The Canton mail. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 18??-1882, 1875-02-06

But only-a long oreAard lane.
Where she had waited Al In snini .sszzs--s
-Nord Perry.
* go
THE CRACK IN TBR DOOR.
The prettiest house, pretsiest garden
the best servants, and the largest banl
account in K. belonged to Mrs. Mehita
BILE Armstrong. widow. Some peopl.
also declared that she was the pretties,
woman in x, but these were not tn,
other women. They said That she hai
red hair, and WAS too fat and What the
gentlemen saw to admire in her they
could not guess, etc, etc; but, say il
rs often as they might, every man in the
place was Hetty Armstrong; devoted
servant, friend, and, Q dozen of them,
her lovers, also. A bright, dashing,
warm-hearted woman she was, Is merry
as though she had never known . care.
Not that she had forgotten the love of
her youth-the gallant, hlack-eyed cap
tain, whose ship had gone down in mid
ocean five years before, and whose pic
tured face lay near her heart eight and
day, sleeping ard waking; but she was
too full of life and hope to live entirely
in the past, and loved neither hours OF
melancholy, not what women call ssa
good cry" To forget all sorrow, If she
could, and to be as happy IS she might,
were the two grand rules of her life,
and, therefore, people who did not
know Hetty Armstrong thought her
heartless. and made great mistake.
They called her a hirt, and that was
not true, either. She only 1irted with
those who began the game first, and
that a woman had q right to do. AK.
If gentleman called twice upon Q lady,
his attentions were said to be "very par
ticular :" "if he saw her home from
meeting" rumor declared that they
were engaged :" ard if he spent an
evening with her. they were '"to be
married next week. for certainty; but
Hetty Armstrong was somehow not in
cluded in the general rule. She had
determined TO do as she chose. She
went everywhere with every unmarried
gentleman of her set. She was friendly
when she chose to DO, and hirted when
she liked. After setting gossip afloat
dozen times, she gained her point, and
people left her alone. It was Hetty
Armstrong; way, and no Indication of
matrimonial intentions. For years gen.
tlemen haunted her parlors, escorted
her hither and thither, sung with her.
danced with her, oonfidd with her. and
adored her, and village gossip had not
not married her, until suddenly a ttran-
ger made his debut at K, and set the
tongues going beyond even Hetty Arm
strong's power of silencing.
He was tall, he was handsome. he vas
comparatively young. He had Just that
touch OF exquisite about him which is
so charming when ga mans a man for
q that :" faultless in toilet, faultless in
manner, education, accomplished alto
gether, he openly flung himself at Hekty
Armstrong; feet and declared himself
her admirer. OF course We do NOT mean
to say that he ruined the kneessiof his
faultless habiliments by going down
upon them, or in any other way conduct
ed himself as did the knights of old when
heart-smitten. but, sitter the manner Of
the nineteenth century he declared his
quite as openly.
He sang to and at the lady. He
her parlors like we'll dressed
ghost. He wrote poetry for the "Lumi.
nary" addressed to. h. A. and signed
G. r. he breathed deep signs and
gave soft glances, and said things that
might have double msanings. And
this not for week OF month, but for
a year, at the end Of which time Hetty
began to understand that
she was expected by everybody to 10.
cept Charles lockwood when he offered
her his heart and hand, Meanwhile,
the soft eyes and sweet voice, tie deli
cate attentions, and the winning songs
Of her adH1irer were not without their
effect upon Hetty Armstrong; heart.
It began to be conscious of certain
fremors and gatherings in his presence.
Her cheeks flushed as they had in girl
hood. 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 vas
expected of her would be easily uttered.
She tried to be prudent and Judge
The man carefully. The result was that
she declared him to be can angel" At
last Hetty Armstrong fairly let 20 of
he rudder of self-wiu, to whicf, he had
,lung 30 long, and allowed herself to
1rift down the tide of circumstances
which were to lead her into tho arms of
Charles lockwood. She felt that life
would be happy with such q bosom to
,epose upon, and began to wonder
whether it really was necessary for
widow to be married in pearl color when
white was 50 becoming to her complex
on.
So matters stood when Christmas
lrew near, and with it Hetty Arm
trong's regular Christmas eve party.
Ill X, or nearly all, would be there
wen the Rev. Luther Paragon, who
Imiably forgot to say that he disap-
,roved of dancing and charsdes when
drs. Armstrong declared that "she
dored them" It was always the mer-
lest party of the season at K, and
his time Mrs. Armstrong decided that
he would outdo herself. There was
ASH more of coquetry in her dress
ash of extravaganza in the supper q
s:st.~ 81 vovo China and a r,erfurne of