The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1869-09-03
LOVE AND coQuErRY.

LOVE AND COQUETkis
Dilly otherwise Miss Amelia Turner
was the orphan niece of Miss Penelope
Turner, o dear, sweet old maid, who over.
flowed with love and charity for every.
body, and called each individual thief and
rascal in the neighborhood "poor fellow I!
always insisting that, if 1t were not for
come opposing circumstance, he would be
q most worthy person. OF course she dotted
on Oily, and saw i'm the pretty young
creature all the charms and virtues under
the sun. Undoubtedly Oily was lovable
abe was bright, good-tempered, and very
winning; but she had one failing-she was
most thorough coquette. A cynical per,
son once remarked Of her that she would
have coquetted with her great grandfather,
If no one else could be got, just to keep
her hand in. But as this cynic was one of
those with whom billy would net coquet,
his severe Judgment might be classed with
those coming under the term, sour
ra"es" Bet be it understood that,
ftcu "a Oily had wonderful amount Of
l.c&, Ir IA IL art of using eyes, smiles,
outs and wills, s,,e used it without any
~ intent; for lough as subtle as ser
pent in coquettish ways, she was as inno-
cent-heirtcd as a child-or Aunt Pen. She
coquetted before she could walk or talk
putt x her haby head on one side. glanc-
ing up through her long lashes, and then
finishing the mat er by turning up her
ros .-bud of mouth for kiss. Do you
wonder that she continued it as a girl
continued it till stern experience gave her
q lesson that touched the centre of that
willful little heart, and rent away the net
work of folly and tri1ing that enveloped
it!
Oily could not remember either the
father or mother whose hearts had chung
fnrdly together i'm life, and now rested
side by side in far distant India Brother
and sister she never had: but when the
little creature was brought to Miss Pen
elope by her faithful nurse Susan, under
the care Of an old friend of her father
Aunt Pen took her to her warm heart from
that time forth.
All the little boys with whom Dilly
came in contact suffered more or less from
her bewitchments Many were the offer
ings laid at her shrine and Susan, who re-
manned with their, hid often to put posi-
tive veto upon pct squirrels, tame mice,
and various chnice rpccimens of animated
nature. Aunt Per would have allowed
the house to be overrun with them; but,
fortunately for her, Susan possessed more
force Of character, and, though loving
billy dearly, could make stand at times
She was, in fact, the ruling power in the
house, and Jenny, the maid-ofall-work,
looked up 10 her as superior being.
Among Diliy's youthful captives was
one dark-eyed little fellow, who remained
faithful through all the ups and downs of
childish love. Others withdrew, or Guar
relied, or formed violent attachments in
other quarters; but he never changed and
50, when she was seventeen and he twenty,
Stephen Whitmore loved her even as her
father had loved her mother But the
time had not yet come for her to either
value or understand this love. Therefore,
when Stephen came to her one day, blush
ing and trembling like a girl, to tell her
that it was decided that he was to go out
West with his uncle TO remain a year, and
would she-could She
Oily looked in his face with laughing
eyes, anu asked, would sne-could She
what,
And when Stephen stammered out some
thing, so very much confused that no one
but coquctte could have understood, she
replied that she neither would nor could
Whereupon Stephen turned and left her
without another word, but with look in
his dark eyes that haunted her for days.
But the night fore Stephen left he drew
Oily out under the old chcstnut-trees and
the question more steadily and
without stammering Her heart thrilled a
little at his earnest tone, but she refused
him, saying, sweetly, that sine would miss
him much as dear friend; upon which
Stephen started aside as though stung;
then catching her hand he pressed it to his
breast, and with a broken "Gooi-by,
Dilly!" disappeared from her sight
Aunt Pen was doing in the parlor
when poor Stephen reused her. To her
n nazement she found herself clasped in a
pair of stout young arms and warmly
pressed to r throbbing heart. In second
more she was most tendcrly kissed, and
felt two tears drop on her cheeks; and
then, before the words, "Good-by, dear, dear |
Miss PenI" had ceased to sound in her ears, i
she was once more alone.
Susan was standing at the gate, medi- |
Eating in the moonlight; Stephen wrung
her hand hard as he passed her. She |
watch d him sadly as he hurried up the
hill.
Miss Dilly has given him sore heart |
his night" she thought. "Ab, Welt l |
f~r her time will come yet. And so it |
Oh
Sc ,,n;n did t return in a years time; |
ais parents nIver .liled to receive letters |
from him eic', week, and many token |
Of fond remembrance was sent them; but |
be remailed away till three years had !
passed, and then he came. As far as out |
warJ appearance went he was a very diff |
ferent Stephen from the blushing, awk- |
ward boy that left them; he was now |
all, well-developed man, with face that |
iad force and character in every |
line, and yet with certain touch of tender
ness about the mouth and kindly CLEAN |
in the eyes that won the liking and good
will of those he looked on. But IL his |
feelings for billy were the same he con-
ccaled them so well that, although they |
were often together, the little coquette |
could not discover whether he still loved |
'rer or not. / am sorry to say that the |
three wears had not altered Oily in |
respect to csquctting-in fact, she INDUCED |
IN il more than ever, and of course was a |
greater proficient in the art she was pref |
Ter too, and that without losing her |
charming air of freshness.
Aflrr Stephen had been home about a |
month a new actor appeared upon the |
,cene This Wa o young Cuban, whose
mother was an An rican. She had some |
cousins in the neg iborhood, and had re-
luested her son To make them visit. Be- |
Dastian Torredns vas at once an object of /
interest to all the young ladies-and gen.
tlemen, too, though not for the same rea-
,on. To be sure, the young ladies would |
nave liked it better had he spoken broken |
English; but, unfortunately, having passed
he greater part of his bnyhood in the
United States. he spoke the language like
native. Still, he looked very Spanish,
md as he could speak that language also
ike q native, matters were quite satisfac-
DRY. He and billy met on equal ground,
or both were accomplished in the same
n ne of skill, and neither were in any dam
yer of being injured.
stephen still made no sign, and poor
Di ly experienced a heartfelt anxiety be-
ause he did not, before she was in the
east aware that she entertained such a
ceiling. 10 drive il away she fiirted with
he Cuban, for that reason and also with
N unacknowledgcd desire to sting Ste
,hen. if he cared enough for her to be
tung. Each day she grew more anxious
o find some mark Of interest, and each
lay was a. far from discovering it as ever.
n the midst of 1t all Stephen was obliged
o be absent for several days on some mat
ers of business, and l. his absence Oily
nund herself growing fearfully tired of
Don Sebastian Torredos. One afternoon
he set out on long walk and staid till
lusk, lest he might lounge in in his usual