Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1875-02-04
THE CRACK IN THE DOOE.

The prettiest house, the prettiest
garden, 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 it as often as they might, every
man in the place was Hetty Armstrong;
devoted servant, friend, and, a dozen
of them, her lovers, also. A bright,
dashing, warm-hearted woman she was,
as merry as though she had never
known care. Not that she had for
gotten the love of her youth-the gal
liant. black-eyed captain, whose ship had
gone down in mid-ocean five years be-
fore, and whose pictured face lay near
her heart night and day, sleeping and
waking; but she was too full of life
and hope to live entirely in the past,
and loved neither hours of melancholy
nor what women call "good cry" To
forget al sorrow, if sac could, and be
as happy as she might, were the two
grand rules of her life, and therefore
people who did not know Hetty Arm
strong thought her heartless, and made
a great mistake.
They called her hirt, 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 Y,
if gentlemen called twice upon lady,
his attentions were said to be "very
particular - if he saw her home from
meeting" rumor declared that they
were " engaged" and if he spent an
evening with her, they we're "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
wber she chose to be, ard firted when
she liked. After setting gossip afoat
a dozen times, she gained her point,
and people left her alone. It was Hetty
Armstrong; way, and no indication of
matrimonial intentions. For years
gentlemen haunted her parlors, escorted
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 going beyond even Hetfy
Armstrong; power of silencing.
He was tall, he was handsome, he
was comparatively young. He had
just that touch of the exquisite about
him which is so charming when "a
mans man for a that faultless in
toilet, faultless In manner, educated,
accomplished altogether, he openly
flung himself at Hetty Armstrong;
feet and declared 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 conducted himself
as did the knights of old when heart
smitteu, but, after the manner of the
nineteenth century, he declared his in
tentions quite as openly.
He sang to and at the lady. He
haunted her parlors like well-dreesed
ghost. He wrote poetry for the
4sLuminary," addressed to ii. A. and
signed G. B.. he breathed deep signs
and gave soft glancss, and said things
that might have double meanings.
And this not Tor a week or a month, but
for year, at the end of which time