New-York tribune., 1912-08-11
BY JANE w. GUTHRIE

\
spoke and she turned pick up fresh basket Of hcr-
ri,.- and then went on with the hung Of them with
th.-, beautiful hands Of hers Miss McI's hands we're
small and fine and white, the hands Of woman Of intel
lcc'. She smiled rcWlnis, entity
Henry was q strange fellow; but wc had much IN
,ornmon-wc liked To- read the same things and think
about the same Things had "a voice then, and Henry
w.- a.onatcly fond OF music, and there was always
s,m,ou, about hcrc,-Wc had many iuondS
Friends, Mis- Mel had many lovers, as all Harmon
know but She would never have spoken about lovers
She Wa 500 modest and gentle, OF let ON =" anyone mat
they had been discarded. suppose She had refused
Shed Coulter on m average Of three times year for over
fifteen years. and set she sill kept him her incnd.
"Ucnry came here" Miss Mel continued, "to Spcf d
Saturday and Sunday or almost two years but sonc-
how Father and Mother We're Away d,trustu OF nm.
Mother often told mo that She hoped ! would never
marry him. that hc Wa SO queer, SO cralC lie used 10
make great ius, \arCI, You recall now pretty
She wa i'm that sweet Dresden china sort Of wav,-and
\arci.a wrote 10 him. She loved 10 write letters: |
never did, Two or three times "a week She wrote L" MN.
and ne always answered them in that charming, IN
,lulgcn fashion Of his really think that WAS Henry
greatest accomplishment, that delightful one OF c'ter
writing.
a(frr awhile Nar,s.a grew tired Of j, and stopped;
but Henry kept ON coming al Of that second sum
rncr and then began 10 write 70 HIM lis letters
10 me can never forget them. MISS Mcl ia'c
changed She stopped her baskets and cccd I" bc
rcarranqinp them IN htlpc, sort Of way "lic stopped
coming suddenly. And he never came again. hdd
been visiting in town and had seen him there week
Of utter bliss
Nis; Mel ceased Speaking her face almost became
ashcn gray and then flame Of crimson as red aN the
berries i'm her hand swept over IT. Her hands were idIc
for few moments She sat perfectly still her eyes upon
that stretch Of old-fashoncd garden before her.
at seems long time ago. she spoke slowly YET 'le
serene sweetness had come back to her face again. there
was even "A faint smile at the edges OF her lips, twenty
years ago. and yct-t was only yesterday. have
never forgotten for one moment not Tor moment Iu't
how Henry Saxon looked just what he used L" say But
thc other dav soon after \arCss. came home she was
sitting reading the paper and suddenly she exclaimed,
'Wbv Mel here's the notice Of Henry Saxons death
The world stopped, thought Henry saxon GTad! i,
twenty wears ago and now Henry Saxon is dead
| have never seen Miss Mel 50 moved and noticed
then that there were black circles beneath her eyes, and
that her lovely hands trcmbcd they lifted the next
basket Of berries into her Jap.
aV,rcisso became 50 excited over it, and talked
much about it, Miss Mel continued, and insisted on
reviewing 50 many Of the incidents OF that lar back
timc Finally she went up to the attlc ana Drought
down his letters She had kept them all those years
asked her if she had seen him III town, and She
confessed that she had tried to sec him many times but
that he was always away, or something prevented She
felt quite convinced that he was really ANXIOUS t" see
her and had been prevented by someone from do8 st"
Miss Mel sighed.
myself had always had my ideas about Mar
cissas visits to town. They were always made IN the
hope Of meeting Henry Saxon and inaiy capturing nm
Wrcissa had never married though She had had many
bcaus; and am certain that Henry Saxon was the
cause and the fact that she would marry no one
in Harmon. She always SAID she hated the place
lust then Miss Mel and heard tn" motorcar coming
putting up the road, and almost before we knew it, 1t
crushed across the gravel on the front driveway Miss
Mel smiled.
"Norci,sa will b. here in moment She has been out
driving with Sheldon" that faint smile was on her lips,
the smile with which she always considered other peo-
pies vagarics and her own command to hGrSeH 0i
aiI,nis nGi" | never knew anyone who rcligously
attended to her own business as Miss Mel she read
those letters over and over, weeping about them ana
siphnp over them until she became almost hyStcrcal
and the next morning when she came down to breakfast
she was in a sad state.
JUST then the front door opened, and could hear
Narcissa in gay bantcrng conversation with Shell
don Coulter She was teasing him about going out the