River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1893-05-18
IN LATER YEARS.
Ethel Harcour,s Story and the
Reward t Brought.


veranda. !lv looking out on typical
southern California landscape IN early
spring. lEu fuyamaca was still white
with the lately fallen snow. and rugged
Il Cajon showed 10 advantage In the
foreground. The lower slopes and the
valleys were green. occasional patches
Of yellow showing where tine violet.
now past its prime, on the poppy. IN all
its richness found a cong"nial home
Mss iIarcuurt listened IL the wild
songs Of the birds and underneath the
CAV melody there ran a minor strain,
like some half forgotten song which Is
real cd by an old association.
Her mind glanced swiftly over the
last ten year, in her California home.
Her mothers illness and death. her
fathers loss. not only of wife. but Of
fortune Their retirement Il this lone
Is ranch among the hills Yes. She
said 10 herself. the CAV. unrrflecting
girlhoud in New England seemed like
something in another age Not a feel
ing. not a hope not a desire in common
with that Young creature. She
Thought with "A sriilc. ~ one might
think Of another. that in those wears
She WAS fair In look upon The clear.
bright eyes. the softly rounded checks.
the mass Of rebellious har which tan
Eied and eurlcd In spite Of her plaitS-
Why did tho>s. years. especially those
months spent At the Atlantic View.
come uack with such vividne>s? sud
denly she was seiz,d with AN ovcrpow-
ering desire To write. Not the beauty
az the landscape. not the nameIc>s pro
IL ..F
but the past made h,r pen fly swiftly.
Sh, felt a. il impclIrd rs a power from
without. and desert bed the first rO-
nance. with it, sad h'tIe ending,
which size experienced that summer al
Atlantic View
The year rolled back On either side
and she saw clearly a. woman what
She faiiei Ia understand as "A ch ft-like
girl A. She wrote She found herself
making Arthur IindIey one Of the main
figures and herself the other Tie tall.
impctuouS young fellow frce. rich.
handsome. tie was courted 10y many.
and admired hy all How, then. did it
happen that he should have shown such
ea.cr delight in her society. flushing
with pleasure when She appeared and
attending her like her shadow? The
Young Ethel was led to believe in the
sincerity Of the lad when h. told her
frankly that there was ms girl u be-
compared with her. not one. No one
was 80 true. 81 honest. 81 Unaf-
fected What q series of scrapes the
boy did get into, Ia he sure. and how
he cnuftcd them all 10 her and asked
her advice. for hc had mo- mother and no
sisters but ! don't want YOU for my
sister he had said, with twinkle in
his blue eyes
Those long mornings on the beach.
when the hathcr~ made merry and the
IooLers-on lined the sands. those after
moons of idle swinging in a hammock
Till the long shadows made game of
tennis possibility: Those -pf; evenings.
when the cottages looked like fairy
places and the band played dreamy
music in the park they all Huatcd
through the halls uf memory.
Ethel Harcourt wrote spontaneously.
She saw, with the perception of mature
wears. the tangled web i'm which her
girliSh feet were caught, She rcmem-
bercd the DAYS when there crcpt into
and between the cumradeship an alien
note. How ar 3, hen IL began She could
not tell but her instinct warmed her Of
the approaching danger Arthur Lind
Icy No longer caJnc with his outhur>tS
AM condolences. lie seem Il to be
v.itchiu her 10 bc weighing and com
pairing her words, holding her at
hostile distance. There was nothing
which could have been told. no onc
word ar sentence which separated them.
only gro wing atmosphere Of di~tru>'
on one side. aud mai,Jcn Shyncss AMI
reserve uu the other NJ last there
carus an outbreak from him; bitter.
unkind words and mysterious illusions
Ethel tried IA have l1is, "vp.,iu himself
but IL had me- effect. >ho had treated
him shabhilv. h. who had been her
best friend NJ unc could bear such
thiu-- ami t.. would not bear them
any longer. There could he no eNpia-
nation. no. hc would Not hear one
word. but would bid her .- good morn
i'm After this they would meet a,
strangers
Ethel was a girl who held her head
very high. and She would not for mo-
1ncut have Young Iindiey think that
She. missed hi> faithfuluc>> Ii was
very easy 10 accept Mr. llcarSt'> view
81 the matter ami drift into intimate
companion>h y with her nephew. 81
Hearst. a Young man whom Ethel had
ALWAYS >hrInk from. but who was now
n gift from fate She saw now how
easily She was cutaugied how the APP
pcaraucc> were against her. and how
Sic. lent hc.>clf Co her own misery For
il was misery for few days. She could
hear her own bitterness and regret. but
% o
hear him talk and laugh loudlv. to h.
told IF hi> frantic attentions tn some of
the leaders of the fast set. all these
made htr heart ache And the season
came to it, end with q glitter of fire
works. and the crowds parted. each
family L. its own home. The liarcourtS
came t. California the following winter
and the little play was never finished.
All this and more. went 10 make up
the story She touched il here nj
there with her artist fingers. and the
pathetic l.itIc tale was written IN wori>
which went To the heart At tine end
she stopped pen In band, and listened
10 the chatter of the s-ay-breasted
blaclsbird which was perchei on a pep
per tree near
This was life: not those fevcriSh. far
oil days but this quiet growth and uu-
folding of her true nature. : widening
80 tine >ympathic>- "a deeper insight. ara
humber estimate of her powers and
greater possibility of enjoyment.
II wa morning in a hotel office in
San Diego. The stout clerk was bend
ing lab1rioU>ly over the register. put
ting in fancy heading at the up Of
new Page The biacI porter aud his
aids were hurrying about. gathering up
valise~ wraps. Su,lals> aud umbrellas
and trying 10 get of those uuf,.rtunates
who were u leave on the early train
The few business men who boarded in
the house came ont from the breakfast
r,-,.n with a mild air 81 Importance a.
hcfi,s the wen when surrounded ny the
sick one rs one the iuvalidS- IN all
stages Of lung AM throat trouble made
their way across the great san veranda-
No>t thcrn were attended by mem
yer Of the family bat solitary man
OCcasionally Stall,e5i or sauutercd on his
wa toward breakfast Two men. who
happened To be sitting near each other.