Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1895-02-14

OF you again and in such wav. Nv
plete. '0"''
l tucked the letter i'm nv bosom
ana sat there alone watching the tide
crawl slowly up the beach, while nv
neart went out in great wave of
love to the writer of that letter.
Inc boisterOuS noise made bv the
children on the beach was almost in
audible to me. Sitting there in the
deepening twilight, | lived over
again In memory my past. ] have
always believed that
There is h destiny which shapes our op,,.
| houBh new them as We may
We were 9wepthearts at school
That is, Richard Pope and Alexan.
der Chestshire were INV lovers. and
ooth looked upon me as their little
sweetheart. We had first met at
school, the same old way, as other
children do, and our first friendly
acquaintance soon developed into
love. My friendship had begun with
Alex Chestshire, a handsome dark
! eyed lad OF sixteen, and soon we be-
came fast friends. Naturally he
Claimed me on all occasions as be-
longing to him, and constituted him.
sell my protector and champion. /
knew liked him better than any of
the other boys, SO INDUCED him in
ms allegiance to me. One day be-
iore school was called to order he
begged my permission to let him in
troduce to me new scholar who had
but recently joined our class, Rich
ard Pope.
Unwillingly 1 gave the desired
consent, for l disliked the idea of a
stranger coming between us. Dur
ing recess Alex brought his new
friend to me, and, desipte my fears,
L was fascinated by his captivating
manners.
We called ourselves the "club of
three" and how happy we were for
lew days. And as we three walked
home together in the golden haze of
the lovely autumn afternoons 1
laughingly called them "my two
lovers"
But Alex grew jealous, and so one
day he broke into the harmony of
our little "club Of three" by invit-
ing Constance Carew to be one of
us. She was bright, dashing girl
with handsome clear.cut features,
and monopolized Richards society
at once as though she had a claim to
his protection. And why should |
have cared? But, alas, l did, and
for the next few weeks my heart
ached with jealous grief and anger.
AT last there came to be sort of un-
derstand that Constance belonged to
Richard and to Alexander.
And so things dragged on till one
day in February when Alex was
taken sick with a severe cold, and
was kept at home from school,
Constance, too, that day was alb
sent, and when school was out Rich
ard and | found we were left to walk
home alone-al0ne together!
shall never forget that afternoon.
The memory of that hour haunted
me for many long, long day after
ward. 1t was showing, and as Rich
ard drew my arm through his, he
whispered:
81 have been waiting and hoping
for an opportunity like this for a
long time. l want you to be my
sweetheart, my very own! Let
Constance and Alexander look out
for themselves. love youw
trembled with delight, tor IL had
come to that. / loved him!
Richard went home with me, and
my mother invited him to remain to
supper. He did so, and after supper
he gained her consent to take me to
the theatre. But bless you, she
never suspected the undercurrent of
love In our young, innocent hearts.
How to break the news of our un-
derstandlng gently to Constance and
Alex was the sole subject of our
talk as we walked home from the
theatre. We could not bear to give
either OF them pain in our new hap
piness, 40 we decided it was best to
keep our pledged friendship strict
secret for the present, and try to
warn them gently by little things, so
as to make the disappointment to
each less bitter.
1t would be sweet secret! At
my door he clasped my hand ten
derly and murmured, "GOOd night"
But it was fated not to be secret.
The next morning Richard was wait
ing for me at the entrance of the
school grounds.
"C0nstance and Alexander know
ALL" he said. 81 thought 1t was
hest to practice no deception upon
them. There was quite scene, of
course, but it is over now, and we
shall never speak again"
"Never speak again J" How my
heart thrilled at the words. He was
all mine now, all mine!
For the next few days we walked
together constantly. five met lex
or Constance by chance, they would
pass us coldly by. But there was
such reproachful look in Constance's
vivid forget blue eyes, that
my heart warned me that Richard
was feeling a deep and vain remorse.
The deceitful girl was both Derce-
nary and calculating, and was pre-
tending sorrow she did not feel.
Finally the end came. My mother
was to be married again shortly, to a
man l disliked in vague, yet intui-
tive fashion, and was to go to Mid.
dleboro' to young ladies' select
boarding school. | felt wretched al
the prospect of the coming separa'
tion from Richard.
My last day at school was bitter
one. Both Constance and Alex re.
fused to bid me farewell, even when
they heard I was going away, per.
haps forever.
When the day arrived for me tC