Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-10-19
WHY | REPENTED.

SlA hdfpNh0h ~ bt bui Aolis oiau
devoted myself TO her-rode with her,
bOated with her lit was a country place
where we met, walked with her, talked
with her, begged her for the roses she
wore in her hair, and tried in vain Cfor |
was no poet TO make sonnets not only TO
her eyebrows" but to her hair, her
cheeks, and her lily white hands. In
fact, l went through the pretty dream of
first love as most young people do, and ii
ended as it generally does, In an unpleas-
ant awakening.
One day the stage arrived at the hotel
with a dozen dashing New Workers for
passengers. The next, one of them OBJ
tanned an introduction to Belle Burton.
There was no doubt whatever that he was
handsomer than men usually are, or that
his grace and accomplishments were equal
TO his personal charms. Handsome Ar
mold he was generally called, and girls
went into raptures over his large, long
dashed eyes and blonde mustache, and
men feared his broad shoulders, deep
chest, and splendid proportions. For my
part hated him from the first, for no
sooner had he appeared upon the carpet
than Belle seemed utterly TO forget my
very existence.
| suppbsS SIlt ildu never CitIttl Hi tlllHS
about me, but she had fiirted with me
while there was no better fun TO be had,
and was not old enough to know that
the man she loves is the one no woman
ever fiirts with. With Arnold she was
rather graver than with most men, but
her eyes sparkled as he approached her
She blushed when his name was men
toned, and cared for nothing in which
| hn oH Tn, fac - q
plain that she was in love with him as
| hat he was devoted TO her; and there was
no doubt in any ones mind that all this
would end in wedding. 1t was good
| thing, said the old people, for poor Belle
| Burton, for she had nothing" For my
part it seemed to me that all the luck was
ArnOld's.
should have taken my departure and
| put myself out Of the way OF hourly tor
ture, but l did not do so wisely. l
fingered about the place and did small
things to spite the happy pair-intruded
on the tete-a-tets, managed to force the
society OF some excellent and loquacious
matron or some troublesome child upon
them. looked daggers Of contempt at him
and forgot to pass the butter to her. At
last a grand chance to annoy him oc-
Cured. He was good rider and proud
of his accomplishment, and he had a rest
! I've, nervous animal which he bOasted no
| one could ride but himself had heard
him declare himself a perfect master Of
the creature who had never given him
serious trouble save once, when suddenly
| brought into the presence of an artist
who was sketching under a white UNI
| brella.
That" said handsome Arnold, was
something Prince could not understand,
and made him forget who held the bride. !"
As he came prancing up to the gate or
rode away with an dir / used TO wish for
an artist with a white umbrella. de-
sired TO see that fellow unseated and in
gloriously turned into the mud. That
would have made me happy; and once
when he had offended me more than ever
| by his gallant style Of riding sauntered
out into the fields-cursing him in my in
most sOul-when what should | spy in
the middle of the grass, intent upon a
bunch Of clover, but a fat pre-Raphaelite
artist in white suit, tapping hat
and a white sketching umbrella that
would have frightened the clergyman's 8
gray mare, who was nearly as old as HIM
self, into being a runaway.
rushed toward this artist with enthu-
siasm took off my hat to him. l said:
''Sir, l rejoice that one Of your glorious
profession has at last visited us. You
| love the minute, l see. Have you no
| ticed the spiderwebs on the blackberry
bushes at the turn Of the lane, the dew
sparkling on the silvery film, the delic
ious fruits growing beneath-have you
seen that, sir;''
The pre-Raphaelite artist scratched his
head with his brush and said:
"Well, no, amt"
"Will you come and see ii, sir9n
said. "Will you make it immortal on
your canvas"
The pre- -Raphaelite artist replied:
"Well, wouldn't mind"
did not care what he said so that he
came. My object was not art; it was the
white umbrella. l desired to have him
seated where the eye of handsome Ar
nold's restive Prince would fall upon him
as he turned the corner of the garden
walk, aud to that very spot beguiled my
artist aud there stationed him, and. when
he had settled with Chinese precision to
his spiderweb and blackberries, hid my
self behind tree to enjoy the comic scene
l fully expected would follow.
heard handsome Arnold bid adieu to
the ladies' l heard the patter of his
| horses feet upon the road, and in mo
ment more | saw him come gayly on,
a smile upon his handsome face, a rich
color on his cheeks-youth, health,
strength, happiness expressed in every
curve and outline of his statuesque form
The next instant Prince had seen the
white artist and the white umbrella. And
| then-then, heaven forgive me-not the
! amusing spectacle of handsome Arnold s
discontinue that had hoped TO see. He
kept his seat, while Prince, rearing and
plunging dashed wildly away with him
| toward a PERCEPTIONS path along the cliff
side and vanished like a mad thing with
| his rider still upon his back, going
straight toward a certain awful precipice
which overhung the rocky river shore be
| low.
cannot go on. They picked him
up just alive, no more, at the foot Of
that precipice; and they carried him a
mere mass of broken bones and bleeding
| flesh back to the great hotel Late at
night crept softly upstairs on my way
to bed, and, passing Belle Burton's door,
heard those slow, heavy sobs that tell Of
breaking heart issuing thence.
"He cannot liye," the messenger had
said, and was perhaps doubly muir
derer thought seriously of adding to
my crime by committing suicide that
awful night.
| But poor Arnold did live. He had a
wonderful constitution, unbroken, as all
the men who knew him knew, by dissipa-
ton Of any kind, and it is hard to kill
such a man. He lived, and strength re-
turned to him ut last; but no one would
call him handsome Arnold any more. He
had fallen on his face on the horrible,
jagged rocks, and during his illness all
his bonny brown hair had turned gray.
No one would know him, they told me;
and so powerfully had his beauty and his
sweetness affected even men of coarse ma
lures that they uttered these words for
the most part with tears in their eyes.
As for myself / would rather have seen a
ghost
Yet the sight was forced on me. One
day | received a note from him asking