Juliet signal. [volume] (Juliet [i.e. Joliet], Ill.) 1844-1???, 1864-05-17
THE OLD We.

Hildred EayDe sat alone in her quiet
parlOr. 1t was late in November, aud a
great WOOD Gre biaZed on The hearth, light.
ing q the TT .rOtest corner If the apart
n1ent with a rudy glare. The warm light
fell full over the lonely wuman. reclining
in the wide easy chair, and brought out
with vivid distinctnt as every line and curve
OF her mOtionless figure.
Miss Hague had. probably, soen thirty
years of ate, though the silver threads On
her temple gaze you the impression that
sbe was u3cr. She was .'gbt and tall,
with deep grey eyes. RbuDda,rt brown hair
put plainly back isoG her forehead. well
cat Clearly defined features, and. a mouth
which bad once been sweet and womanly.
but now Ite expression wa CT Id aud hard.
The crimson ! ps shut tightly, Rnd there
was steel like discriminating abL ut them
at Uariaose with the tsn6er light IN the
dowDeast eges, and the tAo1ghtEai curve Of
the fair bruw. Looking an her face. You
knew that uN Miss Haynes life had not
passed as quietly ss che days sue was nov
living The EXISTENCE of her girl hood was
Q thing entirely 6isserRiag from the pres.
ent; looking back upon it, she could searee-
~ realize that she was fks game gay girl.
who, six years ago had made the Red Rock
farmhouse vocal with the music Of her
laughter.
For SIX weary years she had been re-
clusei Her oaly enmpaniOns at the farm
were the sturdy hired maD and his prseti-
cal wife, who nnder her supervision man-
aged the farm work She had received no
cumpapy-gsne abroad she had buried the
world and its iuterests and little moved
lrorv = Il g 81 i
in secluSiOn- Little children avoided her.
Neighbours never ran in of an evening for
an hours chat with her; the very dogs
trotted pssS her gate without battling to
utter friendly bark. Yet Miss Uayne
was unkiDd to 40 living creature. She wss
Only sapremely Indifferent Positive in
temper wuuld have made her "a ore eep1I-
lar than tbis strange, paseionless spathy,
through the ice Of which nothing cuGld
penetrate
At t&enty.sWo Mildred Hayne was the
acknowledged belle 10 BIER vieiuity-the
loVeliest, eaysst girl for miles around. To
her personal grace and beauty, she united
charms Of mi0d aud heart far above the
common order. Sensitive, high-spirited
coohdIng. atectionate, she won the love of
Paul LancaSter-the only son and heir of
Judge Lancaster, at the hall; end with the
consent Of oil concerned, they were be.FOtb.
ed.
Mr.. Lancaster was handsome, well edu-
Gated, engaging in his manners, self willed
Never in his life had q single wish eff his
been allowed to die ungratiied. He knew
nothing of disappointment, nothing Of self
sacrifice; he was noble and generous; but
impulsiVe, almost reckless.
They had been engaged year, when
there came to PortIaDd-the city of Mr..
Lancasters birth--a fair southern lady, a
distant relative Of Paups mother. Isabel
CORTLAND was beautiful and fascinating
aud was much in the society of the Lam
casters. There is no need Of eularging on
the subject; it was but repetition of the
old story,-the first wac valuless beside the
second. Almost before be was conoious Of
his perfdy, Paul Lancaster avoWed his
passion for the stranger. and heard the
words from her lips which made life for
bin an Eden
Like a flash Of lightning from cloud.
less sky came the knowledge to Hildred
that her lover was hers no longer. She
did not weep or raye-she heard it with
/ face and nerves like steel; her own hear
| was so true aud loyal that it was with
difficulty that she could understand suct
dishonor in the man she loved, She die
not censure him for loving another better
than herself, and remembering how BIZ
bad kept her 10 ignorance Of the changC
in bis feelings, she was cold and unfOrgiv'
| ing; and when she sent Paul free from he
presence, it was with the command neyel
TO show his face again so long es they boil
should live.
From that time Mildred was an.aitereC
being. She did not pine, nor NOPE. bu
Der youth seemed dead. She went abou
slowly and methodically; became hard anC
calculating in her disposition, and shut on
love from her heart. When her parents
died, within few months of each othe
| leaving her alone 10 the world, but for hel
little sister, Mary, she refused TO break uE
the old establishpent at Bed Rock farm. al
her friends advised, 5us lived there still
taking all the responsibility of the larg,
| farm upon ber slender shoulders.
Mary, beautiful. golden haired Mary
was her sclsse--the only thing she seemed
TO love to her. she was tender, devoted
and self sacrificing. The sole tie that
bound Mildred Hayne to humanity Ever
this was rent away. A malignant fever
swept over the vicinity Of Red Rock farm
Mary was among the first smitten. Three
dreadful days Of dumb agony to Mildred