Holmes County Republican. [volume] (Millersburg, Holmes County, Ohio) 1856-1865, 1860-02-09
a SsIeft Gale. ; 6ss


Fidelity ReWarded.
t.la5 Eif9a $40 ssce5 o. " .l&
s2al al % sBr'RAsiLxru. szv bic sls'
-dC - iH5o zret----- Q = ne50IS SIS
Agnes Bertrand sat alone in her gorge
ously furnished chambers The victim OF VA
ried and overwhelming emotions. Al
hour before she bad been the centre Of q
gay group in the brilliant parlon below
the scintillations Of her. wit and the fash
ing of her Eondrous eyes challenging such
admiration as many fair friend coveted
but . chance word from one of that group
had sent her, under the plea of indisposi.
ton, 10 her own apartment with strange,
bswildering thoughts, filing the measure
of the evenings enjoyment sli = -
Shutting the door and securing it that
no carsless footsteps might intruds upou
her solitude, she had, in the 6rst futter oi
her sweet surprise, throvn herself upon
her luxurious couch, and pressing her burn
ing face upon its yielding cushion stole a
deeper bue, and lent it back 10 the round
ed arm encirclibg theniu . vehement en-
brace. Then she arose and removed her
jeweled ornaments, exchanged her gossa-
mer evening dress for snowy roge de
ehana6re, drew an inviting tastteuil in front
Of the mirror, and satdown to contemplate
the image reflected therein. It was a
beautiful picture that met her gaze, and
yet the proud lip of Agnes Bertrand sof
tened before il, and the dark eyes forgot
ths;r flashing in the mist, that gathered
over thsmsia 1T had been more beautiful
still, and this conviction, forcing itself so
unceremoniously upon her., impelled also
the unconscious utterance of those two
words, which every woman SO slowly and
unwillingly admits to the vocabulary Of
personal fidelity, aHow changed !"
Yes, she was changed and never had
she so realized the truth as now. The
face Of tweuty-eight was no longer the
faes of Understanding had been add
ed and something had been taken away.
But to define the gradual loss of such rare
pesoual Attractions was difficult task.
even for their possessor. The eyes had
lost none of their magnetic power-now
large and liquid and melting in their ten
derness, now brilliant as corruscation from
q diamond, now searching or sympathetic
40 emotion demandad, the raven tresses
which her fingers idly unbound were glossy
and sbuudant STILL The lip had lost none
Of its ivermilIioD, the complexion none of
its dazzling whiteness, yet change was
plainly and painfully visible. 1t was the
lack Of that attractive freshness, that in
describable something which youth always
possesses, and for which no charms of ma
tnrity can ever fully compenaas.
: She turned her head this way and that,
pushed the wavy tresses back from her
ample forehead, as he had done on that
last night when--but we must not antici-
them about her fingers and
loosened their bright rings on her neck,
and trailed them out upon her snowy shoul-
ders. Then she took from q perfumed
casket, rose which had once been white
withsred and yellow now-with . tiny
bud and trifoliate stem, and wound it
with shining curl as he had done that ve-
~ night-theu the smile came back to the
red lip, the light to The dark eye, the
bloom to the Whits cheek came and lin |
eered untilau other thought and sadder
forced them aside. and they faded out again,
the bloom and the light and the ravishing |
smile Then the proud head dropped up
on the arms of the fauteuil, the bosom
swelled with tumultuous recollections, and
The binding tears came gushingly and
long. ssss'sa s7aEssl logsisi
No one ever saw Agnes Bertrand weep
thus, and tears were no strangers to her
syes. Tho world saw in her brave, gift
I'd soul, that lived upon its own strength,
and helped to sustain others. champion |
Of the needy, ready helper in all woman
y enterprises, queen CT festivities, a faith |
fnl friend and an invaluable companion
But she knew what depths there were in
he heart still dumb, what yearnings un,
satisfied; what purposes unaccomplisbed;
he knew. moreover, what alone could
answer those irrepressible longings, and,
Wifi somsn's fidelity to the one memory
treasured iu the soul. shs went on her way
unaided and ubyielding; turning adeaf ear
10 ardent solicitations Of her countless ad-
nise1s.. and furnishing no Key to1ths myss
.ery Of her steadfast discrimination sd1f
And now that msmory had been ruth
essly revived-he was coming back, and
.hese gushing tears were for him, for the
nd regret which mpst follow the discovery
,f hsr lost youth. q ags 3sl.aaat daj
Ten years of separation! How much
bad they carried with themi. Or wasted
ove. Of weary watching, Of idle hope, how
much, how much. xIasI q
The long night wore on, the storm spent
tsslf, and once more the brave soafof Ags
,es Bertrand asserted lis superiority torer
lime and external circumstances, and stood
orth in its own atmosphere of unfading
,esuty.a If she had lost much, what had
he not gained in that long interval of
Iexssf What treasures Of thought and
ore, with which she would not part 10 buy
,ack even youth I II she had once been
verihy-was she not worthier nowi Her
,eart answered That heart, which, In ell
Is contact with the baleful influences Of
'ociety, was true heart still; and, lifting
,er glance again to the mirror, the pale
lace there smiled upon her such encourage
ment and trust that she wisely resolved
never again to mourn the youth which
,ouid not be restored, but to make the
lutumn Of her coming years rich in the
harvest which the snr;pC.t;rna had "a