Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1867-05-18

! his nelBnDOTS, Ine FlaxJODs. Tepllcu tlla'
l had aud Mrs. Faxton, as l now made her
out TO be, resumed-"I hope, then, you will
call upon u.s. and give my husband an OPP
/ portunity of thanking you for the assistance
! you so opportunely rendered to Constance"
AS this was evidently q conge l turned my
horse homewards with a last parting glance
and bow to Constance, as l already called
her to myself. The next day l passed in
/ longing for four O'Clock to come; and after
I taking nearly an hour to dress myself, l
realized for the first time the fact that had
( not single nectie coat, or pair of gloves
that suited me; that my boots were too large,
my hat too low, and my general appearance
as unsatisfactory as possible. However,
took heart, walked to the house, and, strange
to say, found them at home, Constance look.
| ing even more beautiful in her light summer
dress, and with her glorious hair uncovered,
| than in her riding habit, which for any other
woman would, take it. be simply an i'm.
| possibility. l did my best to make myself
agreeable, but went away in half an hour,
conscious that my best had been lamenta-
{ BILE failure, and utterly disgusted with my
self. Two Gays after they asked me to din
ner, the next day to lunch; and very soon
scarcely a morning passed that did not
ride with them, or an evening that did
not see them. All this time was delicious
to me. l was drinking in deep draughts of
the sweet poison of love, and could not
help thinking that Constance herself was
not untouched by my evident assiduities.
Yet now and then she would suddenly break
off in the midst of conversation and turn
her head away in confusion for moment,
while the sorrowful, plying look with
which she would again meet me was as
alarming as it was inexplicable. Thus
went on, alternately hoping and fearing, till
at length l could bear it no longer, and
resolved to know my fate. Do you remem-
Der how l worried your mother to get me a
card for Lady Swansdown's ball 2"
II thought that you were rather anxious
about it-for you"
"It was because knew she was to be
! there. l arrived at halfpast ten o'clock,
and was stared at by the linkman as though
| were sn extinct animal. / was made to
dance the first quadrille, remember for the
| first time in my life. After that resolutely
stood in the doorway watching the arrivals.
At last saw the little fair head cleaning
| in the crowd of people coming upstairs. l
made my way to her and asked for the next
dance, but with no thought of dancing /
led her through the ball rooms, to the little
boudoir-you know it, hung with blue silk
at the end of them, and then and there,
trembling with emotion and hardly know
ing what said, whispered the burning
words, the hopes and wishes that ha6 been
SO long on my lips. For an instant she
stood quite still, and / pressed the arm
which still lay within mine, and clasped her
hand. Her head dropped; she diseDgaged
her hand and stood before me with her eyes
cast down. !Mr. Fellowes, 'she said simply,
| L am engaged to be married. l was thun-
derstruck. The room seemed to turn round
with me, and feeling that in an instant
should fall, cropped rather than sat on one
of the couches. She uttered an exclamation
of alarm which aroused me, and rising again,
| took her hand and kissed it 1; then making
a supreme effort, hurried out from the
room, and rushing down stairs left the house,
feeling as if my heart would break. When
l got home ] remember sat down and in
stinctively lit a segar. 1t was o long time
before | could actually realize that Con-
stance was lost to me for ever had waited
but for her to give me some hope-that
hope had been given in thousand ways
and even now l said to myself, and savagely
repeated it, that was sure she loved me-
| felt angry with her, too that she had not
told me this before. Then l made excuse
for her and cursed myself for an idiot.
can't tell you, my dear fellow, what / went
through that night, and if l could, l
wouldn't, tor you would think me mad.
The next day, although il was the middle
of the season, l went down to Scotland.
SIN weeks time, however l tired of
that. l always thought of her, whether
walking through the heather. wading in
salmon streams, or sitting, as l did, for
hours together, under huge cairns, listless
and idle. The longing to see her once more
was, at last, too much for me, and l started
off suddenly one morning, caught the mail
train, and that evening was in London
again. The next morning l mounted my
old horse once more and went out, as usual,
to the Row. After riding up and down sew
eral times, at last met her face to face
She turned deadly pale and l saw the thin
under lip quiver and the teeth meet in it.
l simply raised my hat, and we passed each
other but l saw her no more that morning.
After that l never missed riding in the Row
a single day; sometimes | met her. some
times not, and when we did meet, used to
think that she looked as if she pitied me-
| tell you, my dear fellow, lived on those
looks. could not make out who it was
she was engaged to- as she seemed to ride
as little with one gentleman as with ano-
ther, nor, indeed, did care much to know.
and had never thought that l should feel
for any woman what felt when l remem-
bered that.
"One evening, on going home to dress,
found note upon my table. looked at it
carefully, and at once recognized her cipher
| was positively afraid to open it. At last
l broke the seal, and imagine my astonish-
ment when l found it contained an invita-
tion to dinner for the next day, with the
time, half.past seven, doubly underlined
| could not comprehend it, and my first idea
was to refuse. reflected, however, that it
could not have been mere heartlessness
which induced them TO ask me. They were
probably leaving town, and her mother had
asked me without speaking to her. Icould
not resist the idea Of seeing her once more,
perhaps of sitting beside her, and | at once
wrote and accepted. ......
"Ncxt day, as the clock struck the half
hour, arrived at their door in Lowndes
Square The servant seemed rather sur
prised to see me, bnt showed me up into the
drawing room, shaking himself into his coat
by the way. She was there alone, and rose
to receive me as entered the room. She
was smiling, and her face was lit up with a