The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1896-08-09

ms ctt5 o ioetIino each other pc
10th the garish lights. 1T is true 80 80
xrbiIe he was dressing that I'D
- had nricked him with htue ~
IN reflect that he was prePaIiis e,,icIf-
last dance of the season. buU ny I,,e,,,-
" recovered his equanmllS W sobo-
;no himself that in all human pr,
b;5;4v he would live to see mauy
eon;s1 seasons. And what II all lhe w.
Nor, of his acquaintance were $50
away? They would return III w nj
4,,r,n for the procession OF the e4o
1,,ox-ns ;s not more fixed than Tue -
1rrot;ons of society In the mea
SSa1g Work was not at all bad piaoS -
x+ov in. so Mr.. Bolton had proved -
.7,,r;no, tbe three summers since nc 10 L'
aor,,e from an inland city to 1--we III 1i.o .
zea+ro,olis business in the moIHihS
- tha afternoon a horse race, pati
xrape. or a dip in the sea at MAI
tan Beach: in the evening touI VI
,,oof-oarden or a brisk drive TO heis "a
boring country club. 1 ms WIS
n hard lot. Mr.. Bolton reckoneo ~ "P
nreciablv higher than the ldle nn0llo
fonv of the country. FOR MI Do 3 1:l
was an active young man. lonu u IL
pleasure. but also fond OF ms WI ~
He was healthy, wealthy, ana accoiu
ing to his standard, WISE Anu " H.
growing wiser and Wealthle[ W lii,
His business was good, eXcePllouaI'S
good. considering his youth' nc N ,
welcome visitor in all the houses Wiz VIZ,
he cared to be welcomed; ana 10 c,oN .1
nc tanI,;ness he was to dine and dance
4h;s aFaninor in the house of his very
.~aoa friend Mrs. Bernard Iverson. a
truce to carei 80 o,,+
for Mrs Tverson's house. When he ar
r;ved he gave his driver directions
os To the hour when he should call Tor
him. In the young mans step and tone
there was elasticity which is the JOINT
Gift of youth and health and hope, a
9ift for which kings may sigh III VAN
If they have it not already.
II was only a few hours later that
Mr.. Bolton again spoke with his dry
err In form and dress he was the same
man. but beneath these outward shows
there had been a metempsychosls more
startling than Actaeon's.
He had gone to that immemorial dun
ner heart-whole and fancy free and
had come away deep in love. a SUI
ficient explanation of this sudden
catastrophe is that among Mrs lyer-
sons guests was her niece from Ken
lucky, Miss Renwood.
Mr.. Bolton may not have known the
extent of his malady at that first meet
ing. He knew it well enough three
weeks later when Mr.. and Mrs lver-
son departed for their summer home
by the sea taking their fair young
kinswoman with them. He knew it SO
well that on the following Saturday he
made a journey to the little town
where the VERSIONS were staying and
remained there until the following
Monday morning. And the conviction
so grew upon him that he repeated his
visit weekly until he became as well
known in the hotel where he stopped
as was the proprietor himself.
Mrs. VERSIONS opinion of Bottoms
periodic pilgrimage is deducible from
an invitation which she extended tC
him to stay fortnight in her home
He accepted.
After dinner the first evening he
and the two ladies went out on the
ocean-front piazza. After an hour OF
vivacious gossip Mrs. Iverson left the
two young people to their own de
vices. Then Mr.. Bolton lost all account
of time; minutes, hours, eternity, fol
all he knew may have eiasped wher
Mrs. Iverson appeared and told then
1T was time to go to bed.
The footman conducted him TO {
charming, airy room on the SECOND
floor. Bolton noticed that his room
and the one adjoining occupied an en-
tire wing of the house. While he was
disrobing he heard Mrs. Iverson ant
Miss Renwood come up the stairs anC
Al II
their familiar voices in conversation
and laughter; he heard Mrs. Iyersor
go out and call goodnight from the
staircase; an answering goodnight
from Miss Renwood, and then a clos
ing door.
So she was there. 1t was a swee1
thought that even in her virgin slum
Der she would not be far from him.
What an evening it had been He
went to bed but had no inclination Il
sleep. In rapturous glow he LIVED
over all the events of the evening. Fol
the first time in their acquaintance
they had been together for hours UNI
disturbed by any troublesome "thirC
party" His previous visits had beer
spent in a crowd; a dance at one Of
the hotels every Saturday night and {
crowd of other visitors every Sunday
night, garrulous visitors, with light
headed Fred Catherwood always pres
ent, incessant in his jests and imper
turbable in his good humor. But to
night they had been alone; except Their
own voices there had been no SOUND
other than the call of whip-o'-wil
and the ocean breaking on the rocks
no one to see them but the silent, sym
pathetic stars.
And how beautiful she wasl As she
rocked gently, her profile had beer
brought against the faint starlight
and it was as the face of an angel. Il
is not derogatory to a woman's beau
ty to say, that it is more bewitchine
in an uncertain light than it is in the
full glare of day; moonlight or twi
light or starlight solemnizes a wo
mans beauty, heightens her spirituali
ty and impresses the masculine mind
with a new sense of the awful holi
ness of the divine essence of woman.
hood. And why should it not be sof
Is not the divine essence of the uni
verse most intimately felt in the "din
religious light" of a cathedral?
Anderson Bolton did not generalize
his thoughts in this manner, however
His only generalization was to the
effect that there was no woman in the
world to compare with Millicent Rem.
wood