Beverly banner. [volume] (Beverly, N.J.) 1877-1964, 1885-01-03

EflaG Sn6 SJOOu where The lgHt 16A
brightest, and she turned away. She
walked to the side Of the pier farthest
from me where she stood opposite to
She did not remain there long, but
crossed again and this time she chose
that part of the pier where was sIt-
ting. A
Far back in the deep shade in the cor
ner she did not see me, she did not sus-
pect that anyone was near. / saw her
give hasty look down the pier, but
her glance never fell on the corner
where sat. She went to the ratings
one or twoof them we're broken and had
mot been repaired; in a more frequent
ed place it might. perhaps, have been
. dangerous. She, did not seem to notice
lence, then / heard again bitter weep j
ing, passionate sobs. long drawn signs. j
/. ] heard "a smot hered' cry ofrr'Uh. tHeav-
emil oh, Heayenl have pity;" and then A
sickiy CLEAN of light came from the
sky, and by its light saw that she took
the bundle from under her arm. 1 1
could not see what it was OF what it
neld, but she bent her head over it. she
kissed it,-ah; with what passion of
tears, kissed it.LLs0bbed over it with
passionate sobs, then raised lit above
the ratings and let it fall slowly into !
the water. ssa Il
There was slight splash, no other
sound As she raised the bundle saw
distinctly that it was something wrap
ped in grey and black shawl.
I swear before Heaven that no
thought of wrong came to my mind;
never dreamed of it. / had watched her
first because the rare grace of her tall
figure and Of her walk came to me as
a surprise, then because she was evil
IDENTIFY in such bitter sorrow, then be-
cause she seemed so DESTROYS Of being
alone. but never did one thought cross
my mind that there was a shadow of
blame-or wrong; / should have been
far more on the alert had thought SO.
/ i was always of a dreamy, sentimental,
half-awake, kind of mind; thought Of
nothing more than woman, desperate,
perhaps; with an unhappy love, throw o
ing the love-letters and presents OF a
faithless lover into the sea--nothing
more. Irepeat this most emphatically,
as should not like any suspicion OF in
dOlence or Indifference to rest upon me.
A slight splash, mot Of anything
heavy, mo other sound; no cry no
word--a moments pause in the running
of the waves, then they went on again,
gaily as ever, washing the wooden pill
| lars. and wreathing them with fresh
seaweed. The tall figure, with the head
bent over the rail, might have been
| statue for all the life or stir there was
within her.
Quite a quarter of an hour passed,
| and she did not stir, began to wonder
| if she were dead: her head was bent
| the whole time, watching the waves as
they ran hurrying past. Then the lady
| moon relented. and showed her fair
| face again; flood of silver light fell
over the sea,-each wave seemed to
catch some of it, and break with thou
sand ripples of light,--the white cliffs
caught il, lit fell on the old pier, and
the tall black figure stood out in bold
| relief against the moonlit sky.
was almost startled when she turn
i ed round. and / saw her face quite
/ plainly. The same light that revealed
| her pretty little face and figure, threw a
| deeper shade over me. She looked anx4
! iously up and down, yet by a singular
| fatality never looked, at the corner Of
| the wooden building where | sat. /
| have often wondered since that [ did
! not cry out when L saw that face,-sO
wonderfully beautiful, but so marble
| white, SO sad, so intent, SO earnest, the
| beautiful eyes wild with pain, the beau
tiful mouth quivering. can see it now,
and / shall see it until die.
There was "a low, broad brow, and
| golden brown hair clustered upon it,
| hair that was like a crown; the face
was oyal-shaped, exquisitely beautiful,
| with short upper lip, a full lovely UNI
der one, and a perfectly modelled chin.
| But it was the face of woman almost
mad with despair
s'Oh, Heavenl If / dare4lif / dareIn
she cried. She sflangnp her hands with
| the gesture Of one who has no, hope;
| she looked over at the sea, once more at
the pier, then slowly turned away, and
| again quite plainly heard the words,
sOh, Heavenl if / dare--if dare!"
She then walked slowly away. and
| lost sight of her under the silent arches;
| but I could not forget her. What
facel-what beauty what passion, what
pain, what love and despair, what good-t
ness and powerl What afacel When
| should eyer forget it2
Impelled by curiosity, went to the
| ratings, and stood where she stood. |
looked down, How deep and fathom-
less it seemed, this running sea! What
was it she had dropped there? In my
minds eye saw most pathetic little
bundle made OF love letters; j pictured
| them tied with a pretty faded ribbon;
| there would be. dried. flowers, each one
a memento of some happy occasion.
| could fancy the dried roses, the wither-
ed forget-me-nots, the violets, with
some faint odor lingering still around
| them. Then there would be a vaien-
| tine, perhaps two or three; q photo-a
| graph, and probably an engagement
ring. She had flung them away into
| the depths of the sea, and only Heaven
| knows what hopes and love she had
| n. do. fa, II
now what that cry meant-7sIf: ! dare
| if / dareF g4safs s.sess4 u
1t meant that if she dare she would
| fling herself into the sea after theml1
| How many hopes had been flung, like
| hers, into those black depths!
| Then came to the conclusion that i,
was, to say the least of it, a simpletOn
| to- waste SO much time and thought
| about another persons, affairs. s4l
remember that, as walked slowly
down the pier, I'met several people, and
that felt a glow of pleasure at the
/ thought that some people had the good
sense to prefer the Chain Pier. And
| then Invent home. a.,
A game of billiards, long chat in
| the smoking-room, ought to have dis
| tracted my mind from the little incident
i had witnessed, but it did not. My
bedroom faced the sea. and | drew up
the blind so that might look at it once
more. The beautiful sea has many
weird aspects, none stranger than when
| it lies heaying sullenly under the light
of the moon. Fascinated, charmed, /
| stood and watched it. The moon had
changed her mind, she meant to shine
now; the clouds had all vanished; the
sky was dafkands blue; the stars were
shining; but the wind had quickened,
and the waves rolled in briskly with
! white .silvery foam marking their pro-
| gress.
The Chain Pier stood out quite clear
and distinct in the moonlight, very fair
and shapely it looked. Then / went to
sleep and dreamt Of the white, sbeauti-
| full, desperate face---of the woman who
| had, | believed, thrown her loye-letters
| into the sea, The wind grew rougher
|, and, the sea grew angry during the
night, when at times Invoke from my
| sleep could hear them. All! long be-
| fore this. the loVe-le tiers had been de-
stroyed had been torn by the. swift