Alpena weekly argus. [volume] (Alpena, Mich.) 1871-1893, 1875-02-24
The Crack i'm the Door.

Inc Srack III the Door.
The prettiest house, the prettiest
garden, the best servants, and the
largest bank account in X. belong
ed to Mrs. Mehitable Armstrong,
widow. Some people also declar-
ed 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 it as often as they might,
every man in the place was Hetty
Armstrong; devoted servant, friend
and, dozen of them, her lovers,
also. A bright, dashing, warm
hearted woman she was, as merry
as though she had never known a
care. Not that she had forgotten
the love Of her youth-the gallant,
black-eyed captain, whose ship had
gone down in mid ocean Ave years
before, and whose pictured face
lay near her heart night and day,
sleeping or waking; but she was
too full of life and hope to live en-
tirely in the past, and loved neither
hours of melancholy nor what wo.
men call ga good cry" To forget
all sorrow, if she could, and be as
happy as she might, were the two
grand rules of her life, and there
fore people who did not know
Hetty Armstrong thought her heart
less, and made great mistake.
They called her hirt, and that
was not true, either. She only
flirted with those who began the
game first, and that woman has a
right to do. At X, if a gentleman
called twice upon lady, his atten-
tions were said to be "very partic-
ular;% If he "saw her her home
from meeting" rumor declared they
were engaged" and if he spent
an evening with her they were "to
be married next week." for GER
tainty; but Hetty Armstrong was
somehow not included In the
general rule. She had determined
to do as she choose. She went
everywhere with every unmarried
man of her set. She was friendly
when she choose to be, and flirted
when she liked. After setting gos-
sip afloat a dozen times, she gained
her point, and people left her alone.
1t was Hetty Armstrong; way, and
no indication of matrimonial inten.
tons For years gentlemen haunt
ed her parlors, escorted her hither
and thither, sang with her, con-
fided In her, and adored her, until
suddenly a stranger made his de-
but at X, and set the tongues a
going beyond even Hetty Arm
strong's power Of silencing.
He was tall, he was handsome,
he was comparatively young. He
had just that touch of the exduis-
ite about him which is so charming
when "man's man for o. that:"
faultless in toilets, faultles in mana
ner, educated, accomplished alto
gether, he openly flung himself at
Hetty Armstrong; feet and de-
clared himself her admirer. OF
course we do not mean to say that
he ruined the knees Of his faultless
habiliments by going down upon
them or in any other way conduct
ed himself as did the knights oi
old when heart smitten, but after
the manner of the nineteenth CEN
tury, he declared his intentions
He sang to and at The lady, He
haunted her parlors like a well
dressed ghost lie wrote poetry
for the "Luminary," addressed tc
IL. A. aud sigued c. r. He breath
ed deep sighs and gave soft glances
and said things that might have
double meanings. And this MOI
for week or month, but for
year, at the end Of which time Hett!