New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-03-31
CRAB POINT.
BY VIRGINIA T. TOWNSEND.

IA NlfGlNlA +. TOW NSEtD
From Demorest's Monthly Magazne.l
The woman who is to stand in the fore
ground of this little sketch OF mine cane
out from long struggling grove OF pines,
and walked across the warm. wet sands OF
the small cape which ran sharply into the
sea.
She walked in quiet, leisurely way. stop
ping occasionally to gather a shawl Oh some
soft wool about her shoulders or to take IN
some effect of the Clouds, or the water, or
the beach. l hardly know whether she was
handsome woman-people differ so widely
in their understanding OF that adjective
but she certainly was striking one.
She was young still; if in reality she was
among her thirties you would not have sus-
pected it, even il the strong. low lights
which the sea sunset threw upon her face.
She had a clear brOwnish complexion and
dark-grayish eyes that shaded into blue;
soft, abundant hair, of that shade, too,
which hesitates doubtfully betwixt brown
and black: and lips which made you think
of red-throated bird, with a streak of sun
shine across the color.
There are heaps of clouds in the low sea
horizon, gray, with hot. glitter of flame at
the edges, that widens all the time. and III
the midst burns the fiery crater Of the sun,
fast going down in the sea now.
The tide IS coming In, too; the waves,
white, happy things, gamboling up, and
thrusting their clear, cold faces lovingly on
the still sands, and then retreating, half in
play, half in fright at their own audaci.y. in
the midst Of little tinkling, rus;ling laugh
tiers.
This woman, Margaret Duane, has come
out to see and enjoy it all. She Has been
spending the summer, or a large part Of il,
at Crab Point. She had plenty of fun at
first out OF the bomely old name but has
grown rather 10 like it of late. Her brother
and his two children are with her He is
prosperous city merchant. deep in his for
ties and widower Margaret has long
been an orphan and has lived with
this brother Of hers since she left
gile creature, had been very fond Of her
young sister-in-law. and on her death bed
had solemnly commended the children to
the charge Of their aunt. Whatever sac
rifces ali this involved, Margaret Duane
was the sort of woman 10 make them. al
though when you spoke OF these there
would come a singular light into her face,
and she would tell you that she did not
know what that word meant, so far as her
relations with the children were concerned.
The house where the Duanes have been
boarding tits summer stands at the head OF
grassy lane, with low fields and rising
pasture grounds sweeping away from the
three sides of the building-an old, ram
bling farm house, with wide double piazzas
at tie front, where you can sit and watch
the ocean in all its wonder OF moods and
changes, where you can hear the winds
grieve in tire pines and the surf break is
LUCE shining lengths upon the sands. or
get trcm side and back windows pretty
effects OF meadow and pasture land.
Often, during this summer, Margaret
said to herself, Il wonder ii anybody but
an artist has any right to be here The
land and the sea should be his.
Once she said this to her brother. 1t was
a moonlight night, and they two We're on
the piazza alone. Earth and ocean were
glorified in tlat white, still rapture of
light.
General Duane took his cigar from his
mou tn very leisurely, looking at Margaret
little 4uizzically: 1T strikes me, Mar
garet," he said; that anybody has a right
to the scene who pays for it,
That shows the man: yet he was an hon |
est, good natured gentleman, with solid, |
compact figure, grayish whishers, and a |
little growing badness at the top of his |
head, and some shadow of family likeness
to Margaret, which, when you came to !
search for it, always eluded you.
But to come back to Margaret, making |
her way slowly over the little sandy cape,
which struck, perhaps, an eighth of a mile
land was frequently submerged by the
tides; tresses OF coarse, gray grass waved
sparsely among the sands. and there were
stray locks OF sea weed and broken shells.
A low. desolate sea coast yet it had char
acter Of its own, which seized hold at once
OF the aesthetic sence. Grab Point be-
long 10 an artist" as Margaret mad said
The sands were warm where the hot sun
shine had been lying all day. Bits OF breeze.
with a little salt cool sting. came in with
the tide, and touched Margaret's hair She
had come down to the shore without so
much as her sun-hat on.
What a pleasant world it is she mur-
INJURED to herself such light coming mo
her eyes, and the gladness that was sweeter
than a smile and yet not precisely one
growing about the fine, red curve Of her
lips.
By some subtle line of association those
words carried Margaret Duane
back into her past: the light faded from her
Dyes, her whole face grew grave and sad |
the shadow of an old pain, an awful one
came up. A woman with face Ike that
would be sure to have some vital experiences
Margaret Duane, going down that lOw
stretch of sandy shore, with the pines be-
hind her and the ocean in front, saw no
more the curve and dip of the seagulls. nor
The white sails of distant sloops, like banks
If snowy blossoms. She saw across the
years, some days rising up-days which had
,olOred AM shaped more or less, all her
Between these days, of course, there Were
backgrounds of soft lights and shadows
weeks, months, years, indeed, stepped in
rosy atmospheres of girlhood and youth;
but these days which rose up in Margarets
memory, clear and sharp, like promontories
along smooth levels of coast are all with
which you and have to do.
One malone only, had come into Mar
yaret Duanes life to make any vital issues
there. Others had touched her girlish
ancy, or stirred her young ina ginaton, but
he interest they had awakened had been
leeting until he came-he OF whom she had |
aid III her soul, Behold the king" {
Nature like Margarets would be likely to
,e romantic in its youth, yet he was no
man who had taken posses
ion of her imagination.
Dick Kennedy was a younger brother of |
;eralds partner. He was man Of the
world little this or the other side of
hirty, had finished his college course with l
Extensive travel, and was just returned '
rom a several years business residence |
rom abroad, when Margaret met him for I
he first time. t
lie understood women in certain way. t
md better how to make himself agreeable | a
o them. t
Without being at all an Adonis, there r
was something attractive in his presence. i
and good deal of social magnetism in
Dick Kennedy. He could talk about