Charlotte messenger. [volume] (Charlotte, Mecklenburg Co., N.C.) 1882-18??, 1882-11-25

HuU0 He even VentuIeu 10 lake ner IN
his own wherry down the dazzling
reach of the river; and though he
failed to entangle himself among the
ribbons Of the marshes, yet the wherry
sprang leak, and while he pulled
home against the tide-as it seemed to
him he had always been doing-Elinor
bailed the boat with her slipper, which
he begged when they were safe ashore,
as it was Of no further use.
81 should like to keep it myself"
she said, Gas memento of the day in
which we made shipwreck together !;
but you may have it."
One day he happened to say some
thi G about the time when Mr..
Denormandy should return and take
her away.
Elinor knit her brows.
"Why should Mr.. Denormandy take
me away?" she asked.
"He has the right of possession, has
he not? 2" demanded John.
Il don't understand he has no
j right Of any sort in me-"
But l thought"
"That / was going to marry him
Don't believe what you hear again.
The truth is he never asked me. though
my friends declare that he wished it,
and / myself had some reason to ex-
pect: but faint heart"
Never won fair lady. And your'
Il was relieved when he left for
Europe. 1t is so hard to say NO that
one is in danger of saying Yes from
compassion. Love is SO sweet that it
is difficult to refuse it; and then one
has haunting fear of some time need
ing it."
"And willful waste makes a wo-
full want. What a pity Mr.. Denor-
mandy had not known your compass
sionate temperament and taken some
advantage of it,"
"Do you think so?"
"No; shouldn't want goddess to
marry me from compassion"
But this did not mend matters. Now
that there was everything to gain or
lose-now that the affair was assuming
critical aspect, since the responsibility
of the crisis and the event were his
the native timidity of his character
stepped in to hinder him. Not that he
abandoned his position at once; it had
become too much matter of habit for
him to meet her at home and abroad on
terms of intimacy, and the habit was
too precious to be easily broken. Only
inch by inch, and almost without his
own consent, he retreated from the
ground which he had honestly won.
He invited her for no more lonely
pleasurings on the river if they went
together, it was with a crowd of
friends. On one such excursion they
became detached from the others by
some accident, and were left like
shells forgotten upon the sands for,
walking around the bend of the beach
where bluff hid them from sight,
with the wind blowing the other way,
they never saw nor heard their COM
panions embark for home, too busy
with their own affairs to remark the
absence Of John and Elinor, who only
understood the situation when they
turned back to where the boat had
been moored and found the tents struck
and the beach lonely and deserted, ex-
cept for some barefooted children
gathering driftwood, and flock of
sand-birds daring the waves.
The afternoon was just melting into
the tender atmosphere of early twi-
light, when all things wear an unreal
aspect, and half-guessed stars sift
themselves through the gloom, and the
radiance from the neither half Of the
sphere-from the morning world
seemed running over into this along
the brim of the horizon. Far away a
sail pricked itself out against the
heavens a moment and was gone; a
fishing craft was dropping down over
the bar, and pleasure-boat, bubbling
over with song and laughter, pushed
its way toward home. John shouted
to them and waved his hat, but the
wind blew his voice down his throat,
and the gay party Of revelers fled on
wings of mirth.
"What shall we do? How shall we
reach homer" asked Elinor.
"The gods help those who help them
selves" said he. 1--WE will ask these
gypsy children If there is not boat to
be found. There is no shelter on this
lonely beach,"
But neither the children nor their
senicrs--a party Of half-gypsy folk who
had encamped on the sands to carry off
the beach plums, and as sort of eco
nomical method of spending the sum
mer at the seashore, with plenty Of fire
rnnod az first cnsf and birds tame as