Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1882-09-23


at this old, silverAairea, silent woman and
| listening to the story Of her Young romance.
while she sat br Nnh66ring and unheediur
what was once the breath and beauty Of her
"'Twas eoin' to Bspufte weddiu,.n went on
the practical woman before US, who had taken
up the rag carpet again, and worked as abe
| talked. while the old Cock licked away the
minutes just as It had Iticked away the ewift
moments OF that soiAxfship when. in this very
kitchen probably, those, two figures OF the dim
past were keeping company. En- passant, we
would like to ask Why 1t. is that the temptation
to moralize about q clock is so Irresistible.
Quite weddin' as weddin's went then and
from Biddeford, and there warnt no end to
the homespun linen and things. and she was
dretful sot up about lit all3seemed as if
nobody'd ever been married before. Wa'al,
the night before the weddin' day he was here,
settin' in this kitchen and talkn' to her lust the
same as ever, bout what was comm. and long
toward nine he got up and said he guessed he'd
be goin' along. There warn't nothin out of the
way with him that anybody ever could remem-
Der, and 1 don't more'n half believe there was
then. Wa'al. anyway, he said good night, and
he went away. The next mornin he didn't
come as early as he might a done, but no one
thought anythin' of it till the minister come
over; and then grandmother-she been very
peart all the mornin-got kind Of white, and
said perhaps suthin had happened, and they
sent over to the place where he lived, but he
warn't there. 1t get later and later, and then.
they say, grandmother kinder pucked up and
said she guessed he warn't comm, and took off
her white dress quiet as anythin', and took a
cup of hot tea and went to lay down-she'd been
on her feet good deal gettin' ready The only
thing anybody could remember seem her do
out Of the common was to pitch little branch
Of sweet-williams she had In her hand out Of the
window; his name was William Lucas"
Sand didn't he conner" asked Dot and I.
breathlessly.
''No, he didn't never come. Just as well he
didn't, guess; think he was kind of mean
sperrited."
But what was the reason7 Was lie killed.
What had become of him?"
'Law sakes, no! he warn't killed twas
found out he went off in the stage and YOU ken
b'lieve nobody thought Of runnin' arter him."
and she gave little toss to her head on the
part of outraged womanhOod.
"NO, but why, achy did he do it? There must
have been a reason"
eyes there must have been reason. but no
one round here ever knOwed what 1t was Some
folks said 'Mella Downs that used to live next
door. went with him, cause she'd gone some
where the same day, but there warn't no truth
in that, for she'd only gone to get patterns, and
she came back in two days and set up in the
manly making business She was dretfu mad
about it, and said she never set eyes on him.
enough, guess. But sakes! there warn't no
law agin his marryin' her If he'd "a wanted
ter"
"And is that all ?" persisted Dot. sWas there
never anything more?"
''No, there warnt never anythin more to
that. Some folks kinder pitied her-but, law!
there warn't no pityin' grandmother. You'd a
thought it had all been done a-purpose. By
and-by gran'ther, who'd known her all along
sence before this feller come. he KEEP persistin'
and persistin', he was dretful sot, gran'ther
was, and at last she took him, and was a good
wife to him-everybody said that. Nobody ever
heard any more and l don't b'lieve it ever
troubled her much after she'd married gran'ther
But about week ago she was readin out of
newspaper, a little at time, the way she does,
when she gave queer little noise and tainted
clean away. l brought her to-as much as she'd
come, that is-and then looked in the paper
and there was his death noticed. He died in
Cuba, or some place like that. William Lucas,
aged eighty-seven-they were just of an age
and she's been like you see her now ever
sence."
So that was the end of It, From twenty to
eighty-seven-what lifetime and she had
tainted at the news Of his death.
We thanked her and went away.
81 always thought he was mean-sperrited,"
she said.
well" said Dot, sententiously, 'fs your Gu
riosity satisfied, and do you realize that romance
is not nseparably connected with young man
ringing the front door bell and girl peeping
through the front window blinds ?"