San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1877-12-01
u1AHARD WOMAN.
A Thanksgiving Idyl.

waiting for the bell that was to summon
her to her lonely dinner, and as she
waited she looked into the glowing coal
FIRE, and conjured up visions of the past,
not pleasant or profitable ones, but true,
and as they flashed and faded before
her some late impulse moved her to
speech. lrsh III ban AZ ~ y '.'ag
Yes, she had been 10 hard woman!
cold, tyrannical, Notwithstanding not
as others did, nor ever forgivirg those
who sinned; loving her own ease, her
own imperious will, and standing in
conscious pride alone on the high
plateau of worldly success; she had
married young for wealth and position;
her husband gave her both, and then
wearied Of his loveless marriage and
went abroad. Three months after the
birth Of a daughter whom he was never
to see he died in foreign land, and
strangers buried him. ,,1.,, ,,,O
His wife paid The utmost respect to his
memory, and secluded herself from So
ciety with her child, a little, fragile
thing, fair as a lily, with timid, cling
ing nature, always longing for love that
it was afraid to demand. Mrs. Arnold
was proud Of her child, and loved
it in her own way, but she was disap-
pointed in not being helmother of son
who would do and dare great things in
the world, instead of this slender, fright
ened girl, who was dreamer and ro-
mancer, and Of whom she, could never
make grand character. Some rstrain
Of heroic blood must have wandered in
Mrs. Arnold's veins. and il, absorbed all
the tender essences of her woman's ma
ture. 7sf-. 0 zl,1 art
She was thinking of her daughter as
she sat there alone upon this night,
when kindred should have met at her
hearthstone. 1t was ten years since
she had looked on her face; five since
she had sent her letters back to her
marked unread" and since then she
had heard nothing. Ten years ago she
was SIS years old, still widow, and
very handsome. Disdaining the COM
mon mediums of affection and inter-
course with her kind, she had constitut-
ed herself a sort of Lady Bountiful to
poor musicians, authors, and. artists,
who must have genius and gratitude,
She elevated them by her wealth and in
fiuence to a pedestal before her, and
they were required to bend to worship
her, not as a woman, but as a goddess.
Such homage did not seem base, for she
was a aueenly woman. IL. .el~..4 .,.
| But she was only woman, and then
came one man to whom her soul at last
went out in love, melting the cold bar
riers Of pride in its genial warmth, and
flooding her soul with a new, delicious
life, so that even her child seemed to her
new revelation of delight. This man
was Francis Dare, the artist, and he was
the last person to whom any one would
have relegated such a position. Gifted,
indolent, with a southern beauty of
physique, and loving and romantic as a
girl, he seemed mere boy in COM
parison with Miriam Arnold, though in
reality few years older than she; but
who can understand ,woman's hearth
Miriam loved him with all the repressed
affection of her proud nature, and less
obtuse man would have discovered the
knowledge. Dare's nature was weak
he had been petted and flattered all his
life; he could not at once make up his
mind to break from so sweet bondage.
At last he went, and Miriam Arnold's
little daughter went with him-almost a
child, yet she, too, had watched
the handsome artist at work, and her
mother had needed her no more than
one of the dolls she lately played with.
They were married before they left
Washington, thevery hour, in fact, they
left the house, and Francis Dare had the
marriage published in all the papers.
He did not int nd to bring any con-
tempt on this little girl, who loved and
trusted him, and from that hour to this
they had never looked on the mothers
face.
The blow almost killed her; it was so
unexpected, and coming from such a
source. But she made no sign to the
world. When her daughter tried to
reach her she sent her letters back, and
that was the end. Francis Dare made
no reputation with his pictures, and
passed out of sight and mind.
Mrs. Arnold removed to the West,
IL Il. 4