Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-01-03

upon" She would not allow herself to be
put upon, either. No doubt Mr.. Warren
would be inclined to side with his wife,
though he had known her only fortnight
and had known Miss Latimer fifteen years
And she must be foreigner, judging from
her name-a real French name, Miss Latl:
mer was sure, from the prefix de. She did
not share Mrs. Lundy's violent hatred of all
foreigners-the French were certainly not
as bad as the Chinese-but she did not put
confidence in them. Americans or good
honest English, were certainly preferable
Her own mother had been English, and she,
therefore, could say nothing against Mena
But the French land the worst part of the
affair was that this lady was stranger-she
must be an entire stranger to him. How
could he venture upon marrying person OF
whom he knew nothing, or next to nothing
He must have been inveigled into it, some
way. Such imprudence was ineXplicable
committed by man of Mr.. Warren's pru.
dent, careful habits, it was simply astound-
ing. The more Miss Latimer reflected upon
it, the more mystified and unhappy she be-
came.
Nevertheless, there was work to be done,
and she did it; for she was not the woman
to shirk her duty. There was the south
room to be got ready-the south room,
WHICH Ilsu peei SiiuC up, % tI eoio " oo1et
retreat, ever since Mr.. Warren and herself
had occupied the house. And now this in
terloper was to use it! The furniture, with
out spot or scratch, must be rubbed over
fresh curtains must be hung. up, and i'm
maculate, snowy drapery, redolent OF law
ender, piled upon the bed. Miss Latimer
sighed over the work, but it was faithful
ly done. She wished her labor could have
have been expended in better cause. The
room, when its arrangement was completed,
was, in her eyes, perfect bower of beauty.
Then the best parlor had to be carefully
swept and busted, "though she'll hardly 60
50 far as af36t to keep this open, except
K compaM H. thought NJ Miss is Latlmer,; as as
the slate colored walls, placed the books on
the center table at right angles, and fondly
handled the china ornaments on the man
tie piece. The best parlor was even more
sacred in her eyes than the south room.
But what availed the sanctity of either
Both were shortly to be invaded, and she
was poWerless to resist the invason.
On Friday morning she received tele-
gram.
expect us at 4.3O this afternoon"
The crisis was at hand ard sne braced her
nerves to meet it with Lecoming firnness'
In the first place, good dinner must be
cooked. She would broil pair of chickens
Mr.. Warren was fond of chicken-Whether
or not the new wife was fond of the same,
she neither knew nor cared. She would
also make a pudding, though pudding was
usually reserved for a Sunday luxury. 1t
that she had these preparations to occupy
her during the early part of the day. AS
four o'clock approached she began to be
conscious of nervous sensation; but she
knew that it would not do to give way
to her feelings now. On the contrary,
she must summon all her dignity and
self possession to her aid. Any display OF
weakness would give the new conner an
undue advantage over her. She attired her.
self in her best black silk gown and mus
lin neck k-hankerchief; gave final glance at
the dinner table, which was set out with the
blue and white china, and looked very
grand !; then took her seat in willow rock
ing-chair near the front window, whence a
view of the street, for considerable dis
tance, could be obtained. ...,
If Miss Latimer could have put into
words the idea she had conceived of the
general style and appearance Of Mr.. War
ren's bride, this would have been the de
scription they conveyed:
A dashing person, young but entirely
self possessed, with a snowy figure, a bold
manner, a handsome face, a fine dress, and
general air of carrying all before her. The
conception made her shrink but it had fixed
itself in her mind and she could not get rid
oft. 1t seemed to her that only this sort OF
young lady could have found courage to
besiege the bachelor fortress; for oddly
enough, it did not once occur to her lmagi-
nation that Mr.. Warren might possibly
have taken the initiative. She could not
help regarding him as helpless victim en-
tangled in snare.
Four o'clock struck; and fifteen minutes
later she heard the distant shrek of the
railway train which was to bring the trav-
elers.
SIN another quarter of an hour" she re-
marked to herself, "they will be here"
And precisely at half past four carriage
drove up the street, and stopped in front OF
the ministers's little white gate.
Miss Iatimer, with a beating heart, open
ed the door and advanced to the front steps.
From the vehicle alighted first Mr.. Warren,
who then proceeded to hand out slight fig
ure dressed in the deepest black, with a
long Grape veil concealing her face.
The greetings were over directly. Mr..
Warren, little hurriedly, shook hands
with his housekeeper and presented Mrs:
Warren" who silently held out gloved
u, IL
wife might beshOWn her room. With a Gu
rous feeling of surprise, and perhaps little
disappointment at the overthrow Of her pre-
conceived ideas, Miss Latimer instantly led
the way, the bride following still shrouded
in her veil; nor did she remove it until
after the door was closed and she found her
self alone.
Such is the perverseness of the human
mind, that the housekeeper, though she had
before dWelt with repugnance upon the pic
ture she had inwardly drawn of a lively and
fashionable foreign-looking being, was veX-
ed to find Mr.. Warren's choice the absolute
reverse of her anticipations.
"a gay and festive-looking bride, truly"
was her serene comment. "All sWathed in
black, and not even able to hold up her
head or say word Much joy she'll bring
into the house, judging from her looks. |
feel already as if | had just come from a
funeral"
After what seemed an unreasonable delay,
during which Miss Latimer fidgetted in the
fear of the dinner being spoiled, Mrs. War
rem appeared, for the first time affording
to curious eyes view of her face.
''Not even pretty" was the housekeeper's
decision yet somehow her heart softened
at the sight of the pale delicate features
and soft dark eyes bearing the traces of
recent tears. She looked very weary and
very sad; but her manner was gentle and
courteous, and it was relief to find that
she spoke without foreign accent. TO
Miss Latimer's disappointment, the din
ner was scarcely done justice to, the bride
having no appetite, and Mr.. Warren appear
ing too anxious in his consideration for her
to think much of his own needs. Even
the pudding was sent away almost un-
tasted-a proceeding which caused indig-