Bradford reporter. [volume] (Towanda, Pa.) 1844-1884, 1857-05-07

STAYS at home | caught his two rough, hon
est hands in mine, and pressed them in graft
tude, but for a moment words failed me-then
the full tide of my JOY received check, pretty
cffectual check, too, in the thought, that poss-
ibly she might not want to.'
The next day was Sunday. could already
walk about a little, and was to leave on Mon
day. The family went church, except Susan,
who volunteered to stay, and prepare tea,
against their return.
Now must decide my fate to day" thought
l. with some trepdation, as they drove from.
the door but she handed me the last papers,
aud then absorbed herself so completely in a
book, that did not like to interrupt her
read and re-read the advertisements. which
somehow couldn't very clearly understand in
fact, one column lasted me all the morning,
and part Of the afternoon, while the dear
cause Of all this distraction sat quietly on the
the lounge before me, and though her eyes
sometimes wandered sadly from the page, they
never wandered towards me and would, after
moment, return res0lutely to her reading
again.
An incorrigiblv vulgar hand, isn't it-so
different from COra's !" she said, quietly, as if
uttering my thoughts, as she looked up with
an arch smile. In truth, my eyes had been
fixed upon her hand but, without seeing it,
for | was turning over in my brain, for the
thousandth time, what | should say and how
should say it.
a. And why is it vulgar In the service of
love- it has received marks more honorable
than warriors scars but every one is proof
Of the unscliish devotion of your heart o,
Susie, | should be more proud to win this faith
full hand, than the fairest fingers ever nurSed
by selfish idlcneSs-may not hope sometime
to call it mine y
"Oh, why do yo talk so to me ! Indeed
YOU forget Yourself" she said, springing up,
proach. "Poor Cora have you been trifing
with her?"
Cora does not love me. | have never
sought for any heart but yours-if must des-
pair of gaining that-O it will be hard to
live !" ended, passionately while a sudden
conviction that all was lost, seemed to stab me
with its deathIy chill. My paleness put the
dear girls reserve all to flight.
81 love you now, indeed | love you !" she
said, changing her first tone of simple earnest
ness, to one so sweet and fervent, that it seem
ed to her thrilled listener like the very utter
ance of soul. Then the thoughtof what she
had said, overwhelming her with sweet con-
fusion, she would have hurried away, but |
caught her in my arms, and pressed a fond
kiss upon the sweet lips which had given me
more than life Then | told her what pain
had suffered, from her avoidance and the
many little ways in which she had seemed TO
show Indifference towards me. And she said
i shall never forget with what mingled con-
fdcnce and timdity, what fitting bushes and
smiles and tears-that she had tried not to
think too much Of me, ever since We first met
had tried to rejoice in Coras happiness for she
had not once thought it possible that she herself
could be preferred that sometimes when she
heard NE speak disparagingly Of mere beauty,
she had thought she might have been the one
beloved, had she been educated as well as Co
ra. In this true confidence the time flew
by, till Susie thought of the church goers, and
tea.
When saw her graceful form swallowed up
by that everlasting kitchen so exactly as it had
always been before the sunshine seemed to have
vanished with her, and feared my happiness
had all been dream, till she returned through
the room on some household errand, and her
eyes stealing timidly to mine. and gathering
confidence from what they read there, blessed
me with one of those looks-how shall | de
scribe them ?-mere words can give 10 idea of
their sweetness, to one who has never felt it
who has never been loved-lookS, that come
with the confidence of petted children, nest
ling in the heart, where they were sure of
welcome-lOoks that brighten with their love,
every day of my life, now, and which memory
boards to cheer lonely rides and midnight
watches.
Mrs. kendall's consent to our marriage was
granted more readily than | anticipated. A
professional man, however pennileSs, she con-
-. L. l.,.l1 L l ~
her daughter had made such a conquest,
though she evidently wondered that it had not
been Cora
1t took many vivid representations of the
loneliness to which | must eturn, to win Su-
s;e's consent to our immediate marriage
Indeed, | think it was at last owing to the
fact, that widowed sister of her fathers hay
ing been invited to make her home with him,
proved to be very capable and industrious,
and therefore of great assistance to Mrs. Ken
dali.
What Cora thought of it, never knew
she busted herself in getting up wedding par
" unprecedented in that place, at which she
shOne pre- eminent but know that my gentle
bride received more homage from one heart,
than mere superficial grace ever elected from
crowds
We were Immediately established in the lit
tie home at the village, which Mr.. Kendalrs
generosity had provided home which its
presiding angel made more truly such than the
proudest palace could have been without such
spirit. There was not particle Of distrust
in SuSie's nature and the assurance of being
loved and understood dissipated that cold re-
serve which had made her character seem so
apathetic at first. To me, she expressed her
self with all the confidence and freedom of
thinking aloud and l was surprised at the
depth of her feeling the truth aid freshness of
her thoughts, on subjects which her former ST.