A Dozen Ways Of Love

s the station hotel at St. A

d is roughly made; it lies long and straight in a flat land, snow-clad in winter, very dusty in the summer sun, and its line is only softened by a long row of telegraph pole

lies half a mile away. The hotel itself is the same, but in those days it was not painted yellow, as it is now, and was not half so well kept. The world

her eyes are very black; over them there is a fringe of iron-grey hair, which she does up in

ggest a more than common power of satisfaction in certain things, such as dinners and good sound sleep, and good inn-keeping-yes, and in spring flowers, and in autumn leaves and winter sunsets. Zilda Chaplot was formed for pleasure, yet there is no tend

softer if she married. Many of the men have offered marriage, not with any disinterested motive, it is true, but with kindly intent. They have been set aside like children who make requests unreasonable, but so natural for them to make that the request is hardly worth noticing. The women relatives of these rejected

d not have invented obligations for herself, because she has not the inventive faculty. No, it is simply this: Mam'selle Chaplot loved once, and

and orderly, when she is scolding a servant, or serving a customer, her mind will revert to the room in its former rough state, and she will remember another customer who used to eat there. When the spring comes, and far and near there is the smell of wet moss, and shrubs on the wide flat land shoot fort

of what happened

n very long in existence; two trains ran southward from the large towns in the morning, and two trains ran northward to the large towns in the evening; besides the

r pleasure to come and watch the advent of the trains. The chief use of the station platform seemed to be for these loungers; the chief use of the bar at the hotel was to slake their thirst

eyes were long; her hair was not curled, for it was not the fashion, but brushed smoothly back from broad low brows. She was tall, and not at all thin. She was very strong, but less active in those days, as girls are often less

trangers which chance brought that way spoke English,

ked that upon a certain day in the week he always arrived by the local train and waited for the evening train to take him on to Montreal. It was, in fact, Gilby himself who pointed out to them the regularity of his visits, for he was of a social disposition, and could not spend more than a few afternoo

worldling, with his thick gold chain, and jaunty clothes, and quick way of adjusting himself to passing circumstances, that it was some time before his good-natured sociableness won in the least upon the station loungers. They held aloof, as from an explosive, not knowing when it would begin t

th her back ag

id Gilby, stop

mons

hand. Her countrymen commonly held their pipes between their thumb and finger. To Zil

d he, looking round at the dry summ

mons

ou speak

ir,' sa

indness, he gave them scraps of information upon all subjects of temporary interest, with a funny little air of pompous importance. When by mere force of habit they grew more familiar with him, he would strut up and engage them in long conve

luence in that direction; not much, of course, but every traveller has some influence, and his was of a lively, and, on

snow was all around. Gilby disliked the closenes

He led them on, and incited them to feats much greater than his own, with boisterous challenges and loud bravos. Before he jumped himself he always made mock hesitation for their amusement, swinging his arms, and apparently bracing himself for the leap. Perhaps the deep frost of the country made him frisky because he was not accustomed to it; perhaps it was always his nature to be noisy and absurd

, and smiled when their imitation was good. When it was poor she cried, 'Non, ce n'est pas comme ?a,' and she came out from the doorway and showed them how to do it. Her imitatio

ge, would flap her arms and flutter back in a frightened manner and brace herself to the leap, as Gilby had done. She was aided in this representation

lby, le poulet qui

o see it, that she felt some inward cause of pleasurable excitement at the mention of his name. A narrow nature cannot see absurdity in what

ilby had explained other things to her, small practical things, such as some points in English grammar, some principles of taste in woman's dress, how to choose the wools for her knitting, how to make

aughter, was accustomed to men who offered her light gallantry. It was because she did not like such men that she learned to love-rather the better word might be, to adore-little John Gilby. From higher levels of taste he would have been seen to be, in external notions, a common little man, but fro

now-ploughs, and the loungers about the station wore buffalo coats, Zilda was very happy. Gilby wore a dogskin cap and collar and cuffs; Zilda thought them very becoming. Then spring came, and Gilby wore an Inverness cape, which was the fashion in those days. Zilda thought that little Gilby

in St. Armand ascertained that Gilby had had a rise in the firm in which he was employed, that he sat in an office all day and did not travel any more. Zil

should come there once a week, and talk politics with her father and other men, and set the boys jumping, and eat the muffins he had taught her to make for his tea. And if this might not be, she desired above all else to see him again, to have one more look at him, one more smile from him of which she could take in the w

atural; a man does not bid adieux to a railway station, and Zilda knew that she was, as it

for the sunsets now, for she had been taught that they were beautiful. She cultivated geraniums and petunias in

olerable to her that now no one ever mentioned Gilby; she longed intensely to hear his name or to speak it. She dared not mention him gravely, soberly, because she was conscious of her secret which no one suspected. But it was open

of her affection. At times when she lay awake in the quiet night, or at such times as she found herself within the big stone

ut on the station platform, for a breath of air, for a moment's rest and refreshing, or, on business intent, to chide the loungers there, the roof of this church, at a half-mile's distance, twinkles brightly before her eyes, set in green fields

e early train came in from Montreal as usual, and who should step out of it but Gilby himself! He was a little stouter, a little more bald, but he skipped down upon the platfor

appiness for her. 'Ah, Monsieur Geelby, do you know that the river has cut into th

glad of the chance of doing that, of seeing Chaplot and his daughter and the others; but to be stopped at St. Armand a whole day-he made exhibition of his anger, whic

Zilda slipped away to make muffins hastily for Gilby's breakfast. Her heart was singing within her, but it was a tremulous song, half dazed

ilby, unconscious that a special breakfast was preparing for him, had hastily swallowed coffee

ent grew upon her for an hour, then she could no longer keep back the tears; because she had no place in which to weep, she began to walk away from the hotel down the line. There was no one to notice he

wn on this road before and Zilda had never stirred foot to examine them, but now she walked on steadily. Her fear told her that Gilby might find some means of getting on to the next station, some engine laden with suppli

ery green, a green that was almost yellow, it was so bright. Within the strip of railway land a tangle of young bushes grew, and on every twig buds were bursting. Abou

ow rose of the winter sunset, the depth of colour in the petals of her flowers. Nature was to her like a language of which she had only been told the mean

ifted dripping from green vats of the brightest dye. There were some trees by the river bank, maples and elms, and every twig was tipped with a crimson gem. Zilda did not see the beauty of the river bank either; she regarded nothing until she came to a place where

links, canaries, and song-sparrows had been singing to her, the swallows and red-throats had been talking; everywhere among the soft spongy mosses, the singing frog of the C

the voice again.

at something was wrong. His attitude was as natural as he could make it, such an attitude as a proud man might assume when pain is chaining him in an awkward po

,' he said in surpris

nothing in her voice or manner then or at any other t

uch long walks?' he

r shoulders. 'Som

instinct of his proud little spirit to hate to own that he was helpless. 'Look

sieur,' s

surprise; her stolidit

it had been a horse's hoof. She straightened it, unlaced his muddy boot, a

aughter, 'do you not know you are hurting me?' It was

a smile as firm and

o great a relief to him that he hardly noticed that she stood ankle-deep in the river to do it. She wore a little red tartan shawl upo

'you are really very g

not show it much. She had him there very safe; it mattere

e a little higher up; he

en. He nodded as if in dismissal of the idea. 'Presently. But, in the meantime, Z

immediately her eyes were opened a

cework of shadow upon the carpet of moss and violets beneath them. The buds of the maples were red. On a tree near them a couple of male canarie

y; 'they look like st

a, and she did see

g his observations on other people, but the flaws in his character Zilda was not in a position to see. The good in him awakened in her a higher virtue than she w

ieur more comfortable,' she said, and she

Gilby; his manner was quite

e that could be worked easily by two men, and Zilda determined to work it alone. While she was coming back along the iron road on the top of the narrow embankment, Gilby could

orted by her arm; he did not feel the slightest inclination to lean upon her more than was needful, he was too self-conscious and proud. Even after she had placed him on the car, he kept up an

at the handles of the machine; she was very large and strong, all her attitudes were statuesque. The May day beamed on the

here for a month. Sometimes his friends came out from the town to see him, but not very often, and they did not stay long. Zilda cooked for

aking love to her; he felt too strongly on the subject of his dignity and his principles for that; but alt

d seek his own in all things; but when Gilby talked of giving her a present she shrank instinctively with an air of offence. This

Zilda,' he said, 'a gold w

face was flushed and her

ing; you would like

I would not l

thought the best thing would be to have nothing more to do with Zilda; but the next day, in the bustl

e ladies who were travelling in the same carriage and with whom he had a slight acquaintance. His disposition was at once genial and vain; he had been so long absent from the familiar fac

y much; they received his greeting coldly and turned away; they sai

lived a better and happier wo