The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1882-09-01

Lucy marriage, or, l should say, the
announcement of her impending mar
rage. It was to be grand affair, and
there were great many details. After
that I went down steadily. / am speak
ing too openly to deny that l often
helped myself on the downward journey,
when I ought to have known better.
1 Yet have never parted with her letter.
nor with the belief that, though her
seeming faith may be given to another,
/ her true faith is mine and mine alone
forever, as she wrote"
Having finished these words, Frank
Heathcote stood up YEARLY. I took his
hand and pressed it, and soon after he
lay down to sleep. / lay down, too, and
watched the flicker of the fire for long,
thinking over the story [ had heard. [
could not sleep, and presently stood
up and went softly over TO where my
strange acquaintance lay.
He was lying with his rug flung par
tally off, and with one hand under his
head. The other lay on his breast, and,
his shirt being open, could see ribbon
round his neck attached to small bag,
which was partially concealed by his
hand, and from which portion of an
old letter protruded. [ could see it's
worn and discolored edges by the light
OF the moon which had lately risen, and
the rays Of which fell full ON his bag
gard yet refined face. and, as watched
the expression of it change, according
as the dream which was passing before
him troubled his slumber, / thought of
| no We n r1sa mr. on hot hnd
her light on him might be playing on
the luxurious couch of the woman he
had faith in even through faithlessness.
The next morning | induced him to
leave his companion and come with me.
was writing a book, and I assured
him, and truly, that his artistic talent,
of which | convinced myself before en-
gaging him, would be invaluable to me
in illustrating it, my own artistic pro-
auctions being rather unsatisfactory.
He proved very agreeable compan-
ion, and enjoyed my wanderings much
more after he became my guest.
About two months after my meeting
with Frank Heathcote, we two were
riding IN advance Of the wagon over the
brow of wooded hill. from whence we
looked down gorge ana over wide ex-
panse of forest which stretched below
us. "Stop moment" said Heathcote.
"What is it that this scene reminds me
of? It seems so familiar to me"
Then suddenly he exclaimed: s'By
Jove! dreamed of this place years ago
when was boy, only that there were
number of elephants ranging about
the brush-wood and trampiing it down. :"
"There were a number of elephants
here until lately" I said; ''it is curl
Gus coincidence" and we rode on.
At the bottom of the gorge we crossed
a small stream, offsaddled. and watched
the horses browsing until the wagon
came up and crossed the rivulet, when
the oxen were outspanned. Night came
on, and we had supper, saw to the
horses and oxen being settled for the
night, and then sat down by the fire. It
was very dark, for there was no moon,
and there were a great many over
shadowing trees.
Presently we heard the creaking sound
made by wagon moving at some
distance. 1t was evidently coming from
the opposite direction to the way we
had come, and after while we heard
not only it but the tramp of the horses,
the rider being evidently little in
advance of the wagon. Then horses
and rider passed into partial view for a
moment, irradiated by sudden fame
that sprang up from the fire. The soli-
tary figure had something unusual about
its appearance which excited my curios-
ity. l stood up and walked toward it.
TWAS woman mounted on handsome
horse, and with led horse by her side
She sat with one hand on the ANIMAL
crupper, leaning back snd half turning
to see the wagon go through the drift.
"Steady with the brake there" she
cried in Boer lingo, as the foremost oxen
took the water, and the numbering wagon
slowly slid down the incline. A hand
some figure she made us she sat there
carelessly, with her wide sombrero hat
shading her face completely from the
flashes of light that came from our neigh
boring camp fire.
| walked over to her, and she asked,
in the same language she had used be-
fore, whether there was good outspan
on the other side. could tell from her
mode of speech that she was English, SO
l answered in our common tongue.
She laughed pleasantly and thanked
me, then cantered through the rivulet,
and heard her give the order to cut
span. There did not appear to be any
European with her.
After my return to our fire, good
deal of speculation went on between
Hrathcote and myself as to this unusual
apparition. We saw her camp fire lit,
and could make out that she saw to her
horses being fed and blanketed, and to
her oxen being tied up, before having
her supper. When CLEAN from her
fire showed us that she was no longer
occurred our curiosity could not be re-
strained any more, and we went over the
rivu1et to introduce ourselves in the free
and easy fashion OF the country.
Her wagon was drawn up in a clear.
ing, round which the forest made a dark
seml-crcle. Three Kaffree boys were
crouching over the fire and eating their
supper out of large gypsy pot the
shapes of the oxen and horses doomed
out of the darkness behind her as she
stood full in the blaze of the freight.
her form erect, her hands clasped loose
~ befor eer, her head little thrown
back, and her eyes looking drearaily out
in the darkness.
Heathcote seized my arm convulsively.
and could hardly repress an exclama-
nation but at that moment her ewes
fell on us, and she started.
| sawtheir faces change as they looked
earnestly at each other while I spoke,
the color fading from each; then
"Frank p" Lucyp broke from their
lips, and their hands were knit together.
left them to their happiness, and
sat long by my own fire, bordering over
the strangeness Of this life, over how
few are those blessed with the power of
evolving from nature her latent romance,
and over what is the essence of thai
which we call by this name, and Of
which most of us know so little.
Heathcote joined me at last. He had
much to tell me. She had been prom.
ised in marriage by her father. and had
refused to bow to his decision in spite Of
her mothers tears. She had told the
sutton that her heart belonged to another,
and that she would not be falthless to
him but it was of no avail. He replied