Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1899-04-16
RICHMOND ROMANCE.
TRAGIC LOVE STORY IN REAL
LIFE GRAPHICALLY TOLD.
4 YOUNG NAVAL OFFICER The HERO.
Love mt First sight-A Prophetic
Dream and Its RcaIixntion-Lovc
Locked I'm Deaths Embrace-An In
ciccut of Burning of the Theatre.
CRepublished by Request)

Eyre" Opposite me. also engaged With a
book, was an old LADY with SOFT white
hair and delicate hands. who, as she
read. swaycd gently TO anu fro in a low
rocking -chalr. 4 sleek cat slept on the
rug: the hre glowed on the broad stone
hearth with "a smoulderng drOwsiness,
and presently. glancing up as / reached
the end OF a chapter. was not surprised
20 find that the Old lady had fallen asleep.
Closing my book / leaned back IN my
chair and gazod idly about the roors. II
was large apartment on the first door
OF an old country house. with row Of
long narrow windows facing tan man.
telpiece adorned with mouldings OF club
By Cupids festooning gariands OF roses.
On either side the fireplace was an arched
recess. and on tine waiusco;ted wall hung
"a number OF Old family portraits.
did not know the history OF these pof-
traits. for l was but girl. and this was
Iay hist visit 10 my mothers 0'd irienq
at The Hermitage. There was one picture
In massive frame when / thought ~.
sembled ncr. "a military blocking OLD gem
ueman with white hair ano stern but
kindly face and beside IL in a correspond
ing frame was a handsome lady with
lace mantle thrown over her head There
were other pictures. some OF much earlier
date, but that which most Impressed me
was the portrait Of q young man in the
old time bun-lAd-bus OF the United
States navy. and wearing on bis left
shoulder the single cpaulettc OF a second
lieutenant. The face was one Of unusual
beauty. with an expire ssiOn OF tender, |
dreamy sadness about TIE lips and dark |
blue eyes and / could not resist the i'm
preston that there must be history Of
more than ordinary interest attached to |
the original Of this portrait.
Presently. weaNing OF the stiffness !
stepped into the garden with It's over
grown ~ hedges and tangled wilderness /
Of Old-fashioned shrubs. Beyond the gar
den were ranges of negro quarters and |
brick stables, with arched facades,
telling Of departed days when Vir-
ginia gentlemen INDUCED 50 largely
in the pleasures of the chase and race
course They were nov all deserted and in
ruins. and the mansion itself. with its
moes-grOwn roof and ivy. Covered walls
wore "a melancholy aspect Of decay, and
yet little more than mile distant were
visible the spires Of Richmond, and even
as | stood d railroad train rushed past
with a Triumphant shrek between tho
house ana the stabies--fting emblem OF
the busy. hurrying spirit Of the present
hooking al the dec0yed pride OF dead
past.
Gathering a handful Of late roses / re-
turned 10 the house The old lady had
awakened from her nap and was collect
ing between the tall brass andirons the
CHUNKS" Of the logs which had burned
asunder. and which now broke into a
cheerful blaze.
$50 YOU have been in the garden" she 4
said cheerily ~ sad wilderness it is and
yet ] remember that when / was a girl it
was a sort OF Eden. and this old house one
Of the gayest in the country"
'I cid not know that You lived here
when you was z girl" / said as ! placed
my flowers IN water.
mo; tut this was the home Of my init
nate friends, with whom 1 was a frequent
guest. I alludc 10 the family Of Colonel d
'Obu Mayo. His wife and daughters were
among the most accomplished and bril-
liant women Of their time. and the name
OF Mrs Abigail Mayo was we'll known
In the American literature Of those days
Her daughter Julia. who married Or.
Robert Cabcll, was very talented, and Ma
ria who became the wife Of General {
Winfield Scott was a famous belle" Z
Il have heard of her" / said. with girl {
Ish interest. "Was she very beautiful" !
There were many handsomer women q
than Maria Mayo, but few so brilliant,
She was "a finished woman OF the world,
Ind was possessed of that keen tact which
Is mG. valuable than beauty 10 a woman |
who would shine in society. Some peo-
pie called IL artfulness. but with her it 4
was natural gift. She knew how both I
10 please women and 10 bring men to 2
her feet. and though not heartless. gloried q
Ia her fame as a reigning belle The J.
only one who in Richmond disputed her q
supremacy was Miss Conyers." q
WAS she beauty / prompted. seeing ,
the old lady pause with a dreamy and v
absent look. d
"She was very beautiful She had an v
almost Grecian profile. with clear. creamy
and those soft liquid brown ;
eyes, which the French call velours. /
never saw eyes so expressive: some
lines arch and laughing, then dreamy !
and sad, Her figure was slender and per- !
'ect. and she carried herself with an easy =.
grace. her head well poised. and shoulders n
oack--a beauty which few women pos IL
Tess. She seemed TO care little for ad- :
though always sweet and win -
hing ana was faVOrite with young and -
DID alike. she had come from South =
Carolina, on a visit TO her aunt. Mrs .
Sallego. and from her first appearance a
ook all hearts By storm. LA Belle Con-
'ers" she was called, and there was no q
md to the poems and epigrams addressed @
lay. r.
A TRUE STORY. d
The old lady paused and gazed thought u
ully into the fire. Presently she said, v
Ibruptly: a
MY dear, would you like TO hear t,
tory?' q
"A true story?"
"A true story Of the old times of which L
have been speaking. and the people and y
vents which / remember. A sad story, y
ut which it sometimes does me good TO y
ell" "
l eagerly drew forward my low chair y
o her side; and this is the story-hstorl- II
ally true-whioh she told me;
1t was away back in the year 1871, when v
was young girl My father Major
ibbon. OF the Revolutionary war. re-
ided in Richmond. in the house at the =
0rner OF Main and Fifth streets, lately Is
coupled by the Rev. DR.. Hoge. At the | -
ther three corners were the residences u
( Mr.. Thomas Taylor. Mr. Peter Che III
allie. and Mr.. Gallcgo, all wealthy II
entlemen. The gardens OF those four M
ouses occupied nearly the whole Of he
nc squares on which they stood. now SO i,
oseiy built up Those who daily pass W
lem and remark the Cld-fashioned archi-
,cturc little dream OF what interesting
'enes they have witnessed or what great q,
sfsonages received beneath their roofs. "
my fathers house General Washington, a.
eneral Lafayette, and Presidents Jeffer-
IN. Madison, and Monroe were hOnOred su
tests. with many distinguished men of in
her countries In 1894 the poet. Mr.
homas Moore. was entertained there ! be