The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1892-09-17

! ESg-7stkkszAl tsSsaszlaalls8 occurred some years
! H.H GAstN5S,s sasssesas@s before the era of
i SSn-1asA.zszzszss Unconstitutional rail-
/ EL-lE-ssssss roads; they were in
! II Hl--EHfifF5EsAs<.S the air, but not yet
III -slzATfa( ! bOlted down to the
! vtt---g ~. earth. The General,
g. - therefore, was a pio-
neer, and was by no means overrun with
| friends from the East in search of an
agreeable winter climate. The easiest
way to reach him-if you were not
! pressed for time-was round the cape
! which forms the southernmOSt point OF
| South America, and sticks its sharp
snout inquiringly into the Antarctic soil
tudes, as if it scented something ques-
! tionable there. The speediest route,
though open to many discomforts was by
way of the Isthmus; and then there We're
always tho saddle, the wagon, and the
! stage, with the accomplishments Of road
agents, tornadoes, deserts and starvation.
Miss Grace ParslOe came via the 18TH
mus, and the latter part of her journey
had been alleviated by the society of
young gentleman from New York, Free
man by name. There were other pasSen-
! gers on the vessel, but these two dis
| covered sympathies of origin and educa-
ton which made companionship natural.
! They sat together at table, leaned side by
side over the taifrail, discussed their fell
! low-trayelers, and investigated each
other. AS he lolled on the bench with
| folded arms and straw hat tilted back
from his forehead, she, glancing sidelong
as her manner was, saw a sunburnt
aquiline nose, muStache of a lighter
| brown than the viSage which it decorated,
q lean, strong jaw, and a muscular neck.
| His forehead square and impending, was
as white as ivory in comparison with the
| face below; his hair in accordance with
the fashion introduced by the late
war, was cropped close. But what
especially moved Miss Grace were
| those long, lazy blue ewes,
which seemed to tolerate everything, but
to be interested in nothing-hardly even
in her. Now, Grace could not help
knowing she was a pretty girl, and il
was somewhat of q novelty to her that
| Freeman should appear so indifferent.
| 1t would have been difficult to devise a
| better opportunity than this to monopo-
lie masculine admiration, and she fell TO
specializing as to what sort of an expert
! ence Mr.. Freeman must have had, so to
panOply him against her magic On the
other hand, she was the recipient ofwbat-
| ever attentions he could bring himself to
detach from the horiZon-line, or from his
own thoughts (Which appeared to amount,
practically, to about the same thing. She
! had no other rivals; and a woman will
| submit amiably to good deal of indif-
ference, provided she be assured that no
other woman is enjoying what she lacks.
|
| complain of. Grace Parsloe was q singr-
larly pretty girl. Singular properly
qualities her. She was not like the
| others-by which phrase he epitomized
! the numerous comedy young women
whom he had, at various times and in
! several countries, attended, leased and
| kissed. Both physically and mentally,
she was very fine-wroUght. Her bones
were small; her body and limbs were
| slender, but beautifully fashioned. She
was supple and vigorous. Grace is pro-
| duct Of brain as well as an effect of bodily
symmetry. Grace had the quality on
! both counts. She anwered to ones con-
ception of Mahomet's houris, assuming
| that the conception is not of fat person.
! Her head was small, but well propor-
! tioned-compact as to the forehead, rather
| broad across the cheek-bones, thence
tapering to the chin. Her eyes
were blue, but of an Eastern STRANGE
ness of shape and setting; they
were subject to great and sudden
changes Of expression, depending, APP
| parently, on the varying state Of her emo
! tons and betraying an intensity more
akin to the Oriental temperament than to
ours. There was in her something sub
| tie and fierce, yet OVERLAPPING it. like a
smooth and silken skin, We're the con-
| ventional polish and bearing OF an Amer
| lean school-graduate. She was, indeed.
noticeably artificial and self-conscious i'm
manner and in the intonation of her
| speech, though it was an esthetic delight
to see her move or pose, and the quality
| OF her voice was muSlc'S self. But Free
man, after due meditation, came to the
conclusion that this was the outcome of
her recognition OF her own Slngularity; in
trying to be like other people, she fell
into caricature. Freeman, somehow.
liked her the better for it. Like most
men of brain and pith, who have seen
f,,J
for a new thing, because, so far as
it went, it renewed him. 1t pleased
him to imagine that he COULD with
a word or a look, cause this veil
Of artifce to be thrown aside, and the
primitive passion and fierceness behind
it to start forth. He allowed himself to
imagine, with certain satisfaction, that
were he to make this young woman ieal-
Gus she would think nothing Of thrusting
dagger between his ribs Reality
what delight it is The actual touch
and feeling of the spontaneous natural
creature have been so buried beneath
centuries of hypocrisy and humbug that
we have ceased TO believe in them save as
metaphysical abstraction. But even as
water, long depressed underground in
perverse channels, surges up to the sur
face, and above 1t, at last, in fountain OF
relief so nature, after enduring ages of
outrage and Punishment, leaps back to
her rightful domain in some individual
whom we call extraordinary because he
or she is natural. Grace Parsloe did
seem (regarded as to her temper
ament and quality to belong
where she was; therefore she was de-
Hghtful incident there. Had she been
met with in the days Of the Old Tesla
ment, or in the depths of Persia or India
at the present time, even, she might have
appeared commonplace. But here she
was in conventional costume, with con-
ventional manners. And, just as the
nautch-girls and other oriental dancers
and posturers wear costumes which sug-
gest nature more effectively than does
nature itself, so did Grace's conventions
atty suggest to Freeman the essential
absence of conventionality more forcibly
than if he had seen her clad in turban
and translucent caftan, dancing Oft John
the Baptists head, or driving nail into
that of Sisera. Grace certainly owed
much of her importance to her situation,
~ Js