The Portland daily press., 1868-12-19
Selected story.
THE CRACK Tn THE DOOR:

InS pIeIIlest utusS tAc FlcttACsl SaIO6U,
the best ordered servants, and the largest
hank account in u, belonged TO Mrs.
Mehitable Armstrong, widow. Some people
also declared that she was the prettiest wo-
man in u, but these were not the other
women. They said that she had red hair and
was too rat, and wha. the gentlemen saw to
admire IN her. they couldn't gness, etc., etc
but say 1t, often as they might, every man IN
the place was Hetty Armstrong; devoted ser
want, friend and adInirer and dozen Of
them her lovers, also. 4 bright, dashing,
warm-hearted woman she was. AS merry as
though she had never known q care. Not
that She had forgotten the lover Of her youth; :
The gallant, black-eyed sea captain, whose
ship had gone down in mid ocean, five years
before. and whose pictured face lay near her
heart, day and night, sleeping and waking;
bat sue was too full OF life and hope 10 live
entirely in the past, and neither loved hours
Of melancholy musing nor what women cali
IA good cry To forget all sorrow, if She
could, and he as happy us she might, were the
Two grand rules of her lie, and therefore,
people who did not know Hetty Armsfrons'
thought her heartiess and made great mis-
take.
They called her liiIl, TOO, ana e,i"t "S9
not true either. She only hirted WIN tnose
who began the game first, ana t'lat, woman
has n right IN do At y, il gentleman
called twice mo. a lacy. his attentions were
reported TO be every particularly If he saw
her home from meeting, rnmor declared
that they were "eDgaged;' and ii ne spent an
evening with her, they were 10 be "married
next week" for certainty; but Hetty Arm
strong was some how not included in the gen.
eral rule. She had determined to do exactly
as she chose. She went every where with
every unmarried gentleman of her set. She
was friendly when she chose TO be, and firt-
ed when she liked. After setting gossip afoat
a dozen times, She gained her point, and peo-
pie let her alone. IL was Hctty Armstrong 5
way, that was all, and no indiction OF mat
rimonial intentions. For years, gentleman
had haunted her parlols, escorted her
hlther and thither, sang with her,
danced with her, coniided in her, and
adored her, and village gossip had not mar
ried her. Unit, suddenly stranger made
his debut at X--,and set the tongues agoing
beyond even Hetty Armstrong; power Of 81
lencing.
He was tall; he was handsome; he was
comparatively young. He had just that
touch of The exquisite about him which is so
charming when q mans man tor a that;
faultless ia toilette: faultl"ss in manner; ed
ucated; accomplished; altogether charming
he openly flung himself at Hetty Armstrong;
feet, and declared himself her admirer. OF
ruined the knees OF his iau.tless habiliments
by going down upon them, or in any other
way conducted himself as did the knights Of
old when heart-smitten; but after The man
ner Of the nineteenth century, he declared
his intentions quite as openly.
He sang to and OF the lady. He haunted
her parlors like Weil-dIessed ghost; he
wrote poetry Tor the X--Luminary, ad-
dressed to II. A., aud signed G. f.; he breath
ed deep signs, and gave soft slances, aud said
things that might have double meanings; and
this, not tor a week or a month, but for
year. At the end of which time, Hetty Arm
strong began to understand that she was ex-
pected by everybody to accept Charles Reke-
wood when he offered his heart and hand.
Meanwhile, the soft eyes and the sweet voice.
the delicate attention and the winning songs
of her admlror were not without their effect
on Hetty Armstrong; heart. Ii began to he
CONSCIOUS OF certain tremors and futterinps
In his presence. Her cheeks flushed as they
mad in her girlhood Her dreams were not
the sober, practical dreams, which nature at
five-and twenty should alone indulge in; and
as the days rolled on, she felt more conscious
that the yes" which was expected of her
would be very easily uttered.
She tried 10 be very prudent and Judge the
man carefully. The result was that She de-
clared him to be san angel AT last Hetty
Armstrong fairly lei go OF the rudder OF self
Will to which she had chung so long, and al
lowed herself TO drift down the tide of cir
cumstances which were 10 lead her Into the |
arms OF Charles RokeWOod. She let her |
hand iinser on his ann rs he babe her good |
bye. She smiled up into his eyes as women |
only smile into eyes they love. She felt that |
lite would be happier with such bosom to |
repese upon, and began to wonder whether II |
would be necessary for widow to be mar
ried in pearl color when white was so becou,-
Ing to her complexion.
So matters stood when Christmas drew
near, and with it Hetty Armstrong; regular
Christmas-eve party.
All y, or nearly all, would be p,ere.
Even the Rev. Luther Paragon, who amia-
bly, forgot 10 say that he disapproved of dane
Ing and charades when Mrs. Armstrong de-
clared that she "adored tbepN II was al.
ways the merriest party oil the season at
", and this time Ms. s.rmstrong decd-
ed that she would ou.-ao herself. There was
q dash 10 ore OF coqoetry in her dress; q dash
Of extravaganza IN the supper; glitter of
rare china, and perfume of rare flowers in
the parlors-just as they say v inc warns up
the wits, and fancy does love at times Ali
things would be brighter, ffeshar, more spark
ling just now, thought, or rather vaguely felt
the woman, who had just begun to know her
heart Alright, and thought that she knew an
others.
She stood ia her rich dress OF silk aud lace,
flowers In her hair, and on her bosom, before
her guests arrived, before the crate fire OF her
parlor, when some one touched her on the
shoulder, and turning she saw Charles RolSe-
wood.
Her face was little paIer, her eyes more
earnest in their look than usual, and a sort Of
happy terror came upon her as she guessed
why he had come so early.
II knew l should find you alone" he said.
sand have something to say 10 you-some-
thing"
There she stopped him.
'Don't say it noar," she pleaded. 81 have
an evening before ME which calls for all my
oalmness. If 1t is anything agitating, Ill
must ask you to wait. After those guests of
mine are gone-or tomorrow will hear
you, not now"
Charles Rokewood bowed.
Your WILL shall be my law he said and
took her hand and kissed it. She let him do
it, blushiDg the while. not daring now to look
at him.
All the evening, after the other guests were
there, her thoughts wandered back to that
moment. She knew what he would say, and
she could answer in only one way-only one
she liked him so well.
And have felt so sure l never could like
any one again" thought Hetty Armstrong.
"There is fate in it,
But she danced and sung and talked as
usual, and no one guessed that she Was
dreaming-not even Mr.. Rokewood, who
with chosen friend, had slipped away from
the parlors, and was smoking and talking in
the dfessng-room. Hetty, conscious of her
duties as hostess, insisted on being public
property, and could not be allured into a
tete-d-tete; and the women who were ready
70 be talked to he did not care about. En-
gagged men ale generally to be known by
their bearsh conduct to ladies generally, and
Rokewood, although not engaged, believed
himself far enough upon the road to forget
his old suavity, and fall back upon cigars and
masculine friends, whenever his lady-love
couid not be whispered to or gazed at. Con-
sequentIy, damsels who thought RokeWood
charming, were wondering what could have
become of him, when Biddy, the waitress.
mysteriously beckoned her mistress into the
hall, and informed her in an awful whisper,
that more spoons were naded for the
crane"
"Of course they must be-" said Mrs. Arm
strong. Where was my head, to fotees it?
III get poor Aunt Martha's set from any up-
stairs china-closet. Wait on the stairs until
come to you"
ord floor, where she plunged into a long, old
fashioned closet, and brought forth Iegacs
OF silyerware, left her years before by MAID
en- aunt Counting the spoons over, a rour-
muir OF voices from the next room fell npon
her ear. At the same moment she caught
the perfume of cigar. She knew that Char
ley mad the richest voice and smoked the best
cigars of any man of her set.
" GU dear old fellow" sha WhisDared tn