Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-15
Neutrality-suspicious.
THE PERIL A LOVER RAN AND THE
LOVE HE LOST.
scENEI


LOVE HE LOST.
SCENEI.
A winter day; cold sky full of snow
dancing down in joyous viyacity to cover
with negligent charity the ugly little town
and hide its curious air of incompletiop.
The walls Of adobe and stone. the incOn-
gruities Of design, the irregular, uneven
streets full of rock in the rough, together
with hill-setting Of numerous abandoned
prOspect-hOles and rudimentary tunnels,
gave whimsical suggestion that Titans
had left unfinished town they had been
cutting out from the earth's raw material.
This was the outside aspect as seen
through pair Of tall windows, with cur
tains stretched back to gather every ray
Of light from the dim, dull sky. That light,
scant as 1t was, brought out the home-like
cheer within. The warm red of carpet and
casual fittings comforted the eye. At the
windows broad shelves full of plants, that
gave the sole suggestion of luxury. bar
ring the aromatic brilliancy of fragrant
cedar IRE. A room of whose possibilities
the most had been made, full of sthe per-
sonality Of its tenants; a room where a
man was very apt to get a sense of repOse
and ministratiOn-chief requirements Of
the masculine nature.
Edward Lamb found its effect like that
leaning at ease in homely big chair that
had the knack, like all the chairs at this
house, of fitting the human frame. A
large, fair man, slightly inclined to stout
ness, he was Of that type of Irish beauty
that involves wholesome, clear skin,
flushed with delicate rosiness, abundant
blonde hair and deep blue eyes, with more
sleepy tenderness than was strictly essen
tial behind their long, thick lashes.
m in fbar.
fortnight" he said; "nOt much chance of
the roads opening while this sort of thing
goes on"
Miss soulsby left the window and came
back to her low seat on the hearth laugh
ing. The impotence Of his words was so
completely at variance with the delibera-
ton and contentment of his tone.
possess your soul in patience" she
said. ''lt is only question of days for
you, and them She made an express
sive little gesture of farewell and depart
ure.
'sAnd you?-are not you coming East
some day?'
E'Oh, yes" she answered, with a GER
tain blithe skepticism, 'when we sell a
miner
Mr.. Lamb smiled at her satirical touch
upon the sanguine creed of the camp.
''Ledyard was wondering what could keep
me here" he said incOnsequently; ga
Bohemian born, for whom the noise and
hurry Of cities is as the breath of life.''
Madelon Soulsby looked at him intently.
SWELL" she said, a little sharply, ''what
has kept your"
And yet he knew that she was perfectly
aware what had kept him. Idlers both,
they could hardly have counted the long,
cOmpanionable afternoons they had spent
together that winter. The little town was
agog with the Irishman's infatuation. 1t
would have needed more than their joint
asseYeratiOn to have convinced the gOssips
that between these two no love-making
had been.
eyes, ought to have gone last week"
he said, ignoring her audacity, ''when
Ledyard went"
'sWhy did you not go?'' she persisted.
The household cat had Ieaped upon her
'lap-a vicious, big beast, whose claws had
a wicked way of unsheathing themselves
upon fondling fingers. Mr.. Lamb found
himself dwelling on the fact that he never
had seen Dick so requite Miss SoulsNy's
careless endearments. The lazy creature
laid himself luXuriously across her knees.
like great, gray muff, as the girl nestled
her hands on his warm fur-deIicate hands
those, always cold; not clammy but cold,
with firm and reticent force of their own.
Some day-whO knows Pit may be made
penal Otfence-Lheir exercise of this ca
pacity some women have for indirect chal-
lenge; this tacit wooing that perhaps
oyerweighs mans prerogatiYe of out
speaking.
Edward Lamb was phlegmatic man
enough ordinarily and little given to i'm
pulses; but just now he would have bar
tered his SOUPS salvation for the right to
displace Dicks parted fur with his own
handsome fair head, to feel that caressing
touch press down his throbbing eyelids.
To his dying day he would not forget the
picture that instant photographed on the
retina of his heart. For him, hereafter,
no wonder of art nor revelation of living
beauty could dispel the memory of the
graceful, girlish shape whose quietude
told of repression, not inertia; the air of
absolute selfcOnfidence and cool, impair
tial self-disdain; the bright face, with
that hooking phase of mingled wooing
and warning; the grave, childish wistful-
ness on that rounded brow; the sweet lips
just now curved in scorn; the intent am
Der eyes.
Mr.. Lamb averted his gaze and took up
a novel from a couch in the ingle nook,
BY the malignity of that perYerse fate,
who misregulates to inOppOrtunity these
crucial moments, it was a novel treating
of the domestic adventures of young
journalist and the pathetic small ecOnO-
mics of his wife. Both had read the tale;
of sentimental colOring.
''Is it the manlier way said Mr.. Lamb
with fine air OF uncOncern and indiffer-
ence, ''tO offer a woman such a life as
that?-Or would one better protect her
from self-sacritice by keeping sileneeY
That man is most fatu0us who fancies
that woman will not make instant per-
sOnal application of such a speech. An
eXasperating smile OF discernment bent
Miss Soulsby's lips.
"Men have the prerogative of commit
ting any Madness she said; E'with women
rests the veto power of self-prOtectiOn
against such insanity"
Are you so worldly?"
II may well be-" said the girl, bitterly;
81 have known priyation all my life long
that teaches the true value of this worlds
goods"
Involuntarily his gaze fell straight upon
her garb-soft, rich gray, its outlines de-
fined here and there by broad bands of gay
Roman stripe in some velvety-looking
wooden fabric.
81 cannot conceive your having known
the need of money" he said; s'few women
are dressed like that" He stopped, be-
coming conscious how pointed was his
speech.
Few are,'' she asserted, laughing,
''happily for themselves and the peace of
their households. l see. You like my
fTOck-men are so short-sighted-blin
bats! You like it, and why? Because it
is nicely proportional, and it is true to it's
purpose. Do you seer' She held her
drapery forward naIvely. 'This is frock
for the house-lOt the sort of costume
one would wear on the street. Harmony,
adaptability; that is it, not elegance. The
whole thing cost me-$3."
"WhatV'
cit is quite true. I paid that for the
gray flannel. The l. ight stripe was the
best portion of a wo. n-out shawl and |
had the buttons" with an air of triumph
ant conclusion.
Mr.. Lamb found something very brave
and very pathetic in the simplicity and
detail of this confession. This endurance
of Vanity's modification appeared heroic
as contrasted with the lavish expenditure
of other women far less lovely and worthy.
But, then, men usually are willing to con-
cede great virtue to the practically that
achieves slightly results. If Miss Soulsby's
attire had been unbecOming, or if Miss
SOulsby's;self had been less pleasant to the
eye, no doubt her exposition of ways and
means might have seemed sordid and re-
voting in the extreme. Also, some allow
ance must be made for the attitude of de-
lightful intimacy implied in condolences on
a topic so nearly personal as this of toilet
matters, Altogether many thinOS 90 IN