The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1898-01-19
SOMERSET, PA, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 49, 1895

The prospect was not very cheerful
one, but Huntington remembered
things that had been worse, and resign
ed himself to his fate with the best
grace possible 10 tired man who had
learned to appreciate the blessings of
creature comfort. He did not know
whether to be sorry or glad of the
broken pane in the transom. at no
doubt kept the entry from being stuffy,
but it was san eager and a nipping air"
that made its way in through the
opening.
AS he snuggled down into a corner
on the floor, pulling his overcoat collar
up about his throat preparatory to
making try at least for a little sleep,
Huntington was reminded of the night
he had spent on I. bench near the foun-
tain in Madison Square. 1t was long
time ago now-the first night he had
come to New York. He had had only
fifty cents in his pocket when he got
off the ferry at the foot of Desbrosses
street, not enough to pay for nights
lodging and breakfast in the morning,
so he had made his way up Broadway
and spent the night in the Park The
next moring he got a square meal at
little restaurant around on Fourth ave
nue., and wrote the story of his night
] ont puffinU Il, n ,,r,ff.- rood f.,lro l,o,.f
a pair of sparrows that had spent the
night in his coat pockets out of SYM
pathy for his loneliness, sold the story
to the Sun, and-well, his fortune was
not made exactly, but he slept indoors
that night, and had continued to do so
thereafter. The fortune-a moderate
one-eame gradually, and with a more
than ordinary degree of fame.
Huntington was thinking of these
things as he sat there in the chill of the
entry, waiting for sleep to come to his
tired eyes, but the dull aching of his
heart made him ask himself what it
was all worth, the struggle and the tus-
sic, the fame and fortune, since they
had not given him the greatest thing
in the wOrld-the love Of the one wo-
man whom he had loved. For the
hundredth-for the thOusandth time,
perhaps, during the past two months
he set himself calmly to review the
matter, hoping to discover in what par
ticular he had failed, wherein he had
fallen short. Huntington had passed
beyond the years Of youthful impetu-
osity; he was a man, with all ofa mans
clearness of judgment, and his good
sense placed him beyond the reach of
vanity; but, consider the matter as he
would, his thoughts still brought him
back TO the same starting point. Helen
Trevor did not love him simply be-
cause she did not love him.
That is what he had told himself at
| first, and he had said at the time il was
''only wOman's reason;n but the more
he thought about it the more convine-
ed had he become that it was a very
/ comprehensive as well as very COM
prehensible reason. Helen did not
love him, and was honest enough to
say so, not beating about the bush for
EXCUSES which meant the same thing,
no matter how they might sound
Huntington had met Helen Trevor
three years before at country house |
party up in the Catskills. She was
debutante that season, and Hunting
ton always remembered her as he saw
her first, standing in little bit of rus
ticarchway one early morning. There |
were morning glory vines tangled above |
her head, and she held one Of the rosy
trumpet flowers between her lips. He
had loved her even then; loved her |
fresh beauty that showed in her sway |
ing, 1.-THE figure and her clear gray eyes !
He never saw morning-glories after that |
without thinking of her, as he never |
saw her without thinking of them,
graceful glories of the morning, with |
gentle, delicate beauty swelling in their |
throats.
He had seen great deal of her dur
ing the house p rty days, and after
wards when she came to town for the |
season. She had not lacked for admi- |
rers. Most of them were younger men
than Huntington, and some of them |
were very good fellows. Huntington
had watched the suit of two or three OF |
them with interest, never quite decid- |
ing why they had failed, with their
money, birth, position and character t"
back them. There are some things |
that a man never quite understands,
and chief of those is a womaE's reason |
The better the man, too, the less he un- |
derstands in this matter. But this is |
neither here nor there. Huntington !
watched Helen closely as the weeks !
went by, telling himself he was under |
standing her very well. She was young
and did not know her own mind yet ; |
he was going to give her time. He felt |
as il it would not be quite honorable to
show his own hand too soon; it would |
be taking advantage of her youth and |
inexperience.
Better let her have her swing" he |
had said "If she likes me I'll keep;
but it may be one of those younger fel-
lows, and don't want to stand in her |
way"
So he had taken back seat, as be |
called il, but in spite of the admiration |
that was showered upon her Hunting |
ton felt that she had been very good to
him. She had found time to read his 4
books and learn his songs and hear the
operas that he liked. She did not break |
engagements for him he did not want /
that she shouldn't now and then he |
would find a blank on her card if he /
came in late at a ball, and she would |
tell him she thought he would be COM
ing. Once or twice of a quiet Sunday
morning she had risen early TO walk \
with him out to the Cathedral to hear |
the music, or maybe down TO Trinity |
or Grace church, and she would seem
so joyous and so bright on these little
outings filling hia whole week with /