The Bassett Claim

[Oopyriftbi lij lerioan . ..ssociation.1 [ COSTINlTED. ] At nrat, ol cruise, all was bnstle and confnsion, but this chaos was soon resolved into order and beauty. Affinities foond out one another and combined, and in an incredibly short time the new class was organized, repntations made and héroes worshipped. Amoog those who came early to the front as a leader wa a stnrdy young feöow namecl Peter Stevens, not very briiliant, witty or fascinating in manners, bat sensible, capable, sincere and agreealüe. He was large and strong of bodüy frame, but he appeared to advantago in the recitation room as well as on Öie play ground, for the tutor's probe soon discovered proof of hard, steady work done on a hopeful basis of good native abüities and thoroogh training. It would be as difficnlt to trace the friendship of Bassett and Stevens to its arigin as to follow the Saco to its secret foccmtsins in the Crawf oxd Notch. They hadjnet by accident. Their soit hearts fnsed easüy: as it happened, theytooka room together where a thoosand trivial incidents of common daily experience tmited them witli the binding strength of a cable of threads. In the first turbulent weeks of the cotirse - once turbulent, that is, now tame - they shonted, scuffled and suffered side Jy side. Then quiefcer times followed; süent honra of farthfnl study, as together they climbed the steepy hill of knowtedge; a toilsomo progress snrely, but what noble sport! What air we get on the mountains, what views, what a sense of victory! Thus their friendship, founded m nature and mainfcained by virtue, grew deeper and firmer with time, until from chafcting on comuionplaces they had come to speak frankly of third persons, and iinally , af ter many tests and lessons, had beeu able to talk in earnest of themselves, to entrust each other with their anxieties and frailties, make their confessions and each assume a share of the oiher's burden, "which," aa Bacon says, "tieth the knot." Meanwuile the quick years had been Rtippiny to the rear, and now the end came to hand. Por to-morrow, be it known, is presentaron day, and immediateiy following commencement, when Stevens, as one of the leading scholars of the graduating class, has a place of honor on the programme; and he is hard at work, therefore, this balmy aftemoon putting the finishing touches of elocutionary grace on his oration on "The Dangers of Representative Insütutíons." Windward had left him early in the afternoon to meet Mrs. Bassett and Florence at the train. For this is a proud season for mothers and sisters, and both these good ladies had long made their plans to see their darling graduated. Uncle Torn had intended to be present aiso, but he was now feeling the touch of age and at the last momant decided not to leave his arm chair on the porch. "But ifs no matter," he'said to Florence. "Yon will find the young gentlemen afctentive_ and qnite willing to take charge of "you, and I hear that young ladies of 18 prefer three beanx of 24 to one of 72." "Pshaw!" replied Florence merriry, 'Td rather have you ttan all of 'emP' "Undoubtedly," said the old gentleman gravely. "But as against some yet unknown one of them I am not so sure. Not so sure," he repeated, taking her soft, fair, fiuttering hand in his and stroking it fondly. "Well, my darling, enjoy your youth, but remember that pretty cheeks and blue eyes have often made their owner very miserable, and will you, unless you keep a kind, true heart." Uncde Torn did not often moralizo, and his sermons were always short, but they had a way of reaching the heart that clenrymen might have stndied to gain. But, not to linger under the spell of Torn Bassett's tender, friendly, searching eyes, though aU loved to, and owsed their chana and yielded to thetr power - thus it was that the two ladies, mother and daogbter, carne alone. Windward met them at the station and escorted them to the hotel. And theo, of course, their first sighlBeeing, after just a glauco in the giass, was a visit to that wanderful room and that wonderful chum. "I declare, here they are nowT exclaimed Stevens, as his ears caught a I confusión of happy noises and the nnfamiliar rastle of skirts on thertairs, and pop! the manuscript went intoadrswer, anA lam went a cloBet cloer, that like cbarity and oor bate, covered a multitad of ains. All oí a suddwi, and quite too-late for remedying, it occnrred to Peter that the room might be neater; bui he bad scaroely time to biosh before in Uimble.1 Windward. all ag low witb happineas, and close at hls heela, tho ladies. "Wefl, here we are, Pete," he crwd; aad then, remembering hie íiumneta, he tramtfatfid bis, greeting into tbe formal ph-rtiwH of society: "Mr. Stcrens, my mother and my sirtor FTaranoe." Tben be, too, SMvaed aU at once to feel aome compunctions, and turning to his mother, whose kind face wore an amused look, he exclaimed: "This ia onr den. Not so very pretty, that's a fact, but, like the homely girls, ifs 'awf al good and real attractive' when you jet well acquainted." "That will never have to be said of you," honght Peter, looking at Florence; wishing he dared to say so, and uut c mscaous that he had saiü so very plainly with his eyes, and that her brigbt smile was his reward. This, then, was sister Floy - that little giri, that Miss, who had sent them sweetineats and. toy lambroquins for brackets, id wrote the deiuure, precise latters Windward luid often read extracts trom ! He percei ved that for some years he had tn laboring nnder a misapprehensioo, and he now was a competent witness to the txnth of Windward's once or twice repeated remark that "Floy did not take a good picture." No; the photographers can now register to the one-twenty-thousandth part of asecond, they may take the vihration of the telephone, but cannot yet cope with the subile. changeful beauty of a face, its softemng and deepening glow, the play of the features, the alteration of the eyes. No; stience may be able-to photograph lightning, but not yet the soal. The true Florence Bassett, as Stevens for the first time now saw her, was perhaps a trine above the average heightof American vamen; if so, it was onry a triflf. and the impression might have been due to her perfect tbongh slender proportionB. Slender, to be snre, she was, but only as becomes maklenhood, and withal graceful and roonded. Her head was classic in mold and pose. The contour of the face was that of the Venas of JSEk), bnt younger and hatier. It was the head of the queen of love beforeshe had loved; Venus at 18 - an innocentand virgin Venus, unconscious of her sovereign charms and unversed in tnerr use. One who met her for the first time might be struck bef ore all by the changefnl beauty of her complexion. Such rosy cheeks and lips are rareJy given to American women. The expression of her features was enchanting. There radiated f rom them, even when in repose, 8ociablo pleasnre, kindness, and_an innocent delight in life, and when. she smüed it was liko daybreak in Eden. Her figure was girlish and yet womanly. Her neck, shoulders and bost and the linea of her waist and body melted into one another and combined asone symmetrical composition. Her hands and feet were neither small nor large, but comely, finely formed and in proportion to her figttre. In short, her-farm was logical and harmonious- noöring exaggerated, nothing tiny. She had no fashionable deformities. Cold water was her wash and health her rouge. She stood erect, and trod the earth like its princess. One item more. It is a pretty trickin drawing to fill a sheet with seemingly random lines, and then by one quick stroke to créate order and complete the design; and in like inanner this sketch may be finished by speaking of her eyes. They were a blue of their own. Their expression, moreover, was absohitely original, and they shone behind their fringes like planets at evening twilight while the sky is still blue and the air ia dreamy and bland. "I feel like old friends," said the beauty, as Peter handed her a chair, "Windward has written so much about yon. And such a queer room! I'd like to go to college, mamma!" Peter inanaged to blurt out that ander those circamstances he shonld advocate the co-education of the sexes. "I'm afraid I shouldn't study muoh, though," observed Florence, thoughtfully, her glances wandering around the w;ilLs to notice their deeorations. 'Tm sure I wouldn'tr' exclaimed Peter so frankly that they all laughed. "See that great long oar, mamma," said the young lady, pointing with her suxtshade to where it hung along the wall. "Yes," said Windwurd, "that did good service in the race I wrote abont." "What makes it so crooked?" asked Florence. "Why, it's a spoon oar," said Windward. "Don't you know? - yon don't, of coarse, bat we will take you down tothe buothon.se after snpper - won't we, Pete? - and sht-w them around. " "Yes, that will be splendid!" exdaimed Florence, "unless Mr. Stevens is busy." Mr. Stevens glanced toward the draw er, which, like Pandora's box, held alt the dangers of representative institutions, and then into Florence Bassetfcs oyes, where lurked greater dangers atilL, and said he had nothing to do and wonld be very happy to go. Bnt ñzst they made the toar of the room, except what Windward called"the Btuebeard closet - and Floy managedto get a quick peep mto that - and next ronnd the college green and a tnxn up Hillhoase avenue and back through the city green to their hotel, wher soppT was ready, and Stevens most sit down to it with them. Then finaQy they bttrried downto the boat hoose, where they saw the long skeleton shetts - Floy caDed them centipedes- and where the ladies were treated to a short ride m a frail ontrigger skiff. Florence enjoyed this novel experience immensely, and no wonder. Mrs. Bassett poBsibly thooght too mach of the danger, but her daaghter's eyes sparlded and her cheeks flnshed with excitement, and she talked all sorts of girlish nonsense. And Stevens, who had hitherto admired her for her qoiet, modast maoness, no-w percei vod she was most charming when aaimated. Singnlarly enoogh, he had thooghtshe showed to specialadvantagi; in the dormitory; bat in the open carriaRe, in the great green aialw of the elms, it was wonderful how the forest setting became her. At sopperhe decideil she looked extremeiy pretty whilc eating, and wondered whysonw mnnen shrank from sach a test; and dow in the boat, framed in the nnnaet, ihO certamry made a most kmtiy pictore. Her hasty change in attire ataupper, too, teemed to make no diSeience. inytfce brown dreae aho had been charmiag, bat the navy bine waeqnaHy beoomim;. It [ TO BK COKTIÜDÜD.