The Beaufort tribune and Port Royal commercial. [volume] (Beaufort, S.C.) 1877-1879, 1877-11-22
The Burnt Letter.

1t was gossiping nelghbor who had
been spending an hour with Mrs. Webb,
and just before she went she had let fly
the arrow she had kept in her quiver.
"Your son Grantley goes over the
hill tn the Burdock's pretty often, Mrs.
Webb," said she.
"I don't know it if he does, replied
the old lady.
Naturally he wouldn't tell you until
the last, after old Burdock's quarrel with
his dead father" said the neighbor-
"but every body else knows. It's sail
to be a settled thing. Why, Keziah saw
him kiss her at the gate one Sunday
night, and even Ann Burdock would
hardly go so far as that unless it was
so, eh? Well, goodbye"
She hurried off leaving her hostess
dumb and motionless at the door.
twas some moments before she even
thought of going in and casting herseli
into her chair, but she did it at last, anG
fell to talking to herself in this wise ::
"Oh, it's worse than anything that
ever happened to me. I've had trouble,
heaven knows, but it was the kind had
to bear if God sent it, but this doesn't
seem right. My Grantley to marry
Steven Burdock's daughter, the child Of
the very worst enemy his faith r ever had,
girl brought up by woman I daspise
Sarah Burdock never had the ways |
, liked, nor did the things Thought righ.
for woman to do. Everything is so
different with the Burdocks, 30 strange
Like ought to marry like, or there'il
never be happy home. But that's the
way with men q pretty face strikes
them and away they go, and Grantley is
like the rest. Why should he choose
Sarah Burdock's daughterl"
She rocked to and fro as she spoke,
letting her neglected knitting drop into
her lap.
"There's Fanny White" she mur-
INJURED, ga nice, thrifty girl and Min
ME Holm. Why, her motheris the best
friend have. There are plenty of girls
I could have made up my mind to
though don't known Grantley should
marry any one yet. But Ann Burdock,
with her snowy ways, and her airs and
graces, / neter can welcome her, never,
never. 1 must go away and live by my
self if she comes here to lord it over the
house and her mother, no doubt, will
come and sit and talk in her foolish,
fighty way and the sisters will sit in
the parlor windows, and take up the
table. They'll be here half the time,
and make nobody OF me. I know them.
Oh if my Grantley does marry Ann
Burdock. But it can't be 1t can't"
Just then foot struck the floor of the
porch, the window raised little, and
through the aperture came flying two
letters. One yellow, vulgar looking
missive, the other little white envelope
with q monogram upon it.
The old lady looked up.
The postman, who had thus easily de-
livered his letters, looked over his
shoulder, and laughed and nodded at
her, as he hurried away with his leather
bag upon his arm, and she put on her
spectacles to read the superscriptions.
The yellow envelope held only one OF
those circulars with which tradesmen of
all sorts are in the habit of flooding the
country. The white one was not ad-
dressed to her, but to her son, and the
monogram was very pretty silver and
blue A. B.
"Ann Burdock," said the old lady.
"It's note from her. Now, 1 wonder
what she has written to my boy? I'd
like to know. It's very easy opening
these envelopes. 'Tisn't as if they were
sealed and what harm would it be for
a mother to read q letter to her son
I've half mind to do it. Only he'd be
angry, maybe. Well, then, I'm angry
too, and with more reason. Yes Il
will"
A little old-fashioned copper kettle
simmered and bubbled upon the stove.
A little spirit of steam arose from its
spout.
The old lady looked at it. Then,
rising, she crept across the floor in
guilty sort of fashion, and held the en-
velope with it's flaps downward, close to
the mouth of the spout.
She held it for a few moments, and
then softly touched it with her thumb
and finger.
1t was quite damp, and one fold peeled
away from the other very easily, and
there lay the little note in her hand.
She mi ght have read it if she chose
il there were secrets in it, Miss Ann
Burdock should have secured them bst-
A.. g.. - --.,i5 .,iSk - q EkkSs 49,. a.