Nebraska advertiser., 1880-12-23
AN AFTERNOON CONFIDENCE.
BY ADA HILLS Adds.

Dlill At lDdilid NINL- anu l. O"tu lilC az
quaintance to a childish penchdntfor the
most brilliant actor of the age. Long
ago, when | was a child of six years or
81, one day there ran around our hotel
the story, mirthfully told, that had
been discovered in the remOtest bay of
the long parlor writing upon play bill
from which had copied his name-a
letter, a veritable love letter, designed
or the perusal of Mr.. Talma ROscius.
The character of my production was
discovered by fellow bOarder to whom
i made frequent appeals chow to spell
certain words whose tender significance
aroused her curiosity as to my use of
them.
The poor little printed missive-child-
ish, but intensely sincere, and ardent as
Sapphic lay-was ruthlessly confscat-
ed, and, having been exhibited to my
own family and other guests of the
house, il was finally shown to Mr.. Ros-
sius himself He must have been anus
ed by the absurdity, but his great heart
was touched, as well as his vanity. He
sought out the little baby girl, so early
learning the lesson of her kind, and,
while we were at the same house, he
kept me almost constantly with him. |
shall never again know fOnder pride
; than when he held me before him on
-headlong gallop, put into my tiny hands
the reins that guided his horses, or kept
me beside him TO dine.
Long after, when the vicissitudes of
life stranded me at Santa Cruz, / met
Talma RuScius again. His vacation
hr,...-if HIN, 70, -, f1rl of
ly as of wore. his noble head bowed not
line by the fifteen years that had made
me a gypsy-faced woman, striving, with
indifferent success, to better gducherTe
by az assumption of brusque off-hand-
. ness.
His recognition brought food of bit
tcr-SWect memories rushing over me.
He must have seen me moping and
apart, for, with all the kindness he had
shown the chil'. he drew the woman
into his own circle. 1t was only another
recognition Of his genius and great
heartedncSS that his notice, his cOmpan-
ionship. brought me, obscure, inSigniti
cant as ! was, into something like celeb
ritv. And so it was that / met Mr.. Rose
tombstone. Social ciphere entered into
none of his calculations; his acquaint-
ances were carefully chosen with a view
to the use he might make of them. 1t
CHANGED that | shone in little brief dis
tinction; Mr.. Rose tombstone was quite
willing To avail himself of its lustre /
am a woman-therefore presumably,
vain; but | know that he wogLd never
have given me q secoud glance, but for
tie prestige of Alr. .Roscius' friendship.
| could not.u10erstand why, when we
met again ~ the following summer,
ar. Rose aohnstone sought to renew
md extend cur acquaintance. Looking
back now, / any sure that he used me as
lure to enhance his value in the eyes
of q woDaan whom he used TO pique
villa little wholesome neglect. Be
that rs it may; the man entertained
me; i'm the three months of our mutual
soiourn at the coast. he formed the
habit of telling me deal of his eXper-
fence. his opinions of things and peo-
pie, and his ideas generally. He had
figured in not few rOmances. The
man was handsome, impressive of man.
ner; he had all the SdCiOr fare of
man of the world. | could readily I'M
derStand how many a heart might have
ached at the revelation of the hideous,
naked selfishness of his nature, revealed
under its garb of grace.
One chill autumn dav, when summer
guests thought of departure, and the
air had the peculiar witness that marks
the season in this southern country, we
sat on the white beach, below the bath
ing houses, watching the incoming tide,
watching a pair of lovers coming up
the sands toward the canon. watching a
bare-legged man claiming below the
brown wharf, and q group of fishermen
casting long lines over the wharf rails
into the surf, and giant trail of kelps
dashed by the breakers, struggling
twisting. writhing like a sensate crea-
ture. The book from which he had
been reading Law between us. its leaves
luttering wildly apart; puff of wind
caught up some sand, and flung it upon
the book, fastening down page. /
looked and read:
"a man-at least most men-may love on
through life.
Love in fame, love in knowledge, in work;
With labor, and therefore with love, for a
man.
II one love fails, another succeeds, and the
plan
OF mans life includes love in all obiectsr'
On the margin in mans hand was
written:
''Man's love is of mans life thing apart;
IT'S woman's whole existence"
With such a sentiment staring me in
the face-''I am going 10 tell you a
story" said Mr.. Rose tombstone.
never once interrupted his speech,
while his Suave. compliment, dispaSsion-
ate voice went on. He knew only by
my eyes that l was giving intelligent
attention. In the spring of IS was
at Fort -, on government business
that detained me some months. AT
time, Fort -- was the frontier depot
of operations against the Sioux, and
the usual complement of officers had
their headquarters there. With the
wife of.une Colonel North had come a
Miss Deane Suddcth, of st. Louis.
The Norths. Miss Suddeth, Barry
Bonham, and l We're so much together
that the five were almost as one family.
Miss Suddeth was fine woman. She
was handsome enough-not in a partic-
ularly striking way; she did almost
everything well, without especial excel
lence; and, for all her cheer and good
spirits. she was thoroughly self-contain-
ed. OF all the women / have known,
she was best entitled to the term well
BALANCED About the middle of autumn
she returned to St. Louis. Her absence
made itself felt with power that was
startling; ii was as if one of us had
died.
perhaps month after Miss Sud-
deth's departure, Barry Bonham came
into my room one morning; the post had
-,inst come in. and his hands were full OF
3. 'Johnstone,' he said. my grand
has died in Virginia; L am sum-
to settle up the property.
east tonight. I wish you
sharge Of my lrt+-s "a my