Canyon City news. (Canyon City, Tex.) 1903-1908, 1905-02-24
A Sepia Sketch

DeT SNlulHlcIllls SdtlI4 So"A, SAiS I
kissed the pictured face before her.
1t was ceremony gone through !
every night, as it had been for the
last ten wears. In the early days,
with silent tears, in lavender
scented attic. now electric light
was switched on in the big studio in
Washington. where Harry l4awton's
picture hung in It's silver frame TO
inspire the pastels and dainty minia-
lures which had brought lsobel
Eastwick fame.
Ten wears ago young Lawton had
sailed for South America, vowlng
as soon as he had a home to offer
her to return and claim lsobel's
promise 10 wait for him.
Miss Eastwick was nothing if not
constant-nothing if not fanciful,
her friends said, though they did not
guess at the romance Of her life, and
She had cherished the memory OF
those promises and the hope that
one day her lover would return.
Paul Maitland was one of the few
people who knew the whole story,
and in spite of that he had asked
her TO marry him.
The question had grieved Miss
Eastwick's soul. Ii seemed TO be a
reflection on her constancy, and she
was not little afraid that this I'M
expected development might end
their friendship.
But he had spoken strongly, a
great deal too strongly, on the sub
ject of wasted affections, pink and
white boys, etc.-he who was really
impossibly ugly. And yet
As though to convince herself of
his impossibility Miss Eastwick
picked up sepia sketch of a mans
head-it was an ugly face, with the
determined jaw and deep set eyes
and laid it for O moment beside the
water color in its dainty silver
frame She laughed. The contrast
was too funny.
Miss Eastwick stood painting in
her studio before an easel, making
the most of the early spring sun
shine. The many successful por-
traits at last years exhibitions had
brought her more work than she
could DO, and she rose early and Ia
bored hard for love of her art.
Paul Maitland had sometimes
brought his fiddle and played to her
in the afternoons when her visitors
had departed, but today he had not
come, and she missed his dark, ugly
face, his deep, refined voice express
ing her own half formed, wholly in
expressible thoughts
All. There was a knock. 1t must
be he! He would not stay away
simply because she could not marry
him. A faint, becoming blush rose
to her cheek. Yes, it was a mans
tread coming upstairs, but not Matt
lands surely. This was heavier,
and this red faced, red bearded man,
with meaningless light eyes. Who
could he be: Who: And then in a
moment she knew.
Harry"
'My gracious! What elegant
quarters! Belle, you are peach"
a twang that might have been cut
with knife!
Miss Eastwick was speechless.
She glanced from the uncompro-
missing figure on the hearth rug to
the water color on the wall, and
only a sickcning dread that he had
come TO claim her promise kept her
from bursting into uncomfortable
laughter at the SCATTERING Of her
idol.
I've times and times seen your
name in the illustrated papers we've
had in Lima" he was saying, paint
ing daughters and wives of million
aires, duchesses and lords and even
royal princess. Haven't the boys
stared when I've told them how YOU
and / were going TO be married
when my ship came in"
''Iou spoke of me ike thatw
Miss Eastwiek thought "And it
was for YOU that | sent away Paul!
And / thought it mattered what a
man looked hke~
you're an elegant little woman
enough" Mr. Lawton continued