The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-02-22
A TERRIBLE CONFESSION.

ter begging and praying for week they |
have at last allowed me pen and ink; /
here ON this untouched white paper L |
can tell it all. Alice Walton was my |
first and only intimate friend. We |
were fast friends from the beginning, !
for she was sweet, guileless and cling
ing nature. l was naturally secretive,
strong, self-reliant, and somewhat dis |
posed to dominate those with whom
was brought in contact.
My friendship for Alice surprised my
self quite as much as any one else, and
1 was quite as much at loss to under
stand it.
Alice Walton was like lily--fair,
slender and lovely, with dove-like eyes,
and hair like corn silk. l was as dark
as Spanish girl, with hair like mid
night, and lustrous black eyes; and
many an admirer has told me in the
days of my prime that no Spanish girl
could compete with my beauty or with
my grace. But they were not beyond
the competition of one fair girl, and
she won, right under my fine eyes and
in the face of my rich southron beauty,
the only man whose loved | craved-
the one heart for which / would gladly
have exchanged my own.
When we finally said ''good-bye" to
school | made an express stipulation
that Alice should come and stay a
month with me, after she had first re-
turned home and remained a week with
her own friends. | counted the days
till she came, for really loved the girl,
and | longed to share with her, as a
friend, new and delicious JOY which
she had never known. A far-off cousin
of my mother-so far as to be no rela-
ton at all-had come in my absence to
spend the summer with us. Of course
l had heard of him in my letters from
home, and was somewhat disappointed
at the prospect of having him there
during Alice's stay, for hearing him
always referred to as my mothers
cousin, of course, | fancied him old
and gray-haired.
My satisfaction equaled my surprise
when, on meeting Arthur Godfrey, |
found him TO be young man of TWEEN
ty-fve, handsome, accomplished, gay,
good humored-in short, my ideal of
an elegant, we'll bred and refined gen
tleman. | was pleased enough then to
call him cousin; and, as [ learned to
know him better, more than pleased to
remember that he was only cousin by
courtesy. / loved Arthur Godfrey. |
believe loved him from the first, al
though did not then understand my
own feelings; and l had little doubt
but what he responded to the feeling
He was more than kind and gentle in
his manner. Besides an affectionate
regard for me, thought l detected in
his manner a certain Difference which,
to my mind, indicated the tender devo-
ton of lover. | knew he had never
cared for any woman before he met me,
and l knew that | was beautiful-what
woman is unconscious of her own
charms? And SO l felt justified in be-
ieving that Arthur cared for me even
as | cared for him, although no word of
love had yet passed between us.
l told Alice nothing of this. re-
served my innocent triumph to be given
in confidence during our first evening
together; and, though 1 would have
preferred to present Arthur as my aft
anced lover, which l almost regarded
him as being, quite intended to con-
fess to her frankly the love for him
which had scarcely confessed to N.Y.
self.
Alice was week later than she had
promised, and came unexpectedly when
she did come, arriving the day before
that on which she had told us she was
coming. There was no one to meet her
al the station; but she had been such a
favorite on her previous visits that she
was known TO all the neighborhood, and
a neighbor, who had by chance been at
the station when she arrived, brought
her over to US. The first I knew of her
arrival was when she ran up to me
where | sat with Arthur, listening while
he read Tennyson in that fine rich voice
that had become the sweetest music of
my life. She flung her arms about nv
neck, and EN- braced and kissed me with
childlike enthusiasm. then turned to
introduce her to Arthur.
He had risen and stood gazing on her
with face Illuminated with admiration
such an expression as ne had never
turned on me in what had thought his
most ferVent moments of devotion. I
turned cold all over, and felt that the
color had left my face; but struggled
to retain my composure and presented
them to each other. Then | turned to
look again more closely at Alice.
Her gaze met his with sweet frank
ness that half reflected his admiration.
and the pink in her cheeks .deepened to
blush.
They would love each other-they did
already. saw it and felt it then, as
well as when | finally knew it by strong,
passionate and ardent words; and al
ready the dark fires of jealousy con-