The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1868-02-19
9lloersor1 1utelligelltet.
MY " A LIE u T i N m..

It was- thirty ye:irss ago +thiS-eerS. day
chat l picked it up FROM the painted
wooden stoop which adorned the exterior
OF my fathers dwelling. ghe frosty
breath. OF the morning had no doubt some
thing Tor do. with the, heightened color in
my cheeks, as I cfa,sed the front door and
passed, into the sitting room where the
family were gathering, for the customary
devotions of the morning tear the rev
erent words which fell from my white
haired's lips, found no echo ir my rowing
throbbing heart that morning, and
hardly waited to see him and my tw"
good brothers mufle up and face the cut
ting air, on their way to their business Of
the day. Alone in my little room, could
open and peruse with happinesssthe con-
tents Of The wrapper. .
It,2is lint an hour or two since that [
heard my two pretty nieces, Bella and
Alice wonder at the.custom' of Valentine
sending, and vote it stupid and -non~en-
-sical. They do not know OF the one
treasure of my life, which | always con
eeai' within the folds of my dress. This
morning / took itout and scanned it we'll
from the. superscription OH the wrapperto
the very. last line. 1t is old now, and
worn and yellow. The pretty, jingling
lines enclosed in a wreath of embossed
leaves, would probably sound inharmoni-
GUS and ins;pid to you in this age OF won
,derfll and refined literature, but to my
ear the metre is as correct as those pretty
verses of Tennysou's which Bella's lover
delights in reading to her-while they
speak TO me in tones as sweet and deeper
love than are daily whispered into Alices
ears by any OF her myriad adorers,
All.the day of the reception of my in
valuable love token, L wandered about.
tho. house in o state Of mind bordering
upon 1unaey, K suppose. Mother watched
me closely to prevent my sqgaring the
potatoes for dinner and sailing the pre-
serves for tea. I do not remember The
MIN Der of times L locked nyselfup in my
roomrand repeated the declaration, Of love
contained in my Valentine. ga.
The little piece of looking:g]ass into,
7vhirh I was requested to glance to. view
the Valentine of my darling sweetheart,
reveals now face worn with care and
sorrow; 81 pinched and witbered face, yet,
on that day it returned q fresh, young,
and / know pretty one. - = -
! E;Towards dusk watched fromgth vim
dow: the. gathering twilight. 1t. waned
and despened until finally the grand red
sunset glow sin the heavens disappeared, };
and, gave place to a. gray darkness, until
Sie moon arose, leaving me watchingan and
eating for.the we'll known step; which
. soon. would pass on my lovers return
from from his daily labors: The village factory
whistles screamed at the tops of, their
sbrill, voices, "go-o-home''--and then came
the rushing of many feet creaking over
the crispy snow. But it seemed to me
tfat the crowd from the factory moved
along with an unaccustomed serious mir,
not with the usual shout and cheer, think
ing only of the bright fires and loving
welcomes awaiting them at home, but
gathered in g,oups and conyersing earn
estlv with each other. But among them
all came not my Robert. Then quietly,
and also in groups, came the working
:eipls wrapped we'll in their warm shawls
and, hoods, catching their breaths and
burying their noses in the soft depths1o of
their wooden scarfs, glancing, / imagined,
pitifnliy at our windows. Soon came the
stragglers in twos and ones, until the
street was deserted, but stiIl,no Robert.
The golden rays of the. moon shone
brightly down now upon the snowy pave
Ilnert, anu though when l turned my head
and looked back into the lonely parlor,
darkness reigned without, the light,
owing to the moons reflection on the
snow, seemed bright as midday. Sweet
moon, whose presence never weapiesI TO
her / con6ded my secret joy, and with
me she sympathized. confessed TO her
all in a foolish, incoherent way, how
Robert had spoken the love Of which l
had so long been certain; how a ring con-
tanned in my precious Valentine was to
be the signal Of his acceptance. if worn
what devoted wifo / should make to
him; and how tree we should be from the
ordinary strife of married people. l
whispered her all of my fond hopes for
3she future, but never word of the dread
aud doubt which was lowering over my
mind. She approved, thought, from the
ever increasing splendor which she show
cred around me. Then tried in the dim
distance 10 discern the form Of my Rob
ert |; at times was certain Of his walk,
the style of wearing his rap or some other
little popularity belonging only to him,
and then my heart would keep up its
wild throbbing asI thought of how l
should have word with him at the front
door; but it would turn out to be some
shadow which the outstretched and bare
limbs of the trees would cast upon the
snow or some strange form of vilager re.
turning home-but never Robert. | some
times heard my mothers or my brothers
: voices at the door calling me to tea.
answered them mechanically, and still
stared past the struggling houses on our
street off into the shadowy distance. l