The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1866-12-25
had been alive 0 my God my God my
heart is broken at last"

had been alive Q my God my God my
heart is broken at last"
Lady Hautain was shocked and alarmed:
this was a burst of hysterical grief on the
tpart Of her companion which she had,neger
/ Witnessed before, and the. v1olencg.. with
which it now manifested Itself vdry much
frightened Her. SShe took her to her heasErit.
and soothed and caressed her as she would
have soothed a child; and as the hysterical
frenzy Of her grief began to abate, she sob
bed upon the good woman's breast: N Y \
4 IF I had but had a mother like you, we
~ might have both Of us been spared this;
but | have never realized before that it was
possible that he was lost to Us forever"
SsYou must teach me to hope still, An
gel; it is the privilege of youth I must 90
and lie down now. Will you come with me,
or stay here .,,... =.
Il will stay here unless you want me; it
was IN this room, and on this very day, t at
| sealed my own fate;- it is here that I will
pray Heaven that, if possible, it might not
have included his in its own bitterness.
He must have forgotten me now, surely,
Lady Hautains?"
- cannot say, my love Your fault has
been repented Of and cruelty atoned; it is
not for us to forestall the judgments of
Heaven. Pray fer hin, dear child, fer
yourself, for US all, and I will pray that
your prayers may be heard"
So Angelwas left in her solitude to she'd
bitter tears over the fate Of the man whom
she had never ceased to love more madly
than ever. since the time that her own wick
ed and ambitious act had driven him from
her side forever .;5i
The evening Of the day, which had been
bright, frosty, and seasonab]e, closed up on
the "Old Court" in the splendor Of a winter
sunset, and still Angel fingered in the oriel
window, not, however, gazing out upon the
scene, which in all its beauty was full Of
sadness for her. She was on. her knees,
with her slender white hands crossed on the
black folds Of her dress, and her head
bowed in se]fhumi]iation, while from her
beautiful eyes the heavy tears fell like rain
upon the polished oak boards on which she
knelt: 'Oh Steenie, Steenie!' she mur-
mured softly under her breath, "come back
| to me, Or shall die; my heart is breaking
fast. IF he is dead, I am his murderess.
On, Steenie! cannot pray II
AS she uttered the last words, the door.
opened softly, and voice said, "Here is
liady Hautain, sir; if you take the respon-
sibility upon yourself, /. can only. warn YOU
not to startle her suddenly, for she is a great
invalid"
It was the voice Of Mrs. Merthyr,i the
house e-keeper, and the words. were pro
nounced slowly and distinctly, as though to
give time to the inmates Of the chamber to
prepare themselves for surprise, and the
warning was intended for the aged Lady
I
position in her armchair the deepening
darkness prevented from being apparent
The door closed as softly as it had open
ed closed. upon the newl y-found possessor
of the barony Of Hautain, upon Stephen,
the long-lost heir, whose eyes, keener than
those of'the old house keeper, discovered at
once the sable-draped figure In the window.
and recognized the well-known outlines Of
her form at once.
eAngel, " said q low voice, that seemed to
speak to her in solemn tones from beyond
the region Of the: grare "Angel, / am
come back !. Have you warmer welcome
for me than you had four years ago, OF is
even sisterly love dead within your bosom !?
You need not shrink from me; I am ;your
brother now" g52
f She had not shruak from him as. he in
terrupted the sinking movement ,of Her
slight and wasted frame, that, after a reed
like swaying motion to and ffo,1 fffr.o1s sank upon
the door door at his feet. She had tainted; the
sudden realization Of her hopes had been
too much for her in her weakened state Of
health, and she had fallen: into a fearless
fswoon: Then the words Of warming which
he had neglected came too late to his ears,
"for her ladyship is atgreats invalid anda
filled him: with remorseJ he. believing that
they had been applied to,aher, to his
brothers. widow, the youthful Lady Hau-
tain, for dearly as he loved his aunt it had
not been to her that his thoughts had flown
on the occasion Of his first visit te-his unex-
pected inheritance s1et ..E @s5-
tI7have killed her at last Y he uttered
aloud. my love! my darling! Oh, speak
to me, Angel, once again! i VIII be true.
brother to you; I will never, speak again Of.
the love that is killing me! Oh, Angel say
that. you forgive me! !: sSpeakto me look
at mep And he pressed bis lips on thai
cold, statue like brow, as though his own own
passionate eagerness could endow it with
the flush Of life. He would not ring, 1S or1
call for assistance; those precious moments
were too dear to him to waste;. once more
] ~ ry=r