San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-08-05
ANN0RA.

absolutely true | knew Annora Masters; |
have stood by her grave often and thought
how little we know of life or of each other
| have studied character good deal. | am
a novelist, so it has become like second ma
ture to me to analyze motives and actions. 1t
has been so through q long life The habit
has only strengthened with added years, but
in Annora | studied nothing; could study
nothing.
A country town is very good place for
gaining and adding to knowledge of that
sort. The inhabitants, to an extent hardly re-
allied by people who do not know them, live
in common, ! mean, they have all known
each other and each others faults and feel
ings since they were children together; and
the feelings formed then, and the keen inter
est in each others affairs, last on through
middle are aud the dOwnhill part of life
Every one knew Lucy Cherry Every one
in the town liked her Most of the young
fellows was young then and one of them
did more than like her.
When she came into church on Sunday
mornings a look of agonized expectation
would come over about thirty faces in the
congregation. They all gazed eagerly at
Lucy, in the hope of one glance from her as
she wentup the very short part of the aisle
leading to the square pew where the Cherrys
sat. Square pews were not gone then. A
great mistake it was, surely, that they ever
did go. Sleep during the sermon is what
most of us secretly wish for Under the new
arrangement, though, who is bold enough to
take it2
Lucy would sometimes look up-not often
during those moments of her quick walk
ind hor VIII, ia 80
the aisle her glance fell, radiant faces were
visible; on the other side proportionate de
spair showed itself. Had they not been in
place where private sentiments are rarely
manifested the relations between those gen
tlemen would instantly have become ex
tremely strained
1t was not to be wondered at. Lucy was
very pretty Brown hair-just the sort
which most becomes woman-soft and
way; blue, dark blue eyes, and tall figure
straight AMI upright as an arrow 1t is
neither here nor there to say that never saw
Il woman like h.r, and had ever married
but how could "hen she never even gave q
thought to me sill the fact intensified my
feelings afjcrW;.rd whcn-but evidently
even the practice have he'd is not able to
hinder me from telling this story confusedly
unless | take care Well, | am growing old,
and it was terrible. do not half like the
task have set myself.
One Sunday came when both sides of the
aisle showed only disconsolate countenances.
Lucy looked neither on one side nor the
other She looked on the ground to hide a
very pretty blush, and then fixedly on her
brothers broad shoulders, as he, good soul,
walked in front, thinking of nothing less than
his sister
She was engaged to be married-we had all
heard it in the week-to a doctor, who had
recently bought a practice in the town He
had many friends and few enemies, and was
decidedly popular Clever, he was most Ger.
tainly, strikingly handsome, aud SO pleasant
to talk with that every one who met him did
stop and talk to him.
This is mans praise of a man, so it is not
likely to be overdone, and it is hardly likely
that should have any reason for overprais
ing the man who won the only girl | ever
cared for
No; did not wonder at Lucy. No Onedid |
And. they looked SO well together-sne 80
sweet and womanly, he so thoroughly manly |
and yet so gentle, to give the much aJusel |
word its real force.
Lucy, perhaps in mercy to us-per.4&,s = |
him-waS content with only six wees en- |
and their wedding was fixed for |
New Years day.
The weather that winter was unusually |
cold and draary, and on the last day of the
Old year there was a terrible suowstorm.
which lasted all day, and only ended just in
time to let the clouds roll away from fiery
red sunset. New people came to town in the
middle OF the SnoWstOrm, people who had
recently taken one of the few large red brick
houses the town pOsSesSed-a really large
louSe, standing in its own large, old fash
Oned garden. But every one who knew her
and that was all the town-was so taken up
with thinking Of Lucy's wedding that no one
bestowed a thought at the time at what
would at any other have been q great excite
nent-the arrival of the new tenants, An. |
nora Masters and her husband | use the |
words advisedly, for those two names could
90 in no other order
Not until next morning when Z, with sew.
'ral Of my friends, who hardly felt it their
lappiest day Of life, stood in church. watch
ng Lucy'S sweet face and her husbands
handsome, manly figure, did | ever think of
lie new people.
And then | thought of them because,
Imong the crowd in the body of the church,
saw woman whose face haunts me-will
Iaunt me till nothing earthly can trouble me
Onger. Tall, dark; dressed entirely in black,
With black hair and eyes which even through
Ter veil burned with flashing sort of light
1t had not been impossible to look at
Annora Masters for more than an instant,
houLd have been able to know certainly ii
here was really duh, red light in them, as
fancied like glowing fires in her white
10.