New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1874-10-18

bulky eplstle, IN eCrOng linen envelope,
sealed with five wax seals, was waiting on
nouncement; the door opened. and a little
outside, in the shadow, l saw an old
woman, in q threadbare dress of rusty
black.
Come in ~ I said.
':The letter" answered husky voice.
She stretched out bony hand. without
moving step.
ut is for a lady--very important bus!.
ness," said l, taking up the letter; '.are
you sure that there is no mistaken
She drew her hand under the shawl,
turned without word and moved toward
the hall door.
'.Stop " cried; 81 beg thousand par.
dons! Take it. take it. You are the right
messenger"
She clutched it, and was Instantly gone.
Several days passed, and gradually be-
the point Of inserting another PERSONAL
in the daily papers, when the answer ar.
rived. 1t was brief and mysterious; you
shall hear the whole of it.
II thank you. Your letter is a sacred
confidence which pray you never to re.
greet. Your nature is sound and good. You
ask no more than is reasonable, and have
no right to refuse. In the one respect
which have limited, l may have been UNI
skillful or too narrowly cautious; l must
have the certainty Of this. Therefore. as a
generous favor, give me Elk months more!
At the end Of that time will write to you
again. Have patience with these brief
lines; another word might be q word too
much"
You notice the change in her tonei The
letter gave me the strongest impression OF
q new, warm, almost anxious interest on
her part. My fancles. as first at Wamp.
socket. began to play all sorts Of singular
pranks; sometimes she was rich and of an
old family, sometimes moderately poor and
obscure. bus always the same calm. repose-
full face and clear gray eyes. ! ceased
looking for her in society. quite sure that
should not find her, and nursed q wild
expectation Of suddenly meeting her. face
to face, in the most unlikely places and
under startling circumstances. However,
the end of it all was pstience-patiepce for
six months.
There's not much moro to tell; but this
last letter is hard for me to read. 1t came
punctually to day. knew it would. and
at the last began to dread the time. as il
q heavy note were falling due, and had
no funds to meet it. My head was IN a
stared at me blankly at once, but it was .
long time before the words and sentences
became Ineligible.
"The stipulated time has come. and our
hidden romance is at an end. Had taken
this resolution year ago, it would have
saved me many vain hopes. and you, per-
haps, little uncertainty. Forgive me,
first, if you can. and then hear the explana.
ton.
"You wished for personal interview:
you have had. not one. but many. We
have met in society, talked face to face, dis.
cussed the weather, the opera, toilettes,
Queechy, Aurora Floyd, Long Branch and
Newport. and exchanged a weary amount
Of fashionable gossip; and you never guessed
that was governed by any deeper interest.
I have purposely uttered ridiculous plat.
tudes. and you were as smilingly courteous
as if you enjoyed them. have let fall re.
marks whose hollowness and selfishness
could not have escaped you. and have wait.
manly reproof. Your manner to me was
as it was to all other
women; but there lies the source of my dis.
appointment, of-yes-of my sorrow.
'You appreciate, can not doubt. the
qualities in q woman which men value IN
one anOther-culture, Independence of
thought, high and earnest apprehension
Of lite; but you know not how to seek them.
1t is not true that a mature and unperverted
woman is flattered by receiving only the
general Obsequiousness which most men
give to the whole sex. In the man who
and strives with her, she dis.
covers a truer interest, q nObler respect.
The pty-headed, spindle-shanked youths
who dance admirably. understand some.
thing Of billiards, much less of horses. and
still less OF navigation. soon grow mex.
pressibly wearisOme to US; but the men who |
adopt their social courtesy. never seeking !
to arouse. uplift. instruct us. are a bitter |
"What would have been the end. had you |
really found me? Certainly sincere. sat- |
isfying friendship. No mysterious mag. |
netic force has drawn you to me nor held |
you near me, nor has my experiment in. !
spired me with an interest which can net |
be given up without a personal paug. l am |
grieved for the sake of all men and all |
Yet, understand me: mean no |
slightest reproach. esteem and honor you |
for what you are. Farewell"'
There. Nothing could be kinder in tone. !
nothing more humiliating in substance. l |
was sore and offended tor few days; but |
soon began to see. and ever more and |
more clearly that she was wholly right. ! |
was sure. also, that any further attempt to /
correspond with her would be vain. 1t /
BIZ comes of taking society just as we fad !
it. and surprising that conventional courtesy |
is the only safe ground on which men and
women can meet.
The fact is--there's no use in hiding it |
from myself land see by your face that
the letter cuts into your own cOnscience)-. |
she is a free. courageous. independent char. |
acter. and-I am not.
But who was she!-ANdntic Jfon!hiy.