Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

“ I'd like to know why you've kept these old letters of Gilman Lane's so dreadful choice for all this time. They were wrote much as ten year ago, some of 'em.”
“Aunt Joanna, give me those letters, please.”
Clarissa trembled so she could scarcely speak. She felt as if all the light in the world was shining on her heart and showing it forth pitilessly, dispelling all its innocent shadows, which had seemed like guilty ones to her.
“I never see such a mess of nonsense in my life: all 'darling' an' 'dear.' It's enough to make anybody sick.” ”

“ There was an odd tone in his voice then that made Anne stare wonderingly at him.
“Very well, thank you,” Clarissa said.
“It was a good deal of a joke on me, but I declare when I first saw your sister to-day I thought it was you. She looks just the way you used to, doesn't she?”
“Everybody says she does.”
“She does, sure enough. Why didn't you go to the picnic to-day, Clarissa?”
“I don't go out a great deal.”
“She'd rather stay in the house and fill old sugar bowls and jars with rose leaves,” Anne interrupted, with laughing pettishness. “I've been telling him about it.” ”

“ Gilman Lane had always been handsome. He was roughened and browned now by his California life, but that only accentuated his beauty to a country girl like Anne, who thought naturally of men as antipodes of flowers and women. ”

“ Come round here and let me fix it.”
“I don't care if it is,” said Anne. But she stepped over to her sister, nevertheless, and Clarissa tucked up the golden lock carefully.
P'rhaps I'll go next time,” said she, appeasingly. “All is, I don't feel much like it, you know. People don't, I suppose, as they grow older.” “If they get up a party to go on West Mountain next week, will you go?” ”

“ The longest-living author of this work died in 1930, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 93 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works. ”