promise of a goiden day. 
The waters, in their classy sleep. 
Shone with the linos that tinged the sky. 
And ragged cUff and barren steep 
Gleamed with a brightness from on high. 
Amt one was there whose J'mmey lay 
Into the slowlv.gathering night; 
With steidy step ha held Ills way 
O’er shadowy vale and gleaming hight. 
I marked hl» firm though weary trend, 
l'he lifted aye. and bf”«- serene. 
Anil saw no shade of doubt, or dread 
Pass o’er that tr.ivein's placid melu. 
And others came their journey o’er 
And bade good night with words of cheer: 
•'To-morrow we niiall meet once more; 
'Tis but the uight that parts us here." 
"And I.” he said, “ shnli sleep erehuig— 
These fuding vleam* will soon be gone— 
glmll sleep, t" floe, refreshed and strong, 
In the bright day that yet will dawn." 
I heard ; 1 watched him as he went, 
A lessening form, until the light 
Of evening from the Armament 
Had passed, and he was lost to sight. 
[Atlantic Monthly, for February- 
(Dur 
A PLAN THAT W0ULDN , T WORK. 
BY EBEN E. ItEXYORD. 
Belle Browning bad a good maDy peculiar¬ 
ities- She was fond of reading novels, for 
one thing, and liked to have things happen 
romantically. AnythlngthatdM happen In =4 
that way—and sho had lived long enough § 
to know that that wasn’t often—tvaa of ^ 
much more Importance in her estimation § 
than the common run oroccurrences. And f 
then, another of herlittlo peculiarities was | 
that she liked to have her own way, and g 
make other people do pretty nearly aa sue j 
wanted them to. Her temper was rather 5 
peculiar, too. Sometimes she was all sun- 
shim.- and sweetness; sometimes she was- * 
’nt. After having given you this brief de- 5 
scription of some of her peculiarities you s 
will readily understand that Belle was'nt ^ 
very unlike a good tnauy girls you know. 
When a party of young people were out 5 
boat-riding one day, the boat capsized and 
Belle, among the others, fell into the s 
water, taking the starch out of her ruffles § 
and the crimp out of her hair. But she j 
didn't care for that, because the affair was | 
so romantic. There wasn’t the least bit of f 
danger, for the water wasn’t more than | 
three feet deep in any place. But Belle f 
screamed for some one to save her, and I 
Ralph Loriso picked her up and swam | 
toshoro with her, she told her friends, just 1 
assbe waagoingdownfortbeseeond time. i 
It must have been queer swimming, but 
then it did to tell- In fact, in the way | 
Belle told it, it made quite a pretty story 
and, if you hadn’t kuown the circum- 1 
stances of the case, you would have been g 
quite apt to think Ralph Low no a hero. 
Belle had had quite a liking for Ralph | 
for some time. He was good - looking, § 
smart, and well-to-do. Intact, he was one 
of the best “ catches” in the place. When l 
the very romantic episode of the boat’s = 
being capsized took place, she declared 
that he had saved her life, told herself that 
she owed him her gratitude and love, and 
proceeded to make berseJf agreeable. Tho 
result of it was that Ralph suddenly be¬ 
came attentive and by-and-by proposed 
marriage and was accepted. 
Matters stood la that way when Captain 
DeVacx came to town. Where the cap¬ 
tain Was from and what he was captain of, 
no one knew. He was good looking, styl¬ 
ish and well dressed. He had any amount ‘ 
uf assurance and insinuated himself into 
the best society at once, and nobody asked 
for bis credentials. 
“ He is sucb u romantic-looking fellow,” 
declared Belle to Ralph, one day; “ don’t 
you think so ?" 
“No, I don’t,” answered Ralph, decid- I 
edly; “ I think he is a very obeeky-looking 
fellow, to say the least, and I’m consider¬ 
ably mistaken if he would be willing to have 
his affairs inquired into.” Ralph had taken a 
strong dislike to him from the very first. 
“ I hope you aren’t jealous," said Belle, with 
a provoking laugh, 
“ Not. at all, thank you," answered Ralph. 
Belle determined to have some sport. She 
would flirt, with DeVaux and make Ralph 
terribly jealous. When she got ready to do so 
she would send the captain about his business 
and let Ralpu see t hat she had been amusing 
herself at his expense. 
“It’ll be just jolly," declared Belle. 
The very next time they were out in com¬ 
pany together sho beset Capt. DeVaux with 
her fascinations, and that gentleman proved 
an easy and a willing victim. Ralph watched 
the progress of affairs with a keen eye. 
“ Belle,” he said to her one day, “ do you 
think you are doiug Just right ? 
“Doing just, right?” repeated Belle. “What 
do you mean?” 
“ You Know well enough," answered Ralph. 
“Flirting with DeVaux and making him be¬ 
lieve, like enough, that you arc in earnest." 
“Oh, it’B such fun!" laughed Belle, care¬ 
lessly. “ Did you see how devoted he was last 
night?” 
“ I saw how thoughtless you wero," auswered 
Ralph, gravely. “You may not like what I 
am going to say, Bei.le, but I shall run the 
risk of your displeasure. It doesn’t seem Just 
the thing for a young woman who Is engaged 
to be married to be flirting with a stranger as 
you are with DeVaux.” 
“Indeed 1” said Belle, lifting her eyebrows; 
“I don’t think that remark exactly original. 
Seems to mo I have heard it before Bome- 
where." 
“Dobe in earnest for once, Belle," Ralph 
exclaimed, really provoked. “If you would 
only stop to think, you’d see how foolish your 
conduct is. You’d— 
“ It occurs to me that you have assumed the 
right to lecture me quite early iu tho day," re¬ 
torted Belle, with dignity, before he could go 
on. “ Don’t go too far.” 
“I am not lecturing you,” he answered. 
“What do you call it? I should like to 
know." 
“I am merely giving you a little advice,” re¬ 
plied Ralph. 
“I wasn't aware that any one had asked for 
any,” said Belle, with a good deal of sarcasm 
in her tones. 
“No, but then .people who don’t ash advice 
often need, it,” answered Ralph, meaningly. 
“ If they wore only sensible nough to take it, it 
would do them a w orld of good sometimes.’' 
Belle’s eyes flashed fire. “ I haven’t asked 
any advice from you,” she said, indignantly, 
“ and. what is more, I don't Intend to. I know 
what I’m about-” 
“I doubt it,” Interrupted Ralph. 
“And I know enough to mind my own busi¬ 
ness, too,” went on Belle. I wish other peo¬ 
ple did.” 
That was their first quarrel. Ralph left her, 
feeling very angry. lie had tried to reason 
with her, and lottnd her wholly unreasonable. 
She rather enjoyed it. In novels lovers always 
quarreled. Their courtship would have been 
humdrum enough without some spice of that 
character in it. 
“ I'll show him who's master," she said when 
he was gone. “The idea of his dictating to 
met I’ll make him more jealous than he Is 
now before I’m through, anil I'll bring him to 
my terms, too.” Which assertion was a rather 
broad one to make, considering the circum¬ 
stances of the case. 
R alph had hoped that Belle would look at 
the matter sensibly after her anger hadcooled; 
but, not being f ttuousfor doiug sensible things, 
she disappointed him. The very next day she 
went out riding with Capt. De Vaitx, and a day 
or two after that he took her to a concert. 
Ralph began to feel grieved and indignant. Fie 
couldn't bo deaf to the covert remarks of his 
friends. Belle's actions were beginning to 
rouse talk. Everybody knew that they were 
engaged. Knowing this, and -eeing how inti¬ 
mate she was with De Vaux, it wasn't to be 
wondered at that they gossipped over the mat¬ 
ter. 
It Isn’t a very pleasant feeling, I imagine, to 
be in Ralph’s place—to hear your friends dis¬ 
cussing the doings of your promised wife and 
wondering what you are going to do about, it. 
RAT.pn bore It as long as he could. He wont to 
see Belle one day, determined to corno to 
some sort of an understanding, lie met Capt. 
De Vaux as bo went iu. That gentleman 
smiled insolently on his rival. Ralph wanted 
to give him a good horsewhipping, it would 
have served as an escape-valve for some of his 
ugly feelings if he could have- done so. 
“Oh, you ought to have come before,” cried 
Belle, with effusion Captain DeVaux has 
been singing duets with me- Such a beautiful 
tenor voice as he has! You never heard him 
sing, did you?” 
“ I haven’t had the pleasure, ” answered 
Ralph, dryly. 
“ Come up to-morrow evening,” said Belle. 
“ He’s coming over to practice with me again. 
You'd Just enjoy listening to him. I never 
heard any one sing ’ Inanita' so exquisitely as 
he does—never 1 He throws o much passion 
into it. I was reallv charmed. I assure you.” 
“ No doubt of it,” said Ralph, 
“And you’d enjov his company so much,” 
rattled on Belle, thinking, 1 oppose, that she 
was doing something remarkably brilliant. “ 1 
do. He’sao witty ; lie keeps me laughing half 
the time. I don't think I ever enjoyed a gen¬ 
tleman’s society eo much before,” 
“ Probably not," responded Ralph. He was 
THE LITTLE QIJAR TERMASTER. 
beginning to get thoroughly disgusted. He had 
thought BELLE much more womanly than she 
was. He had deceived himself. Now his eyes 
were beginning to get opened. 
“And his—” begau Belle; but Ralph stop¬ 
ped her. 
"We will take ail you are going to say for 
granted,” he said. “ I have come to talk soberly 
with you. Belle. I have borne your couduct 
long enough. If you are to he my wife, your 
flirtations with Df.Vaux must terminate at 
once. I have a right tc ask that of you." 
“ Really!” Belle smiled scornfully; “ so you 
are going to dictate, are you?” 
“Not at all,” answered Ralph. “You must 
act as you please. I am merely telling you how 
the matter stands. You are engaged to me. 
As my promised wife you have no right to act 
as you are doing. You can hot acknowledge 
that, if you will atop long enough to tbink. If 
/ were to go on as you bave been going on, I 
imagine you would be quite sure loses the mat¬ 
ter in its true light. I have as good a right to 
demand you to stop such conduct as you w’ould 
have to demand as much of me. I think you 
have been thoughtless, and am willing to let 
all ill-feeling drop provided you do as I ask 
you to.” 
“ And If I do not," demanded Bells, haugh¬ 
tily. 
“Then you may consider that all is over be¬ 
tween us,” Ralph replied. 
“ Very well," answered Belle ; “ here is your 
ring, and,.—good morning." 
Ralph took the ring and bowed himself out, 
feeling quite as much relieved as disappointed. 
He saw that sho was not tlie woman he want¬ 
ed. She could never make him happy. He had 
had a lucky escape. 
Belle watched him go with very angry eyes. 
He had told her the truth and she had to ac- 
Icriow ledge it. But she waau’t going to give up 
in that way. She had too much “ spirit," she 
told herself. Too much foolish, silly obstinacy 
would have tdt it. “He’ll come around in 
time,” she said. “He'll get over this when De 
Vaux goeB mvav. I’m not going to be tied up 
to any man before I'm married. I’ll let him 
know that he can’t bend me around bis little 
finger.” 
The summer went by. Ralph didn't. “ come 
around," as Bei.le hud expected he would. Ho 
I met her in society, and never showed any signs 
of tlie wound she was foolish enough to think 
she Lad given him. He seemed to enjoy life 
quite tho same 03 over. She concluded he was 
“wearing a mask,” People with wounded 
hearts usually die In novels, Belle recollected. 
Captain DeVaux went away, und then Belle 
was confident, that Ralph would return to his 
allegiance. But he didn’t seem inclined. 
“He’s waiting for me to give him some en¬ 
couragement, most likely," Belle thought., 
and she stniightw'uy proceeded to encourage 
him by making, or trying to make, herself 
very fascinating and agreeable. But Ralph 
|j§ wouldn’t be fascinated. He repelled all 
feg her advances, coldly and politely. 
“ Ho’b obstinate,” declared Belle. “I’ll 
5& have to ask him to forgive me, and then 
Uf _” She confidently expected that, that 
U would bring him to terms. 
One evening, at a party, she tried her 
plan. They were In tho conservatory. She 
J§§ was looking pale and interesting. At least 
gg she thought so. Ralph didn’t seem to 
think much about it. 
■ l I’ve been wanting to say oometblng to 
§§[ you Tor a long time," she said, putting her 
=p handkerchief to her eyes. “ I see now 
how thoughtless " sho couldn’t bear to 
say how foolish and silly,-” how thought¬ 
less I was, and I’m sorry that I wounded 
your feelings so, Ralph. If you could for- 
sgj give me and be my friend still! if nothing 
sg" more-” 
She believed that would fetch him. At 
least it usually did in romances. 
?* “I’m perfectly willing to be your friend, 
v. If you want me," auswered Ralph, feeling 
a desire to laugh. lie understood her per- 
ic§| feetly. He only wondered bow be could 
h have been foolish enough to fancy her. 
“ I do want you to," said Belle, broken- 
§31 ly. “ If you only knew bow many times I 
have regretted my thoughtless eunduct, 
Ralph" —with a sorrowful sigh and a 
glance out of the corner of her eye to see 
If he was about to capitulate. “I—I’ve 
missed your ring from my finger, Ralph, 
«o much." 
“Ab?” Ralph had to smile at that 
I stroke of Belle’s. “It never fitted you, 
exactly; If you have uotlced, It fits Allie 
Braxton's Anger beautifully." 
Belle turned pale. Bhe understood what 
^5*= Ralph meant. Ho had been with Miss 
Bratton a good deal lately, but she hadn’t 
supposed that he thought of marrying her. 
“ You don't mean to say’’—sho stammer- 
ed. 
/ “That 1 am engaged to Mias Bhayton? 
Yes. I do,” answered Ralph. “ 1 shall be 
pleased to see you and Captain De Vaux 
5 =-; at the wedding, which takes place ou 
Christmas." 
Belle burst into tears. She was never 
^ 8 o vexed and angry before. The affair 
hadn’t turned out at ail aa Buch affairs al¬ 
ways did in novels. She was mad and dis¬ 
gusted and mortified. 
- 2 =- “You’re a wretch 1” sho sobbed. “You 
- wouldn’t care if you broke my heart. Oh! 
Oh!" 
—- 1 “ Shan't I call some oue?” suggested 
Ralph, smiling cruelly. 
