The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-04-01
ELIZABETH, THE
HERMIT'S DAUGHTER.

IulueO wing
In one Of the deepset windows Miss
Elizabeth RolenbroAe sat dreaming. She
longed for the unattainable. She lived in
world of her own and made her thoughts
appear realities, for her life was lonely.
Her father was an artist and after his
beautiful young wife's death, broken
down by sorrow he had brought his little
daughter to the home of his boyhood and,
engrossed in his art, he tried to forget
his grief Elizabeth had never left him.
The village school was many miles dis
tant, SO she had learned to read at her
taUherS's knee and then she found her
way TO the musty old library, opened the
creaking shutters and, climbing on a
chair, she unlocked the glass doors of the
bookcase, pulled down an ancient volume
and began the first lesson in history unas-
sisted. After this she went every day;
she would curl up in one of the big arm
chairs aud read all the books she could
reach on the dusty shelves. Shake
speare made her long to be an actress;
she studied Macbeth" "Othello" and
Hamlet until she knew them by heart.
She would practice gestures, express
sions, murders, before the long mirrors
In the drawing room. History made her
wish for war, so that she might dis
tlnsuish herself like second Joan of
Arc or as hospital nurse. Biographies
OF men, famous in literature, caused her
TO begin novel, which was never fin
lshed. She thought THAI il she could
locus all her powers she might llindle the
fire OF genius. and she was vainly endeav-
orlng to discover the burning glass with
which this could be accomplished.
But of la,e new ambition had been
awakened in her soul. One evening when
the daylight had grown too dim to see, she
stole to the kitchen, where her old
nanny" the only domestic around the
premises, was doing besore the fire.
She sat down on her lap IS she had done
so often when a child and begged her to
tell her something about her mother, and
NANNY, in hushed tones, for the master
could not bear to hear the past, told her
OF de good old times befo' de whar,N
when Elizabeth's grandfather was the
richest man in the county and her mother
belle and all the men that spoke to her
fell in love and would come miles Just to
have a peep at her, and if she smiled
on them they would be happy and
if she frowned they would choose
some haunted dell where they could
fight duels and be killed uninterrupted.
And how one unfortunate Individual on
his way to see her was killed in a railroad
accident, how another was thrown from
his horse and broke his leg. how another
went to the war because she thought it
was his duty. and he was brought home
the next month shot.
What fine silks and satins she used to
wear, how beautiful she looked, how
heavy the mail bag used to be with love
letters, and how gay the house was with
company.
DO look anything like herr" Elizabeth
had asked.
''You's her livin' image, chile, an eff
lnaA
you'd had a hundred, TO mems like sheep;
they follers arter one anudder."
Nanny shuti1ed Off to prepare tea and
Elizabeth stood meditating upon her last
words. From that moment her mind was
made up-she would be a belle; all the
girls in novels were bellies, why, could
not she be one, too? If men We're like
sheep where was the leader to come from?
She knew no one except the village shop
keeper, who sold her paints, and he was
old and gray and grandfather, but she
was determined.
Every night she asked Nam Chloe to
light the lamp that hung from the high
ceiling, and for hours Elizabeth would
play on the yellow keys of the old piano,
sing the simple ballads she had known
since she was a child, and try to imagine
that some one was listening. Whenever
she heard the rumble of carriage wheels
the music would grow louder. Sometimes
her father would come in, Law his
wrinkled hand upon her head and say
gently:
That is right, my daughter; be gay
and happy if you can and then retrace
his steps to the studio and paint until
bedtime, while Elizabeth would put a
music book in one of the most comforta-
bic arm chairs and hold an animated con-
versation with it until she was exhausted;
then, tlnging herself on the three-legged
sofa, she would cry at her own foolishness
and loneliness.
The studio was growing hateful to
Elizabeth, the ruined picture was so
symbolical of her hopes; she descended
to the drawing-rOom, sat down at the
piano and poured fourth her soul in wall
ing lullaby that sounded like funeral
dirge; she did not hear a knock on the
front door nor Nam Chloe's footsteps in
the hallway, but when she struck the last
low minor chord she heard voice behind
her say:
Pray. Miss Bolenbroke. do not let
me interrupt you; that music is beauti-
full"
Miss Bolenbroke grasped the piano for
support as young man arose from the
identical arm chair in which the music
book had been placed the night before.
How do you do, she gasped, extend
ing q hand which visibly trembled.
VERY much out of spirits" he
answered, Ito think of never having met
you before" She had never immagined
the music book saying anything like this.
Il have passed down the road very often,n
he went on. II have seen the lights and
heard the music though the house is
hidden by the trees. You seem to be
having very gay times here"
Gay timesln she echoed. "Oh, yes.
we do have very gay times. Gentlemen
come from the village and we sing at
night and dance"
''What humbugs we mortals are! /
have been to every fellow in the village
and begged him to take me to call on YOU.
/ happened to see you in Soils paint shop
one afternoon. What liars lovers become. |
I'll get even with them for this"
"Oh! please don't fight any duels.u she
pleaded earnestly. THE gentlemen | !
mean come from the other village: one
was killed in n railroad accident, and one /
fell off his horse and was shot" She !
stopped suddenly, remem boring that the
war was over.
Il wanted to enter the lists" he said
smiling. Please don't brighten me
away"
"Please don't be frightened away. Oh!
I've don it all wrong, I've done it all |
and she buried her face in her
hands and cried convulsiyely. "Oh! why !
die you come here! Why did you comet 1
TO see deed in your fathers possess
h.nrt rR1vr~ nod Ssr4f1