The vidette. (Iuka, Tishomingo County, Miss.) 1912-1967, 1923-01-18
IN Old Ege:.'s
Heart
: ~-S - a y = =
By MYRh CURTIS LANE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


q world of horsehair furniture. Birth
had given her substantial, prosperous.
commonplace parents. They furnished
in accordance with the prevailing
taste Horsehair and black walnut
ahtimacassars, gilt clocks, stuffed
birds, and frults-pears, peaches
piums, grapes-in wax under the glass
dome that must never be touched for
fear of breaking.
SO Esther grew up. About the time
when she was eighteen she had a love
affair. The boy was Allan Craven,
whose father was lawyer in town.
Esther loved him deyotedly, they were
engaged; then he left town and she
never heard of him again.
| One or two mild affairs followed.
Esther was twenty,four when the real
affair happened. His. name was Miles
Congreve. She met him at a summer
hotel, they fell in love With each other
and became engaged Both were very
happy. Two weeks before the date
set for their marriage cengreve fell
Ill of typhoid. He diedsmpon their
marriage day, conscious to the last,
and smiling, his hand In Estner's.
She knew that she would never love
again, though she might marry. Esther
went back to the horsehalr furniture,
and ruled the home for her father, her
mother being dead. Those were the
substantial days of the eighties. Their
home was furnished in excellent taste.
They entertained the best visitors In
town. When Esther was twenty-nine
Judge Emery asked her to marry him.
Esther refused. She told him about
Congreve.
ut doesn't matter" said the judge.
Il want woman to rule my home.
Perhaps love will follow"
Esther could not be persuaded, and
next year the judge married Mrs. Faw-
cett. That same year Esther's father
died.
He left less money than had been
expected. The household budget had
to be very much less Somehow Esther
pinched and scraped along. When she
was thirty-three Edgerton, the bank
cashier, asked her in marriage.
She asked for a week to consider II
She went to her room and took down
Congreve's letters from the shelf where
they had lain, with blue ribbon
round them. The picture of the boy,
bright-eyed, CHEEKY, tender, came be-
fore her mind. She would never love
any one as she had loved Miles. On
the other hand there were the pros
poets of old-maidhood to be consid-
cred. Esther hardly expected to get
as good as another.
She refused Edgerton, to his secret
10y for since asking her he had fallen
in love with another woman-a very
sudden affair.
The ninetes came, then the new CEN
tury The horsehair furniture was
quite out Of style now, almost curl
Dsity. Esther was the only woman in
the village who had antimacassars.
There was not another wax fruit piece
to be seen anywhere-that common
place of her youth. People wondered
WY NilllOl Gil iistNt NaihliNio
they were at school.
Esther was forty, fifty, sixty. She
was soured by life. She nagged, gos.
siped, like many another ill-conditioned
old woman. After she had passed six
ty she became known as a strong-mind-
ed woman who wasn't afraid to say
what she felt.
81 wonder why Esther James
couldn't get married." said Mrs. Ed
gerton to her husband. do you sup
pose she ever had chance, joint"
"Oh, you never can tell. Most ev-
cry woman has had a chance some time
in her life," he answered. He had
clean forgotten that he had ever pro-
posed to Esther.
At sixty-seven Esther died in her
sleep. Immediately there was great
scurrying to and fro. There was to
he a sale of the house and contents.
The auctioneer was Offering the par
Tor furniture. There was a miscellany
Of stuff with it, too.
"Out of style, folks, but good, sub
stantial furniture, such as they used
% make p he cried. "What offers"
The lot was knocked down for twen-
ty-seven dollars to a buyer from a
neighborlng town. Nobody wanted
horsehalr furniture.
81 guess that's about good enough"
laughed Jim Edgerton, the eldest boy.
"She was cranky old maid"
The auctioneer, who had known
Miss Esther, came up as the purchaser
was wrapping up his wax fruit. "Say,
you're taking mighty lot of pains
with that junk" he said. "What you
going to do with it?'
"Sell 1t again."
"Gee, who's going to buy that stuffT
1--WE got an offer of five hundred
dollars for good piece of wax fruit
under d dome. The furniture's get
| ting rare, too. Yes, Stree, it isn't
Chippendales any longer it's the good
old stuff our grandmothers loved. our
| fathers tolerated, and we threw on the
! Junk heap--the day comes when 1t
comes into its own.
| Seems to me that's mighty like peo-
pies hearts, isn't It? That there old
maid that nobody wanted-there was
some letters of hers in that lot you
sold me-oh, pshaw, what does ii mat