The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-12-10
MISS ASHURST.
" Hang Miss Ashurst,,''
q Oh PHILIP

Hang Miss Ashurst,''
"Oh, Philip
Well, l can't help it. Why does
she come to spoil everything? Don't !
know how it will be?-always Miss
Ashurst TO be considered. taken about,
included in everything. No more drives
and boat-rows, just you and me, Amy;
no more evenings on the doorstep.
declare I've a great mind to 90 over to
Uncle Phil's at Goshen for a month";"
Now, Phil, please (coaXingly.) cit
won't be so bad as you think. Besides,
you may like her very much. Mother
says her mother was the greatest beauty
in Connecticut
She isn't n beauty, though; I'll bet
on that. A talking, writing, society wo-
man hate the kind. Amy, will you
go out for a row? Well have one more
while the boat is all our own"
This cOnfabulatiOn was held on either
side of the Widow Mauran's garden gate
"A model gate for purposes of CONVERSE
ton, Just high enough and wide enough
to accommodate two pairs of elbows, and
allow the owners of the elbows to look
easily into each others eyes. Phil
smiled into Amv's as he swung wide the
barrier. He offered his arm, she took it,
and they sauntered down to the shore
They were a picturesque couple to look
at. Tall Phil, in spite of his momentary
ill-tempeT, possessed Il frank, handsome
face lit with fae eyes and the sweetest
of smiles; while little Amy's modest,
wild-fower beauty was exquisite in its
way. Second cousins, intimate friends
all but declared lovers, it was a pleasant
matter of course that they should be al
ways together; and in spite of Amy's
disclaimers, she was at the bottom Of her
heart as sorry As Phil at this interruption
to their tete-a-tcte-as sorry or sOrrier;
for blended with her regret was the in
stinctive apprehension of a girlish heart,
which, pledged in fact though not in
name, grleves with the unspOken dread
that some other woman may yet pass by
to snatch from her very lips the coveted
untasted cup in whose depth lies, or
seems to lie, all the best sweetness of
coming life. ii was a comfort to have
Philip so cross about it, however; and in
the effort to soothe him, she, woman-hke,
forgot her own annoyance. SO the even
ing ended happily.
Next day brought the expected guest.
Amy's first glance sent her heart to
quaking again. Never had she seen a
woman in the least like this. Rose
Ashurst was one of those born enchant-
resses who reign not only by intention,
but by right. Her beauty would have
been remarkable had not her charm been
more remarkable. Her wit and talent
were balanced by a sweet humoT which
pervaded every word and act, and fla
vored all with fascination. Tact, cul-
ture, the perfect selfpossession which
verges upon self-forgetfumess, lent their
aid 10 complete her attraction. And all
was real. There was no pretense about
Miss Ashurst The kind looks which
beamed from her beautiful eyes sprung
from kind heart She threw herself
into the interest of every human creature
who approached her with a warmth born
of true sympathy. No wonder she was
popular Popularity hardly spoiled her.
She received her daily ovations as a mat
ter of course, half indifterently, half
gratefully, but always with a modest
grace which enhanced her effect. A
dangerous woman this to bring into pro-
pinquity with susceptible youths. Poor
AMY
But Amy, too, felt the charm. The
dazzling brown eyes which had bewitched
so may hearts worked their spell upon
in settling the newcomer and her belong
ings. This month in Pemigewasset was a
sudden whim of Miss AshUrsts. She want
ed quiet and place to write in, and the
old homestead in which her great-grand-
mother was born seeming to meet these
conditions, she wrote to offer herself as
an inmate; and Mrs. Mauran, who was
glad to add to her small income by an
Ioy. MI
All manner of pretty things came out of
the trunks to adorn the simple chamber.
Miss Ashurst could not live without
artistic surroundings, and Travelled al
ways with photographs, sketches, books,
small articles Of rirtU, and bits of bright
color in this or that. These disposed on
walls and table, with daintily frilled and
embroidered covers laid over the old
fashioned pillows, an easel with its can
vases and oil-tuhs in one corner Miss
Ashurst painted pictures,) a writing Ia
bic eXquisitely arranged drawn into the
window miss Ashurst wrote books,
sweet-faced Madonna painted on ivory,
few flowers grouped in a classic vase,
made the homely keepingroOm chamber
over into a bower of romance, simple
Amy thought She stood as in a dream,
inhaling the perfume of a wide luxurious
life, of a whole world of sensations and
sights unknown until now, and scarcely
cOmprehended.
"Therer' said Miss Ashurst, giving
the last touch to her vase of clematis
and roses, ''now | shall do beautifully.
What a pleasant room this Is! The very
exposure | like best, and such a sweet
view! 1t is just the room to work in. !
am glad your mother let me come, Amy
may call you Amy, may | not? We
are relatives, you know-far away, but
still relatives"
ooh yes, please do" cried Amy,
"every one else calls me So"
Chow lovely she is" was her solil-
oquy as she went down stairs. 81 Won
der what Phil will think of her2 He
will be surprised, Pm sure, but he must
admire her; he can't help it."
She watched the expression of his eyes
mt teatime, but it told her nothing. Phil