The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-10-21

\ AIkAAA AAAAc t41y VI oAAS1uOWeg WulCH- w
call life, was real to her, with tn
strange wtidness Of q dream, ut o
(which the sleeper has not yet awaken
ed. a SnflE TO z.sa5,s sceTG4i :
| The great world, which she had seel
afar from the narrow limits of he
schO0l-life, was still beautiful to he
with the render glamour of youth ant
hope. The free world soil in whicl
to grow all innocent mirths and pleas
ures; a place above all Others in which
to love and be loved!. TEZ
A slender, willowy brunette, will
the warm tints of the South on hel
cheeks and lips; with sensitive, clear
cut features, fet IN heavy bands Of pur
ple-black hair, and eyes that had M
surface-fiash, but shone from within
outward-that was Ethel. Flittine
from room to room of the hotel, Ol
roaming along the beach, as her way.
ward fancy pleased, the quiet eolors o.
her dress relieved always by a dash o.
scarlet somewhere--to- day the ribbon
at her throat, or the knot of geraniulns
in her hair; tomorrow the scarf wrap
ped about her in some picturesque FASH.
ion of her own-she seemed, in hei
unconscious natMalness, like some bird
Ofan uninhabited island, tame to the
approach of the explorer, in happy ig-
nOrance of the stern lore of the foWling
piece and snare. ~ ll- *
Her overflow of spirits was something
wonderful. In the breezy morning,
while half the inmates of the. house
were In their beds, Ethel would be
wandering along the shore watching
the sun rise from the waves, and send
ing her thought far out in the pathway
of light which narrowed to her feet; OF
gallOping along the hard, sandy floor,
the quick beat of her horses hoofs
keeping time to her merry round of talk
with some early cavalier. Upon the
sea she was always content-as if it had
been some great living creature which
she loved and trusted-equally eager
and happy, whether sshadowed by the
white wings Of Fred Alban's elegant
yacht, or taking patient lessons at the
oar in old Fisherman Joe's little dory.
Meanwhile, the little hotel world
thought and talked of her more than
she knew. One party ardently admir-
ed her careless ease, and the delicious
abandon with which she threw herself
tnoo CNCAy pOyOCe VI paCoouiCI AuoAAuS
that an end in itself, which, to so many
Others, was only . means for the ac-
complishment of subtler purpose.
Others, mainly women whose rush.
light paled before her steady star, re.
yenged themselves by malicious COM
ment on disregarded rules and conven-
tionalities, calling her odd," with all
the terrible weight of meaning which
that harmless monysyllable may be
made to carry. os7 81 qa,- iei1af. p
Some of the many streams of gossip
eonverged into the ear of Mrs. Fitz
Warren, who, as an old friend Of Eth
els dead mother, had claimed the priv
ilege of escorting her to the seaside, but
the childless old lady loved the bright
girl (who petted and caressed her as q
daughter might have done) too well to
grieye her by a single disapproving
word
lone can never be young but once,
50 let there be no snow in Junew she
said softly to herself and Ethel went
her careless way, unsuspecting the cruel
wound that awaited her. 1t happened
thus: 81 .4.,is.s ~ co ) rIi,. E.
She sat one evening at the open win
dow of her little room, preferring her
moon-lit solitude to the, gay company
below. The sound of voices made her
look down, and in the dim half-light
she saw three girls step out upon the
veranda, and sit down in the shadow of
the climbing vines. 80
"What a lovely evening!n That
was Sara Sutton's voice. r->..-.7
"YOu think sO?n said Blanche Dare,
the tall blonde, drawing her light shawl
about her shoulders, with little shiv-
er breaking through the languid digni-
ty which snited her 50 we'll
"Oh, Blanche does not light up well
by moon-beams p' laughed Annie VIM
cent, the third speaker : If she were
only dark beautyv'
Like ia belle Stanley" said Sara,
with something like d sneer, "wIso, 1
suppose, is wearing her scarlet favors
on the bay tonight"
"She went with the sailing party
then?" asked Blanche, with a slight
glow of interest.
"Need you ask, knowing that NVirt
Steele was to go? Though what he
can fancy in that girl is beyond my
understanding" <ftl ~
Ills D1u tdoIc ID oCdICtly SOiltdl VI
said Annie, I" if one may judge by the
attention she receives"
Attention I" answered Sara sharp
ly. Why an organ-grinder may
draw a crowd p" y
"You speak warmly
Well, and If do? 1t is her artful-
ness that exasperates me. Such child
ish innocence; such unaffected enthu-
siasm! That style should be worn out
I think. Then, too, how plainly she
dresses, when to my certain knowledge
she might, ifshe would, spend as rAuch
for gloves, as / can extract for, my
whole wartlrobe." "Ns' '-
can example ofprimitive simplicity
in degenerate agew -. 81 ,-au
"Of course it is for efiect-what else?
Why Mrs. Fitz Warren does not check
her forward ways, L cannot divine.
But the girl fawns around her like
pet spaniel. 1t is easy to see why-as
If one fortune were not enough ~
Poor Ethel she had sat at first, too
much astonished to move, but now she
sprung up, indignant pain mingled
with q half,guilty consciousness of
having listened to words not intended
for her ears. She threw herself on a
couch and buried her hot cheek in the
pillow, trying to think collectedly but
the hateful murmnri Of voices still
sounding indistinctly from below she
wound light wrap about her, and ran
down the stairway, and out by the rear
entrance, to one Of her favorite haunts
upon the shore. T.
Scarcely had she sunk down breAth-
lessly upon rude seat in the shadow
cf rock, when fate overlook her again
i'm the person of Writ Steele-not with
the sailing party after all-who saun-
tered slowly up, arm-in-arm with his
friend Tom Burns, whom he had coax
ed from his dingy office to spend
night with him ut the beach. Just on
the other side of the rock they paused.
Unable to run away without Observa-
ton, Ethel sat still, while the perfume
of their cigars was tossed to her on the
wings of the salt breeze.
"They told me at Burton's that you
i were going it strong with certain rich
Miss Stanley here" said Tom, "but l
insisted that it could be nothing more
than o fiirtation.r a am e Il
rrr