The Shasta courier., 1865-02-11

rate. she will listen to it.u
lt was hard to begin the cruel task vet
, ior her sake he undertook it, his voice trem-
ohng' though he tried with all his will to
steady it.
Mary, love, listen. You know that YOU
must have lived more than twenty years be.
iore you were brought here that night
do not know, she said g cannot re-
But it must have been so, for you were
l cannot understand" !" she repeated. 'I
have no recollection of anything before"
| Ashley turned to Holt with a look Of aoo-
ny: !" You see how it is let us end this to-.
ture." '''' "
Give me my wife, said Holt, fercely.
=" iou viii not take her." Astley cried as
the thought of his doing SO against her will
struck him for the first time.
She is mine,o said Holt. Go on. tell
her the whole story. If she does not under.
stand it, she will believe it when YOU tell it
to her." The sneer with which the words
were spoken was cruel one, but misery had
made him cruel, and he scarcely knew what
he said or did. And Ashley told her all in q
few words. She looked bewildered
" 1t must be true if you say so. but can
not recollect; and oh, Ashley. love only
you.'
"She must come with me-" shouted Holt,
| sayagely. The demon had got the better Of
him, and the poor wretch, mad with Jealous
pain, spoke bitter, MUST words, that made
the terrified woman cling more closely to Ast-
ley for protection.
The scene must be ended for her sake, and
Ashley besought Holt to leave them until
the next day, when, if they could but decide
upon what was right it should be done. For
her sake, too. he condescended to plead with
the frantic man and seeing that Mary had
| tainted in his arms, he laid her down, and
led Holt from the room, that the sight of her
might no longer madden him. His rage died
out tron simple exhaustion, and throwing
hImself into chair, he wept like child {
Ashley reused him. $ Holt, be a man.
This is an awful tragedy wish to Heaven
mad died rather than play my part in it:
There are not upon the earth two men so
broken hearted as you and l. Let us accent
what is inevitable, but let us spare what an.
gulsh we can to that unhappy woman Leave
me now, and tomorrow l will see you again:
Perhaps by that time | shall have thought Of
something further.'
| Holt rose passively sYou are nobler
| than " he said, as he turned to 90.
1t seemed to Ashley that his grief was not
but beginning when he tried to explain the
whole thing clearly to Mary The torture of
putting 1t into words was so intense that all
before was as nothing compared with it. And
when at length she comprehended, and ask
ed him if he wished her to leave him, even
that agony seemed slight contrasted with
what he endured in telling her that he beliey.
ed she ought to do so :.
Loving as she was, size could not compre-
hend the sacrifice to duty which AstleY wa.
STRIVING to make, and her thoroa ghignorafce
of the world rendered it impossible to make
her understand what her raai position would
be II she remained where she was. And vet
this was case-so Ashley tried to persuade
hlmself-so extraordinary, so different from
anything that had ever been in the world be-
fore. that no law, human or divine, could an
ply to 1T. But above all the thought rose
dominant, that by whatever mystery of un.
consciousness deprived of memory, she was
still Hollis wife and not his. and with this
thought piercing him like sharp sword, he.
said that he believed she ought to leave him
She rose up, cold and proud in a moment,
and would have left him then. but at the
threshold her spirit failed and she turned
again to throw herself at his feet with tea7t
and sobs. ..rt;
Night has veiled many sights of woe, the
CiOuuS VI iShl nave lHdEN Jln1eS Dnen Dl6rc-
ed by cries of anguish, bitter cries for faith
and patience, going up above the stars right
to the feet God, but night never sbrouded
deeper woe than this; bitterer cries never
pierced the shuddering darkness.
When morning dawned they were both
very calm and still. Their tears were shed
and their eyes were dry. He had decided
for the right, though his heart was broken
in the conflict; and she, woman like. had
accepted the right, not because it was so, but
because lie said it was so.
&c / shall de-" she said, in a voice from
which all passion had departed. 81 can =
bear no more and live; but | can bear even
this and die.
Who can describe that parting? When
the sun set, it was upon Ashley broken-heart-
ed and alone. Holt had taken away his wife
Seven days passed, and Ashley never left
his desolate home. He made no distinction
of day or night, but lay down to sleep-if
the stupor which from time to time rendered
him unconscious could be SO called-at any
hour that sleep came to him.
At the close of the seventh dav he tried for
the first time to look his fate boldly in the
face. "I am not dead be said, :. therefore
it is clear that this grief will not kill me-,
That night he undressed and went to bed
The night six years ago, when the sheeted
figure lay upon the table, and he dreamed
fantastic dreams of terror connected with it,
came to mind more distinctly than it had
ever done before. His sleep was broken and
feverish and haunted by wild dreams Twice
he awoke feeling certain that he had heard d
knocking at the door and twice he slept again
when he found that all was silent. But be
awoke third time in the grey dawn and
heard the sound again, feeble knocking at
the door, which ceased suddenly. He rose,
determined to ascertain the cause; he unr
barred and opened the door, and there fell for.
ward across the threshold the dead body Ct
Mary.-Once Week.
New WAsHoE GREErINe.-The Virgins
Enterprise says: x"i