American citizen. [volume] (Canton, Miss.) 1864-1890, 1875-01-30
THE CRACK In THE DOOR.

food Words.
THE CRACK In THE DOOR.
The pfettiest house, the prettiest gar
den, the best servants and the largest
bank account in X. belonged to Mrs
Mehitable Armstrong. widow. Some
people also declared that she was the
prettiest woman in X, but these
were not the other women. They said
that she had red hair and was too fat,
and what the gentlemen saw to admire
in her they could not guess, ETC., etc
but. say il as often as they might, every
man in the place was Hettv Armstrong;
devoted servant, friend, and, dozen of
them, her lovers, also. A bright, dash
ing, warm-hearted woman she was, as
merry as though she had never known a
care. Not that she had forgotten the
love of her y0uth-the gallant, black
eyed captain whose ship had gone down
in mid-Ocean five years before, and whose
pictured face lay near her heart night
and day, sleeping and waking; but she
was too full of life and hore to live en-
tirely in the past, and loved neither
hours Of melancholy nor what women
call "a good cry" Toforget all sorrow
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 fiirt, and that was
not true, either. She only firted with
those who began the game first, and that
. woman has a right to do. At X, if
. gentleman called twice upon a lady, his
attentions were said to be livery partic-
ular;;" if be "saw her home from meet
ing" rumor declared that they were
"engagcd;" and if he spent an evening
with her, they were " to be married next
week" for certainty; but Hetty Arm
strong was somehow not included 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 be,
and fiirted when she liked. After setting
gossip af0at q dozen times she gained
her point, and people left her alone. 1t
was Hetty Armstrong; way, and no in
dicatiOn of matrimonial intentions. For
years gentlemen haunted her parlors, es-
cOrted her hither and thither, sung with
her, danced with her, cOnfided in her,
and adOred her, and village gossip had
not married her, until suddenly stranger
made his debut at x. and set the tongues
a-gOing beyond even Hetty Armstrong;
power of silencing.
He was tall, he was handsome, he was
touch of the exquisite about him which
Is 80 charming when q mans a man for
a that" faultless in toilet, faultless in
manner. educated, accomplished alto
gether, he openly flung himself at Hetty
Armstrong; feet and declared himself
her admirer. Of course we do not mean
to cay that he ruined the knees of his
faultless habiliments by going down
upon them, or in any other way conduct
Qa no kniU Of old
when hexrtsmitten, but, after the man
ner Of the nineteenth century, he de-
clared his intentions quite as openly.
He sang to and at the lady. He haunt
ed her parlors like a welI-dressed ghost.
He wrote poetry for the Lumina,y,
addressed to II. A and signed c. r. He
breathed deep signs and gave soft
glances, and said things that might have
double meanings. And this not for
week or month, but for a year, at the
end Of which time Hetty Armstrong be-
gan to understand that she was expected
by everybody to accept Charles ROke-
wood when he offered her his heart and
hand Meanwhile, the soft eyes and
sweet voice. the delicate attentions and
the winning songs of her admirer were
not without their effect upon Hetty Arm.
strong's heart. 1t began to be conscious
of certain tremors and futterings in his
presence. Her cheeks flushed as they
had in girlhOod. Her dreams were not
the sober, practical dreams which nature
ut five-and-twenty should alone indulge |
in; and IS the days rolled on she felt |
more conscious that the Y esq which |
was expected of her would be easily ut
tered
She tried to be prudent and Judge the |
man carefully. The result was that she |
declared him to be San angel" At last |
Hetty Armstrong fairly let go of the rud- |
der Of self-will to which she had chung |
SO long, and allowed herself to drift |
down the tide of circumstances which |
were to lead her into the arms of Charles |
lockwood. She felt that life would be |
happier with such bosom to repose !
upon, and began to wonder whether it |
really was necessary for a widow to be |
married in pearl color when white was so |
becoming to her complexion.
So matters stood when Christmas drew
near, and with it Hetty Armstrong; reg
ulsr Christmas Eve party. All X, or
nearly all, would be there, even the Rev. |
Luther Paragon, who amiably forgot to |
say that he disapproved of dancing and |
charades when Mrs. Armstrong declared |
that " she adored them" 1t was always |
the merriest party of the season at x, |
and this time Mrs. Armstrong decided |
that she would Guido herself There |
was dash more of coquetry in her |
dress; dash of extravaganza in the
supper; glitter of rare china and a per-
fume OF rare flowers in the parlors
as they say wine warns up the wits and |
fancy does love at times. All things |
would be brighter, fresher, more spark |
ling just now thought, or rather vague
Iy felt. the woman who had Just begun
10 know her heart right and thought she |
knew another's.
She stood, in her rich dress of lace and |
silk, flowers in her hair and on her |
bosom, before her guests arrived, in front |
Of her crate fire in the parlOr, when some
one touched her on the shoulder, and,
turning, she saw Charles Rokewood.
Her face was a little paler, her eyes
more earnest in their look than usual,
and q sort of happy terror hung upon
her as she guessed why he had come so
early.
knew | should find you alone" he