The Abbeville messenger. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1884-1887, 1885-12-15
A CHRISTMAS GHOST.

atom" I asked, bitterly, looking down
into the calm face before me. The
long, dark lashes lifted themselvs with
languid grace, and the beautiful eyes
looked up into mine.
Eat times, periodically, spasmodi-
cally."
"The spasm is not upon you at pres
ent,"' and the sarcasm of my tone hid
its feeling.
1T rarely is when you make your
self disagreeable, which is the case
ii now"
"And is there to be no end to my
p~atience?"
II have as yet failed to become very
familiar with the beginning, you dis
play it in such microscopic proper
tion."
I moved toward the door; 1 could
bear no more just then.
%"Goed-bye; it may be some time be-
fore we meet"
A startled expression fitted over
her face, for just one moment, and was
! gone.
"Au aeooi1," she said, with a care
less wave Of her fan. "When your
bad temper is over, and a thing of the
past, l suppose 1 shall have the ex-
treme felicity, of seeing you again.
Suppose you spend Christmas Eve
1 with me"
1t was the end Of August, and I was
the habit of seeing her daily.
"Dead or alive, 1 will be with you"
7 answered, and left the room.
Why would she, my darlington.
she soas my darling in spite of it all
torment me SO? What demon was
It that possessed her? Or why should
], with my hot, jealous disposition,
care 80 madly for a woman who was
not content to relinquish all the world
for my sake? She repulsed my ca
resses when the mood was on her,
broke engagements with me, flirted
with other men, and yet had promised
to marry me. L loved and hated her,
as it were, in the same moment. 1
would break loose from her, leave her
for a time, and see if absence would
not work better for me than 1 could
for myself. Or if, perchance. it could
Il cure mt Of my infatuation.
Without allowing myself time to re-
|. fleet, I engaged passage for Europe,
and made hasty preparations to be
gone some months. I would not see
her again; I would not tell her 1 was
going. I set my teeth at the very
thought Of. what it would cost me, and
it required all the strength Of which I
was master to carry out the determine
tion, but I did it.
I placed my business affairs in the
hands of a friend, and one thing only
remained-to have my will drawn
up. ~ give and bequeath to Eliza
beth Barnwell, my afianced WIFE
((ah, Bessie 7 Bessie y "all my pro-
perry, real and personal" ETC., with
the enumeration thereof, following.
Perhaps thought I, a little bitterly, if
she were to come ever into possession
OF what had once been mine, she
might have one tender thought to give
20 him whose only thought had been
Of her.
The wreck Of the Scotia is an old
story now, but q story written in tears
and lamentations to those whose dear
one were never heard Of again, of
frightfu1 memories to the few sur
viyors. We were tossing in mid-ocean
In 8 gale5o Of wind and rain, such as I
had never seen o. dreamed of on land,
when the vessel sprang a leak.
8 Man the ifeboats,' was the cap
tain's order, ringing out even In the
midst OF the noise Of the elements.
& was q gallant crew. Swiftly.
with wonderful method and discipline,
bis command was obeyed. But one
was found unseaworthy, and the
crowd of terrified passengers more
than flled the others. Ones chance
Tor life would be slim indeed Wa