Clarksville weekly chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1873-1890, 1884-11-22
WHY HER HAIR TURNED GRAY.
Warren Murdock, in N. Y. Commercial Ad-
vertiser.

Warren Murdock, in N. Y. Commercial Ad.
vertiser.
81 could an If l would" said
John, "tell you why that young
woman's hair turned from brown
to white in Il single night"
Our eyes followed the slender re-
treating form of young woman
as he spoke.
"Her lover was drowned ?" asked
Louise.
ssBrain fever" said Robert, as he
lighted his cigar. ~
''She saw ghost" whispered I,
"Wrong, all of you. Do you
want to hear q strange bit of truth?,''
OF course we did, SO John began :
at was in the Commonwealth OF
Massachusetts that there once lived
man-the man who married our
heroine. He was tall and 1.-THE and
strong and handsome, and she was
young and dark and beautiful and
gay-for Massachusetts. The tall
man wOoed and won her, and mar
ried her, all within six short
months. They nestled down in a
farmhouse and lived in down east
fashion-and baked beans and
brown bread on Saturdays or Sum
days-which is it t?'
"Baked beans on Saturday night
and brown bread on Sunday morn
ing" said Louise, with decision.
Yes, and little talk of Faneuil
Hall and Wendell Phillips now and
again, an occasional quotation from
Emerson, semi-0ccasional allusion
to Margaret Fuller, daily thoughts
OF the cousins on Beacon street,
etc, etc. These slight occupations,
and their great love for each other,
which was indeed bOundles, filled
much of their time. There were,
to be sure, other business moments
when Alicia-had l said, that her
name was Alicia-made the cakes,
for they lived very simply in the
country, and when Nathan was
away on his work OF collecting, for
he combined the duties OF County
Collector with his legal work in the
village, some mile or two away.
1t was very pretty sight to see
those two at tea. Alacia wore a
blue gown that Nathan much adj
mired, and poured the tea from an
old pot brought back by salem an
cest0r from China. The caddy was
its mate, that came with it; and
Alacia lifted its cover tenderly to
reach the mysterious, wee, dried
leaves that her fairy touch and the
warm flame were to transfOrmi into
a potent charm. On these nights
for il was late in the. winter-there
would be fire blazing on the
hearth, the kitten would purr in
the pauses, and Hetty, the girl, as
maid servants are called, in New
England villages, could be heard
through the wide chinks OF the
kitchen door, taking the upper C
with the freedom and ease of a pri-
ma donna. Alicia would smile
quickly as she heard her, and Ma
than would smile more slowly. So,
with the slipping of tea and the
cracking of toast, the evening meal
would progress. Afterward, Ma
than's pipe ard Alicia's knitting
gray stockings always filled up the
evening. AT nine O'clock a glass of
cider and red apples at $50 lights
out, and only an Old-fashiOned dark
house loomed against the night. A
monotonous life, but a happy. one,
and happier as time went on. But
at last time seemed to stop for Ali
cia. Nathan was called away on
business would be gone a whole
week, he said. Alicia need not / e
afraid with Hetty. There was real
ly no danger, if she would care
full in one particular. No stranger
was to be admitted into the house
on any pretext whatever. Here
Nathan whispered ''For my
strong box Is under the bed in our
room, you know, full of county
money. ] am in the midst of col
Iecting now. Leave the box there.
IL is safe; but promise that no one
shall come, in and now, dearest,
must say goOd-by." But we draw
the veil.
Imagine-Or remembers lovers
parting. In these two were lovers
only three months welded, kisses,
tear or two, words-kisses again.
All, well, the description is like the
tea-leaves, stupid, dry, until the
fire Of love and the fairy touch of
affection metamorphose the story
of q parting into real separation.
After Nathan was gone Alicia
sighed and read poetry, and sang a
! little to herself, and 80 the first two