The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1922-08-15


Near Florida's celebrated Silver
Springs lives an old negress known
to the entire surrounding country as
'tAunt Silly" whose claim to be 10
years old is borne out by her ap-
pesrance.. Aunt Silly is wrinkled and
decrepit, and the wool peeping from
her bandanna-ed head is as white as
snow, while the bl2ckness and the
weirdness of her face are intensified
by heavy crop of snow-white beard.
As long as the oldest citizen of Oca-
Ia can remember Aunt Silly has
looked just as ancient as she does
now-identitied always with Silver
Springs, and hobbling about them
from morning until night, leaning
upon her short staff.
That she was a participant in
tragedy is known only to very few
of Ocala's oldest citizens, and is sell
dom referred to by any of them.
In the near vicinity of Ocala, when
it was first settled, stood splendid
old mansion owned by Capt. Har-
ding Douglas, a South Carolinian.
His only child was a son, VINO, with
his mothers ocauty of countenance,
had inherited her tender, shrinking
nature, and like herself, was slave
to the old mans iron will.
In the beautiful little city of Oc2-
Ia lived Bernice Mayo, whose blonde
beauty won at first sight the heart Of
Claire Douglas Although of Vir-
ginia ancestry, Bernice was true
child of the 'Land of Flowers" pas
sionate and impulsive. Her eyes
were blue and clear as the waters of
Lake Munroe, beside which she had
spent her childhood, in the fair little
city of Sanford. Her hair was. as
golden as Florida's own sunshine,
and Florlda's tropical splendor ran
riot in her blood.
For six months Bernice Mayo and
Claire Douglas were constant COM
panions, and Silver. Springs was their
fayorite resort. For half day at a
time they would drift about on the
bosom of. the splendid, placid curl
osity of nature. 'Bernice seemed nev-
er@to tire of going into the depths of
the subterranean world.
eff / were a mermaid, Claire"
she would say, 'and lived in yon
crystal cavern, and some fair day l
should wander forth among the pal
mettoes and MOSES Of the springs
and sit%on yonder ledge of rocks,
and should comb my golden hair with
a shell, and your boat should come
drifting by and you were to see me
in the water beneath, would you
love me well enough to plunge to the
depths beneath to WOO rhe?"
y Then would Claire stop her. merry
chatter, with his kisses, and pledge to
her his eternal love as they drifted
over the transparent mirror of wa
ter, pausing now and then to study
the rocks and shells, the MOSES, pal
mettoes, the fish, which were as, Wis
ible eighty feet below the transp2r-
ent water as were the trees and
woodland about them. There is
nothing fairer than Ocala's Levers
Lane and yet, no spot held for
these people the attraction of Silvet
Springs, their constant trysting
place.
But there came a fatal day, des-
tined to separate them. A day wher-
IN Claire Douglas declared to his IA
thsr his love for beautiful, penniless
Bernice Mayo, and his determination
to make her his wife. Stormily, his
father vowed it should never be, and
secretly planned separation.
When Claire Douglas had been
SPEEDILY dispatched abroad on i'm
portant business for his father, then
it was that Bernice learned the
truth, and her proud, delicate nature
layscrushed and bleeding beneath the
cruel blow and still more cruel sep
sration. Vainly she strove to rally.
All hfe seemed but An empty blank
to<her.
A year dragged wearily by, and
the scenes frequented by Bernice
Mayo knew her no more. Paler and
thinner she daily grew. Fragile she
was as the white blossoms of her
we'll loved springs. The little chain
of gold that Claire locked on her
erp, uJnu16 have Sli0ned across the