Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-05-09
STAUNTON, VA, WEDNESDAY,, MAY 9, 1894.

looked over at her. All he saw was the
top OF her red gold head, the wavering
pulse of diamonds that trembled through
her hair, the long sweep of her pale
blue, trailing dress, the ivory nape of
her neck where the pearl necklace fas
tened with a sapphire clasp. The nexi
moment she had passed out of sight,
and he heard her rapid, decisive step
on the balcony below
He turned back, intending to watch
her from the veranda, but in the door
way met friend who accosted him
with jocular:
"Hullo, Beverwyk, what have you
been running into?"
"Oh, l turned suddenly to look at
that woman just go down the stairs and
ran into that door. Thought both doors
were open-hurts like the devil, - re.
turned the other glibly.
And arm in arm they passed down
the veranda, murmuring together and
laughing.
When Miss O'Shea got back to her
hotel, her breath had regained its usual
evenness, her color had gone down, but
her eyes were brilliant under their low
cred lids. Her father sat in the darkened
sitting room in his shirt sleeves, with his
high hat on-his habitual costume when
at ease in the house. When she came
in, tossed her cloak ON chair and stood
silently pulling off her gloves, he re-
garded her for moment or two, then
said, as if the idea had just struck him:
"Where've you been all this timer
s'Oh, just went back to return that
lady's cape. 1 gave it to waiter. 1t
was all right She tore off her gloves
and stretched and bent her plump fin
gers, turning round her rings.
'Look here, pop" she said, twisting
the 'marquise' on her little finger back
into place, ''I guess we'd better leave
this place.
"Well, guess SO, too," said the old
man mildly. ''Guess you don't like it
much, Espy?"
''I don't belong here" she said, with
a sort of rough shyness. 'I'm differ
ent.'
The old man extended his hand and
drew her up to him.
"You'll do,'' he said, fondly patting
the velvety hand
"Maybe I will for you," she an
swered, with the same air of dogged
embarrassment, "but I'm too different
It's not comfortable "
Whether Mr.. O'Shea understood or
not, he queried no further. He patted
the smooth hand in silence. Then he said:
''Well, what do you want to do?''
81 want to go to Europe for a long
time-a year. I want to know things
I don't want to be SO different. -
"Well, now, Espy,' said the old man
deprecatingly. Then, as two soft arms
went round his neck, he added, "But
you can go if you want
Two weeks later the O'Shea family
sailed from New York on the Umbria.
Once arrived in the effete monarchies,
Miss Esperanza O'Shea went seriously,
if a little blindly, to work to recon-
struct herself. She went to a school in
Paris and staid there all winter, study
ing hard. Her companions showed no
surprise at her presence. They had heard
that she was an American from Cali
fornia, which in the effete monarchies
explains many things. In their refining
society Miss O'Shea was gradually re-
stored to her original self. Her red gold
locks went through as many changes
of hue as the dying dolphin, but
at length arrived safely ON the
homeward path to the deep dark
brown of nature. She put away all the
little pots of red and white that had
made her dressing table look like that
Of an old belle who dies hard A very
demure phenix began to rise from the
ashes of the once gorgeous Esperanza
O'Shea.
With the native shrewdness of the
women of the west, who make their
own positions and fight their own for
tunes, she was quick to see and to adopt
the style and manners Of the young girls
about her. By the spring the elaborate
beauty who had created sensation at
the Narragansett casino had passed from
phase to phase of subduing process,
and compared to her old self was as
wren to peacock. Instead Of looking
like woman of 80, she now looked like
what she was-a girl of 20-a tall, ivory
pale, velvet eyed girl, with thick coil
of smooth, uncurled dark hair, and
stately carriage, such as romance writers
are fond of ascribing to princesses. The
Paris1ans thought her very foreign and
picturesque. She looked like Dona Sol
Or Elvira AL she wanted was the dusky
droop of the mantilla shadow ing the
warm pallor of her checks, "a black curl
on her temple, red rose in her hair.
The celebrating process did not finish
at Paris. Miss O'Shea took her family
and governess travelling They did
Europe, with courtiers and libraries of
books of travel, and a governess who in
some embarrassment called herself ga
companion They studied art in Italy
and music in Germany. The governess
was almost worked to death, but the
pupil, Unsuitable in her desire to be as
ornate as the young person Of any place
or any country, would permit no respite.
They met good many people too. Miss
O'Shea began to be spoken of as the great
beauty and heiress of the American col
onies of different capitals French noble
men whom she had never seen wrote
to her offering to her their hearts, hands
and coronets. English noblemen follow
ed her about, neditating proposals. but
German noblemen generally proposed to
her on the first meeting. Before her re-
turn to New York, after three years
absence, her coming was heralded with
flourish Of newspaper trumpets that
crowded into small type in an obscure
corner the arrival of Herr Glumberg,
the most eminent of German anthropol-
Ogists who crossed ON the same steamer.
AS the immortal begun would say,
the O'Sheas We're ''took up'' in New
York. Our patriotic metropolis is always
glad to know any one who has met the
approval of the effete monarchies. 1t
had heard of the foreign noblemen, and
it Immediately proceeded to light its ta-
per before the same shrine. Miss O'Shea
was pronounced very wonderful young
woman, perfect in her style, distingue,
singularly simple, sweet and fine and
true. Such a dazzling creature had never
before come out of the west. She knew
everything, spoke half dozen Ian
guages, played four musical instru
ments. Rumor wasn't sure that she