Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-05-12
N OF F { AS IBL E
Rhodes Macknight in Romance.

. benign after tickle weather. and which make
a New York May a delight and an in5pira-
ton. The avenue was alive. Upon the side
| v alks was the well-dressed throng that is
without break between the Worth monu-
| ment and the circular sweep of the Plaza
| in the roadway the crush was even great ,r.
The progress of Mrs. kemyss. driving the
rietald cobs to the phaeton, was perforce
slow. But she was the more admired
Men turned to look at her from the curb;
women In carriages. who knew her by
sight and would have given their ears to
know her more Intimately craned necks at
her and could not hide the flicker of envy
| that shone in their eyes. She was envied
because she was rich and beautiful and the
widow of great name.
If the day were perfect below in the ave-
nue. walled with brownstone, the first
glimpse of the park promised even more
The trees were budding into tender yell
lowish green, and there was the odor OF
springing sap and damp. fresh-turned earth
ard blossoming shrubs.
The ponies now were given more head
and presently. the Plaza crossed. the phae-
ton was rolling up the driveway between
ar d beneath the greening trees. From the
opposite direction there was an occasional
tide was northward. The paths skirting the
road were filled with nursemaids and chill
dren; here and there was a gray-coated
policeman, the custodian of dyed mustaches
and the dignity of the law. On one side
came glimpse of a little muddy pond, then
broad smooth meadow of intense green,
again an upright mass of gray rocks en-
broidered with creepers.
Mrs. Kemyss had her eyes straight before
her; she had no thought of these things
She did not expect to See any one in par
ticular. and the glance she so,netimes,raye
to some one passing was purely casual.
But as she pulled the ponies heads to the
right at the broad sweep where the drive
way forks at the mall, the look she gave q
carriage called for a second. Then she bow
ed; and when once more her eyes were be-
fore her, tinge of red was in her cheeks
In that carriage sat young woman of
great beauty. Yet 1t was not 50 much at
the woman that she looked as at a child
uron either side of her-a fair-haired boy,
ard a girl like her in NINA ture She knew the
woman to be Mrs. Minturn Appleby-she
had met her two or three times-and she
guessed the boy and girl to be her children
She had heard how beautiful they were.
With the flush she was deep in thought;
and it was of a time fifteen years past that
=.
than twenty then; but young as she was,
she had had her own views of life. She
was beautiful, and she was ambitious.
That night-the night up the sound-when
young Appleby had walked with her the
Norah's deck in the moonlight, she had been
pretty sure of what was to come. She had
tried hard enough to prevent 1t. But he
was such headlong youth-such a man for
knowing what he wanted, so determined to
have 1t when he did, He had proposed,
and she had declined. That was thing of
everyday occurrence, and she could never
understand why he had made such a fuss
about it, But the black look he had given
her!-and what he had said! He had ac-
cused her, she remembered, of being a CO.
quette. Well. lots of men, before and since.
had said that to girls and they didn't mean
much after all. But she had not coQuetted
with him: she had liked him too we'll for
that-and herself too well.
The next morning the Norah had run in
to New London. and Appleby had himself
pulled ashore, bag and baggage, Before any,
body was up. He had left some easy mes
sage for his host. the owner of the yacht,
and he had left note for herself. The
words Of that note she could readily recall.
even now: Pardon for my hasty jumping
at conclusions, for my hasty words, for my
hasty departure. for my hasty forgiveness"
That was all-all but what was between the
lines and he had probably studied how to
say II. She had laughed annoyedly.
After that she had not heard of him d.
rectly for several years. She knew, from
what was known by friends. that he was
working frenziedly and tenaciously at the
law, that he was spoken of frequently as q
rising man." and she had been glad TO see
how sensibly he took his disappointment
Glad, but, being woman, perhaps not
wholly with satisfaction. Then she had
ms rried and spent term of years abroad
Her husband had been her choice She
had been ambitious, but she had not had
time to regret. She had been blamed by
some she knew, for marrying an old man;
esD,,e tH,,, 1el,1
been conscious Of lorgnettes leveled at her
critically. When she had become a widow,
however. still comparatively young. still
handsome, with power and position and
wealth, all that had ceased.
She had returned to New York to find
Appleby light at the bar. man risen, a
husband and father. She had seen him and
his wife together several times, but he had
bowed coldly. The wife she had met at re-
ceptions also. Now she had seen his chill
dren, and
She had come abreast of the reservoirs
without noticing how deep her thoughts
had been and she dropped the lash upon the
ponies backs with little awakening start
This part of the park was Quieter; the path
ways were almost deserted, and many of
the carriages had turned back. All was
green and silent and rustic; a gardener was
setting out some potted flowers, tulips and
hyacinths and crocuses. in a highly In
genious parterre at one side of the road
and she noticed dreamiy how he seemed 10
For the return she took the West drive
and it was not long before she had again
fallen to deep thinking. She had a firm
rein upon the ponies, and her bearing was
iIreproachable; yet any one might have
seen that her mind was absent. And IL the
any one had been more than a superficial
observer. he might have seen also that her
thoughts had brought an uneQuivocal look
of pain to her eyes now.
The entrance at Goth street was passed
then 18th, and the phaeton was bowling
down the smooth macadam upon I'D. At
the crossing stood policeman; but his
thoughts were apparently as far away as
a young woman was coming up a by-path,
three years. She did not come to the cross
grass into the roadway. Thinking, doubt
before the phaeton came. she started, stop
nearer 1t was then she thought, started
was not until the vehicle was upon her not
She swerved the ponies to one side and
cleared the woman. but the chubby boy fell
beneath their hoofs.
The second cry that came to Mrs. Kemyss
chilled her. She had pulled the ponies al
most to their launches. and the next thing
she knew the groom, dismounted hurr1edly
from the rumble, was scrambling under
their bellies. She saw the woman standing
aside. her frightened eyes set in a face OF
marble; she heard footsteps trotting over