The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-12-26

AeG v WkOOWB000r 1080 az S0& 08y3 WOf8 on, white for long time and 6nally pink. came to measure the progress of her affair with MT. Elliott by these roses when the pink ones appeared was as ex- cited as girl over her first offer.
 It was about this time that the board- CTS learned through a cousin of Elliot's, lad who had accompanied him from England, that there was another factor ln this interesting case. He said that Percy was engaged 10 an English girl and was to be married the followinR win ter. My woman's curiosity so far got the better of my manners that finally spoke to Cora about 1t. She looked at me quietly for moment and then nurmured:
 Yes, know"
 " Then it is true?" asked eagerly. Q
 "That is Mir. Elliott's affair."" she an- swered, with a shade of reproof.
 The boarders, as if moved by one com mon impulse, persisted in declaring that Elliott didn't mean anything"
 "Of course he's getting all the fun he can out of it." observed one experienced matron, "but marriage is quite another matter"
 Then there was the English giri-or, A0AACAt kIG AAAAQA VI hCts
 But l was not so sure about it all. To me it seemed very plain that from marked indifference this nonchalant Englishman had gradually awakened into vivid inter- est, and as time wore on could have swcrn that Mrs. Tyrrell was becoming a necessity to him. He teased and tQr- mented and even bullied the little widow, but at the same time he began to follow her every movement with his eyes, to play with his soup until she appeared at the table, to wander in his replies when ever he was addressed. Languid he was at all times, but there is a natural and an affected languor, and it seemed to me that the less he retained the one the more he cultivated the other. Few men can resist the daily presence of soft, ten der eyes raised in appeal to their superior manhood-of an artless innocence need ing constant correction from their large knowledge of the world.
 Miss Pickett and Mir. Elliott were al- ways at loggerheads. Her keen sallies were continually wounding his self-love 1; his languid assumption of superiority was perpetual insult to her progressive womanhood, and so their mutual antipa- thy gradually expanded into solid hatred. Miss Pickett was too thoroughly feminine when observed her closeted with Mrs. Tyrrell for two hours one day, easily guessed what it meant. It all came out the next evening on the hill behind the house, whither Cora, Elliott and had strolled. Mrs. Tyrrell leaned back against a friendly mound and looked out into the night-one of those exquisite, luminous, distinctly California nights. The scent of thousand flowers-that of the orange blossom rising above the rest as the voice of the prima donna leads and accentuatcs the song of the chorus-drifted upward to charm our senses. Cora sighed little and then began:
 "Miss Pickett said did not understand men at all-that was too unsuspecting, too con6ding. She said men liked to play with such women, but that they sus- pected most those women who treated them best"
 Miss Pickett be hanged p burst forth from Elliott. "She is an old cat"
 "Then you don't think have done so very wrong ?" and her velvet eyes looked into his with a trou bled sweetness.
 "Wrong7 Humphl"
 "How dreadful it seems to never trust any one believe would rather be al- ways deceived than to come to that. You see," turning to me, am strangely sit- uated. l am widow, and yet 1 am scarcely more than a girl. You never have heard about my marriage? It oc- cured four years ago, when was only seventeen, and still at school Mir. Tyr rell was kind to me-and was romantic. We were married at my house in San Francisco on Friday. Saturday we went to Monterey, and on Monday my husband was summoned to Mexico on business. It was August, and they feared would take the fever, so it was decided that l must remain at home. Some time in September came telegram, sent from Zacateens, and announcing Mir. Tynell's death. A wife of but four weeks, away from my husband when he died-imag- inc my feelings. For over three years l have lived in seclusion. Now you can understand how natural it is that should make mistakes"
 In her eyes rose a mist that was dan gerous to the Englishman's cherished composure. He breathed hard, cleared his throat and shifted his position. Final ly little smile stsle over Cora's lips, and she gave him a glance that was like ca- resi- often told her she kissed with her eyes.
 The next day who should arrive but the En ,lish grill This advent, it seems, was the result of an arrangement made some months before in England, and which Elliott had not had the nerve to disoounsenanoe. happened to be pass ing through the hall when Harriet Nor ton clasped her lovers hand in greeting. No words are needed to tell . sensitive woman when she has lost a mans affec- ton. Harriet knew is then and the.e-l could tell by the pallor that overspread her face and the sudden drawn look about her mouth. Within ten days she had