The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1878-07-24
i scarcely think worth while

elected me, and devoted yourself t
that vulgar woman | heard lie d
near me say that you tired of voo
bargain. She thought ycu were i
love with that creature. So did otE
er people Under the circumstance,
I have right to feel offended and il
sultedn
Perhaps she thought | would de
ny fer charge. gerhsps she e,
pscted me to plead for pardon
God only knows what possessed ms
| only answered:
May | not talk TO a pretty VIC
man because l expect 10 marry yor
some day 7"
"You were firting-almost mas
ing love to her," she replied.
"She is the sor, Of woman wit
whom men fall in loye,r l replied
Irresistible in her manner. I'v
heard she makessconquests every
where. dent doubt it"
Grace looked at me with sterl
: face, white in the starligh. as mar
BILE statue.
Other women are always jealou.
of such women | added.
81 am not jealous of her, she said
al would not be like her for a king
com. She is terrible woman. Bu
since you admire her, you are free tc
tell her So, after you have seen me tc
my door"
Grace !"
"Miss Hunter, If yoa please. Mr.
Mutherford," she said, Eve have
10th made little mistake, easily rec
tilted that is ALL"
| | felt, as stood looking at her,
that the effect Of the wine | had
drank upon me was stronger than
had thought, but gave no heed to
the warning of my giddy head and
rapid pulse.
"Just as you please" said. a
should think that q jealous woman
would curse any mans life. "I'll go
now; / won't trouble you any long
er. Goodbye"
We were not yet at the door of her
house; we were about half block
from it, bat | turned on my heel then
and there, and left .her. / staggered
a little as turned away, and | was
hot and angry. / made my way
home, and without Undressing threw
myself upon my bed snd fell asleep
In two hours Iawoke sober. |
sat up and looked about me. The
scenes of the evening recurred to me
vividly. / saw how blame worthy /
had been, and terrible grief op.
pressed me. | put my head down
into my hands and burst into toars.
had lost her, and with her all that
made life precious Then hope dawn
ed upon my soul. / would write to
her, and tell ner how, unused to
liquor as !. was, the wine had affect
ed me. | would tell her to nv sober
solf .here was M ssss.ns III ..su per
son who had seemed to enchant me
the evening before / would draw
the comparison l felt SO keenly be-
tween her pure self and tie bold
eyed firt; ! would pray for forgive
ness, and she would forgive.
Springing to my feet, l rushed to
nv desk and drew from it pen and
paper and wrote letter overilowing
with remorse and tenderness. read
it and re-read it. Then leaving it
upon the spot where it was written,
| stood at the window and waited on
the tardy dawn, very jealous of the
slow hours that kept my missive
away from my darling.
| had put out the candle when |
left my desk, and the room should
have been dark, but as l turned
my head after a long and anxious
reverie, saw it was full of a pale
radiance like that of moonlight. It
startled me. Whence did the light
come? Had the moon arisen again ?
Had miracle occurred?
Suddenly, amid the silver light,
appeared still whittier radiance. 1t
slowly took form. A female figure
in white garments, so bright that
they dazzled the eye, stood, bending
over my letter.
/ remained motionless-to speak or
stir was not in my power-and
gazed on the strange object with ter
rifed insanity. The figure seemed
to turn the pages of my letter with
its transparent hand l heard gen
tie sigh, aud then the bead turned to-
ward me and | saw face | knew;
the face that seemed the loveliest on
earth to me, endowed with myste-
riously divine beauty, for which no
man can find words; the gloriied
sweet face Of Grace Hunter.
At the sight | burst the bonds
that held me bonds as tangible as
though l could have seen them, and
rushed forward I strove to grasp
my love. or her shadow, in my arms.
A shcck, as one might experience
from an electric machine, flashed
through me, and l fell powerless to
the floor.
When recovered the day had
dawned, and under the blue morning
sky the city had awakened; but my
day never dawned again. My heart
never awoke to life's sweetness.
To end the story in few words.
Grace Hunter never reached her
home that night. and was never
heard of again. The family imag-
ined she had remained with her
friends. and was not anxious about
her. left her within sight Of her
own door, and why she did not
reach it shall never know. But l
do know that in some wonderful
manner she died that night, aud that
her parting spirit paused on its flight
to bid me long farewell.
/ have outlived my youth, and the |
suspicion that fell up on me and en-
bittered many years OF my existence.
but / shall never outlive my remorse
for that nights wonderful work. /
shall never outlive the knowledge |
that, in the madness caused by wine |
and an evil woman's enchantment,
was the cause of my darling'sl |
death.
As they were taking their oysters
the lady gave little scream Of rap |
ture aud detached from one Of the
bivalves that had fallen to her a
pearl. II wonder" said she. as she