The Argosy — page 383: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

360 A Love Story. It was the most delightful autumn I ever remember. Never before had I seen the heather so purple, or the grouse so plentiful. Never before had I felt the air so bracing or my spirits so buoyant. Never before had I experienced so completely that feeling of spiritual intoxication, which is the combined result of dry moorland breezes, bright days, brilliant landscapes, healthy exercise, a good digestion, agreeable companions and a pleasant house. My visit was now drawing to a close, and I began to feel a reluctance I had never felt before at having to exchange the soul- inspiring hills of Yorkshire, the sweet fresh air of the country and the peaceful, placid life of a country house, for the depressing chimney-pots of London, the fog and smoke of the town, and the bustling anxieties of a crowded city. My friend’s golden-haired sister had been staying with him during the period of my visit, and she and I had become great allies. Somehow or other we were always partners in any games that were going on—whether it was tennis, or whist, or four-handed billiards, or any of the other entertainments which were used to chase the fleeting hours. Not the least cause of my reluctance to depart was the thought that I should miss that merry laugh, those fascinating eyes, those rosy lips and that sweet- toned voice. As the final day came nearer and nearer, I felt that her presence had become, as it were, a part of my existence. And then I began to wonder whether she would regret my departure, and whether she would miss me, and whether all her little amiabilities had been nothing more than she would have shown to any other guest in her brother’s house. Men are bad hands at solving such riddles as these and always doubt their own powers of perception, when they attempt to penetrate the mysteries of a woman’s heart. The ordinary rules by which intentions are divined cease to apply, and a man becomes like a toy boat on a ruffled lake, tossed hither and thither ; now sailing upright, now heeling over on this side, now on that, but making no way whatever. The last day of my visit arrived and I was no nearer the solution of my problem than before. I did not dare to ask a definite question lest my hopes might be suddenly dashed to the ground; yet I feared to go away without arriving at some sort of understanding. I was ina sea of doubt. If I asked and were rejected, I should be miserable: if I said nothing she might think I was a mere trifler. I should have liked to let things drift a little—to have allowed them to go on just as they were for a while. But this was impossible. I must start on the morrow. At last it ended in this wise. After a short tramp round the home farm on the chance of putting up a bird or two and having a parting shot, I returned to the house, exchanged my shooting garb for more conventional attire, and entered the drawing-room just as the setting CORNICE OOOKKS (E(@)