The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1866-11-02
COUSIN JANE.
CONCLUDED

read that letter.. / am like Psyche,
and, like her, | pay for my error. Ii
| had remained ignorant, l should
have been content. Mr.. Forbes would
have acted his part to the end, and 10
the end should have thought that |
had fascinated him. But my poor
little pride has had a fall, and little
cousin Jane has been sorely humbled.
She knows, what you knew all along,
that she was never loved, but merely
made the instrument of an angry low
er's revenge. Still, | must be just to
him. / am sure he meant to make
me very happy-to be generous, kind,
and attentive, and, perhaps, in the
end, he would have liked me- Only,
you see, now he cannot I know too
much. As he is in your presence, so
he is in private-a perfect gentleman.
/, who meant to be so good, so de-
voted, 50 dutiful even, never find a
word to say to my husband. / an
swer when he speaks, and that is all
/ am cold as a statue when he is by.
| feel it, / know it, and Iacannot help
it: that Annie is ever between us,
and she freezes me. 4 have never
seen her; | do not know who she is,
what she is like; but sometimes / lay
awake at night and think, IF he were
be very sorty?-he could marry his
Annie" 'eliaAo
Poor little janet My heart ached
for her, and it ached all the more that
| fancied she was fond of her hus-
band. Jenny, Jenny, said /, with
sigh, II will tell you why you can do
nothing to- win Mr.: Forbes; it is be-
cause you like him"
She hid her ace in her hands, and
/ saw her forehead, her neck even,
: eYes, that is II" she said at length,
looking up and turning pale again.
I" / like him who reproached my
self for not caring enough about him
when we married. who meant 10 try
so hard to get that liking. / like him.
He does not see it, he never will see
it; but if he should, | shall be the
most wretched of women. It is the
thought of my Indifference that recon
Giles him to his lot; if he knew the
truth, he would find it unendurable,Y
How do you know that?" | asked,
much alarmed. atnoeo1
II can not tell you, but I know it.
/ nearly betrayed myself once, and |
can not forget his look of uneasiness
and alarm"
bisJane, you SANDER your husband. I"
mo, she replied, quietly. = and
you must not misunderstood me and
wrong him. | am quiet. you know I;
we'll, / believe that Mr.. Forbes took
me partly for that : Here is girl
who will expect no devotion, no fond
ness, no nonsense, he thought no.
thing, at least, that I cannot give her.
Suppose he finds out that / am not
the woman he thought me, and that
when / married did expect to love
and to be loved, will it not be misery
to him to try and fulfil his part of the
compact 70 Fl
Alas that was true, and because it
was true / heaved deep sigh. AT
that moment the parlor door opened,
aud Arthur came in. At once he
crept up to his young step-mether.
She took him on her knee, and twin
ing his arms around her neck, he
nestled on her bosom. and thence
looked at me with pale pitiful little
face that made me forgive him all his
sius.
Jane" I said, and l. am not
ashamed to add that my eyes were
dim, there is your hope and your
link with the father asai . 81
Jane shook her head rather sadly.
q No link" she replied, g but, ifpos-
sible, a cause of further division.
When / came and found this poor
sickly thing, my heart yearned toward
it, perhaps because it suffered like my
self; perhaps" she added, with faint
blush, because it was his. called
i, aud It came L oaressed it. and it
feii asleep inimy arms. a When gitEwas
SICK, 4 tended it; when it was peevish
ana iretfnsi through pain, | bore with
u and Shus, | suppose, it loved me.
put you sec Z loves me too much.
One Who,,eoghtctQ beetirsbsis second
now, and. second far away. I am
obeyed when another Il, not headed. 4
am sought when anotheris left and 7
am not his Annie that the erafaret,ce
sheuid not 9ibe resented; not auainst
me, indeed, not against the child, but
resented as a wrong. For if there be
q being passionately loved, 1t 9isI this
little pale creature. His mother,died
when, he was born, and his father n
most became a woman, for bis sake
He nursed him, he tended him, and /
reap the sweet fruit of love, II who
had not the care of the tree. But T
cannot help it. This is my comfort
in sadness; this little warm living
creature clinging to me, and | cannot
give it mp. When L talk to IT. and
play with it, when / dress it, as I like
to do daily, /. feel almost happy. Ar
thur Is not always cross as you have
seen him, cousin William; Arthur
does not always bite, for Arthur is not
Always IN pain, poor little fellow. He
has days when he is bright, and merry,
and frolicsome, without mischief INST
IL tv.@ 4 \ =. 80