Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-02-11
A CALIFORNIA WIDOW.
Al Las. Sho Was Seen in a Very
Strong Light.

"Thc idea OF that little thing being i
widow
And widow of four years stand
ing, I, fairly takes ones breath away.
She doesn't look day over fifteen"
"Exc,ptin a strong light. In a strong
LIGHT she would be taken for every day
oi twcnty.onc. never settle upon
women, age until have seen her in \
strong light"
Til, rather pointed remark from the
lip. 81 Mi, Pickett. spinStcr whose
agc WAS frankly beyond repair, seemed
60 produce an electric effect. Every
woman on the piazza, rs though sud-
denly reminded 81 4 neglected duty,
began carefully protecting her eyes
from the glare Of the sky.
ii wonder IL she will Get the English
man. began the first speaker again.
"Shc is putting in some pretty hard
work Her ,liShtcSt glance is the in
carnation Of ilattrry.'
"a great mistake. Never give a man
more than he cXpects-you will only
horc him. syrup is commodity which
should b, used >paringiy."
Il am not sure oi that \ man j. a
vyry weak thing"
well. mark my word-hc doesn't
mean a thing; he is only amusing him.
ELI"
a clearinghouse in Santa Barbara,
even VIXEN nestled amidst MI the luN-
uriancc OF scmi.tropicil California, il
quite liSc other boarlins-hou-e, after
all. Thu, IL was that Radcliffe man
sior. though shaded by graceful pep
yer, and the stately eucalyptus. though
KNOWN: tn delight, OF hg- amt
oranges fresh from the trees, though
strapped in al atmo>phcr, tit for the
hours. wa, vet nothing more than u
regular American clearinghouse. II
contained the usual abundance Of idle
women. the usual scarcity Ut vigorous
men. the usual supcrlluity OF gossip.
So it happened tina, thc boarlcrs at
Radcliffe mansion which. 10y the way,
Wa, no more Of mansion than amy re-
spectacle two-story building, but was
burdcned with that title in Difference to
che prevailing California tendency to
make everything greater than 1t is
were all more or less interested in MR..
Cora Tyrrcl. Mrs. Tyrrcll sat oppo-
site me at table. and | used to watch
her in sort Of maze that any ono
could Dc 50 young and fresh and fair
and We, be widowed. Her form was
ah,ur,lly sligh, for iull-grown wom-
an' while her face was rs sweet and
.u.l,lcss A. child's. She some way
reminded me of pauSy, particularly
when she wore slightly ilaring hat.
IL, du,l;y brim setting oil tn perfection
the transparency Of her complexion.
the soft b,hy.likc rings Of her hair, the
large. tender. pathetic eyes. Beauty
oi this ,ort wins women aSwcllaS men
Even crisp Miss Pickett. noted for the
severity OF her mental Atmosphere.
even Miss Pickett was subiugaicd.
Net woman grudgcd Mrs. Tyrrcll her
beauty. hut several drew the line at,hc
Engli,hman. Feminine generosity has
IL, limits.
You See Percy Elliott was the only
eligible man at Radcliffe mansion
eligible in the worlds acccp,ation at
the term, which has n well-lciincd
reference To an irrcproachablc bank
accoun,-and it was harl to watch
him slowly disappear down the
widows little throat. He was y tall.
nonchalan, young fellow. quite con.
WINGED Of his own Importance. after
the fateon Of his countrymcn. a GER
tain ncrrowness Of chest told why he
was wintering In this far western land.
and frequent horseback rides with Mrs.
Tyrrell told that he believed in
mingling business with pleasure. She
was wonderful horsewoman, riding
as easily without the saddle ~ with 1t.
and jumping any fence without a
trcmor. These equestrian duets stimu-
lated the boardcrs to the livelicst
speculation. Would she get him7
Depend upon 1t she wouldn't. En-
gliShmen don't marry poor widows.
Cora certainly was not overburdened
with money. though her taste in dress
skillfully concealed the deficiency.
Jewelry Of every description she utter
ly eschewed. but the gloom OF hei
Grape was cxquisiiely relieved hy
flowers. She was never without
flowers upon her breast. at first mol
est. dcmurc yiolcts, suggestive al
widowhood; then. as the days wore on
white for long time AMI. finally,
pink. came 10 measure the progress
of her affair with Mr. Elliott by these
roses; when the pink ones appeared
was as excited a. q girl over her iirs'
offer.
II was about this time that the
boaricrs learned through cousin OF
Elliott's, lad who had accompanied
him from England. that there was an
other factor In this interesting case.
He said that Percy was engaged to an
English girl aud was to be married tho
following wla!er Ny woman. curl