rent surprise.

My drive was a delightful one. How could it be otherwise, with a
glorious day surrounding me, and a gloriously beautiful cousin sitting
beside me, with whom I could not exactly make up my mind whether to
fall desperately _in_ love, or desperately _out_ of love. I, too, such
an enthusiastic lover of beauty. But she chose to be so different from
what she was at our first meeting--so reserved, that I could not
decide whether I most loved or was most indifferent to her.

We rode all the morning, and I left her, promising to call again in
the evening. I walked the streets until dark, the whole affair vexed
me so much--I, such a hater of all mysteries, the most impatient of
all breathing mortals. I determined to come at once to an
understanding with my perverse little cousin, and to decide at once
the puzzling question whether to love or not to love.

In the evening I found myself alone with my little tormentor.

"Now, sweet Cousin Emily," said I, playfully, "you have been teazing
me long enough with your pretty affectation of ignorance and
innocence--not but that you are as ignorant as the rest of your sweet
sex, and as innocent too--but, I beseech you, lay by this
masquerading, you have played possum long enough. I humbly implore of
you to be the same to me that you were in our first visit to
Fairmount--the earnest, simple-hearted Cousin Emily you then were."

"Mr. Lincoln speaks in enigmas; I must confess I do not understand his
meaning, nor his elegant allusion to 'playing possum.'"

This she said with so much haughtiness, that I was taken all aback.
Rallying, however, in a moment I determined not to give up the point.

"I beseech of you to pardon the inelegance of my expression, and also
my pertinacity in insisting upon some explanation of your manner
toward me. It will all do very well for the stage," continued I,
bitterly, "but in real life, among cousins, and two that have met so
frankly, and in such sincerity, I feel that our acquaintanceship must
at once end, pleasant as it has been, as it might be to me, unless you
lay aside this assumed coldness. It harasses me more than I can
express. Emily, after seeing you in the stage-coach, I thought I had
never met with one half so lovely, and I could think of nothing but
you. After remaining at home but one week, business called me to
Philadelphia. Judge of my delight when almost the first object that
met my view was your beautiful, unforgotten little