Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-02-14
CHAPTER VI.

THE STORY OF MARGARET SYLVESTER.
"What I have to tell you" said Mat
thew to his friends, "relates chiefly to
Margaret, and 1 would not have her know
you are acquainted with her story. There
fore conide it to your keeping, and yours
only, of all the men and women on the
isle. I saw from the first that we were
not exactly in accord with you. 1t was
natural, perhaps; but although twenty
years of a wandering life may alter mans
ways and mode of speech, it will scarcely
change his inner being. Once fool, al
ways fool; once rogue, always rogue;
and if l was ever worthy of your conf
dence, l am worthy of it now. 1t stands
to reason. In matters of right and wrong
we are carried along the river of life ac-
cording to the instincts we were born with.
There is luck, certainly, and my boat may
glide into golden harbor, while yours may
be dashed to pieces in the rapids. Those
are the exceptions the rule is, according
to ones inheritance. l have known wo-
man as innocent-looking as forget-me- nots
tell lies in voice whose sweetness rendered
doubt almost impossible; and have heard
the truth told in stumbling, defiant
manner which stamped it false. So much
for my preamble.
81 left off as we were making our way,
Paul and l, to certain town, the road to
which lay through forest. Paul, not so
strong as /, having had a spell of fever
upon him. from which he had not entirely
recovered, wearied when within half mile
of our destination. Observing his fatigue,
and that his lips were parched, babe him
rest while l sought spring of fresh water
81 wandered into the recesses of the
forest before l found what was in search
of, and then 1 filed my flask at clear,
cold spring, and FASTENED back by a nearer
path. l had occasion to pass a spot where
the trees were thickly clustered, and before
1 had left them behind me 1 fancied /
heard the voice of a girl, sobbing. l
stopped to listen, and found that it was
not fancy-that what heard was humanity
real l could not run from a sound that
expressed both physical and mental pain,
so | walked in the direction of the sobs,
and, entering the thicket of trees, saw a
young woman sitting on the ground by the
side of a sleeping man. The man was
older than the girl by forty years, and was
removed from her, so far as looks go, by
an unreasonable distance. He looked like
a vagabond from foot to stem, while the
girl, scarcely eighteen years of age, as l
judged, appeared to be cut out for some
thing better. The only point of resem-
blance between them was in their clothes,
which had seen much better days. For
the matter of that, we were but little
better off.
81 need not tell you that the girl, whose
face was wet with tears, was Margaret.
She seemed to be frightened at my sudden
appearance, and she placed her finger to
her lips, entreating me in that action not
to awaken her companion.
"' Have you water there she asked, in
whisper, pointing to my flask.
81 handed her the flask. and she drank.
1t struck me that she might be in want CT
food as well as drink, and took some
bread from my wallet, and offered it tc
her She accepted it with gratitude, and
began to eat it hurriedly.
Snow, friends, you will discover, if you
have not done so already, that the beauty
of Margaret is not of kind to win affec
ton off hand. Looking at her for the first
time with careless eye, she not being in
a special manner recommended to youl
favor, you see woman with flashing eyes,
and brown skin, and features that appear
larger than are supposed to be womaniy'
| Nature has built her on grand scale, and
as a rule such women as she, although they
Immediately attract the eye, do not SO soon
engage the affections. But Margaret gains
upon you after little, and tenderness
! comes into her face which you had not at
first observed. The true soul of the