The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1884-07-23

u OAOL4Shn0Os u
was restful and quieting beyond ex
preston to sit there on still after
noon
What time the splendor of the setting SUI
Lay beautiful
upon the waters. At early morn
| ing the air was coolest there, and tn,
sea showed hundred colors undel
the radiant sky. By nightthe place
had a mystic beauty of its owr
when the moon clave a white way
across the cleaning waters, and thu
pale phosphorescence tracked tht
swift, silent motions of the fish
On a breezy or stormy day the pie
head, a mile away from the shore
was a coign of vantage around which
the winds eddied briskly or thun
dered magnificently, the foam top
ped waves seething and roar
ing among the timbers under
meath.
A day rarely passed on which
did not visit the pier ; often | re
mained there from morning unit
afternoon, or from afternoon till fal
into the night, calling to mind, al
/ far as I was able, all that my favor
! ite poets, from Virgil to laureate
| had penned about the sea, and com
pairing the descriptions with th'
living, moving waters turning ther
TO the sky, and longing for the pen
Gil of a Turner or the quill of ;
Rousseau to put upon the canvas o.
into words the colors, the texture
and movements of the 'unendurins
clouds"
In a little while it seemed al
though the pier belonged to me.
STAYED on it for hours, hanging ovel
the wooden rail until l could al
most touch the waters with my
hands, or wandering the length o.
lit, "lonely as a cloud" and never
meeting but one living creature
This was the man who occupied 6
tiny hut on the pier head, whose
function was to light at dusk the
huge lamp which flung a red
glare over the waters. He was an
I'LL favored man, short and lean
with a hooked uose and crooked
ewes, who reminded me of waxer
murderer / had seen in the Chamber
of Horrors at Madame Tussaud's
In the not very robust state of health
in which l was at the time the sight
of this always affected me uncom-
fortably, and when l saw him COM
ing ran down the steps ofthe land
ing stage in the centre of the pier,
and kept my gaze fastened on the
sea.
One afternoon, toward the end OF
October, when for three weeks l had
held almost undisputed possession
of the pier, I was surprised,
nay startled, to see approaching
from the shore the figure of a
woman. "a
The height, shape and general
lines of the form told me that she
was a woman, and presently the
gait, the poise of the head, the car
riage of the figure told me that she
was lady. There was excuse for
my feeling of surprise, but / do not
know that / ought to have been
startled. Startled, however, 1 was
that much ! remember distinctly
and in that state of mind l remain
ed while the lady, with slow, even
and graceful steps, drew near to me.
AS she approached 1 could see that
she was followed, at a distance Of
two or three PAGES, by female at
tendant. She came nearer, and |
saw her distinctly. She was tall
and slight, and of singularly elegant
figure. Drawn half over her face
was a thin lace veil, which intensi-
fled the pallor of her complexion.
She was dressed in black from head
to foot and wore a rich silk mantle,
very slightly edged with sable,
which, fitting to perfection, lent ad-
ditional grace to her figure. She
was beautiful, with beauty that l
had never seen before. Pale almost
to whiteness, with clustering black
hair, and eyes large, deep and lus-
trous, and of the blacklist black. As
she came to where l was sitting l
stood up to let her pass, and she
went on without noticing me. The
expression on her face struck me as
singularly sweet and tender. but the
eyes were the striking feature, and
the ray of strange, half sad light
that passed from them haunted me
when she had gone. The maid fol-
lowed--a woman of rather heavy
countenance, and strong but obsti-
nate shoulders, who looked straight
before her, and seemed to have no
eyes save for her mistress only. /
watched them as they passed, and
went slowly down the pier. the
mistress never looked behind or
spoke to the maid. and the maid al
ways walked at the same distance of
two or three PAGES from the mistress.
| waited, hoping that they would
return but they stayed long and ],
who had been fasting since early
morning, at length went home. |
was on the pier next morning and
again in the afternoon, and looked
curiously for the unknown visitant
of the previous day, but she did not
appear.
Meantime my thoughts were busy
and | asked myself again and again
who was she, and what had brought
her to Southbeach Hers was a
figure that would have been noticsa-
bic anywhere, l should have singled
her out, l thought, from the crowd
that frequented the beach a few
weeks past, and was therefore, of
course. especially noticeable on the
narrow pathway of the deserted
pier. 1t did not occur to me that
she was invalided like myself in
deed, there was nothing of the in
valid in her appearance but why,
then, had she come to Southbeach,
a place recommended solely by the
salubrious vigor of its atmosphere
which, in every other respect, SEEM
ed unworthy of her?
Three days passed, and | saw her
IL