The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1867-02-22

TCoNCLUDED.]

look up, and she met Sir Hugh''s eyes
fixed upon her. There was so PEE.
culiar an expression in them that she
could not prevent "a certain proud, :
antagonistic inquiry coming into her
own. He went towards herewith his
Ilbook open in his hand. He bent
down and put his finger on certain
line in the page drawing her atten-
ton to it. .ia814a gs ~ ,!.oiiI z
How much the wife is dearer
than the BRIDE 1slaThis astruck me
rather, that's ALL he said, and went
away. 4esrla b7fdP .hlsH49tua S7sJn'
| Evelyn sat by the window, y but the
book dropped from her gfngerss and
she covered her. face! What did he
mean? If he hadIonly not gone away
then? sssaf1 aiaM nlvaH ~ /.
5 How could he do that one tbing?'
she said to herself. HE meant the
line as reproach to me. And |
would have loved him; is it possible
that | do love him in spite oft. And
| SO weak and false? / want SO much
to comfort him sometimes that | half
forget and am tempted, But / never
WIKI never must : [ used to be
strong; I shall be strong still" a
/ And so the same, front Of icy i'm
difference net Sir Hugh day. by day
and year by year, and, he knew none
of her struggles, But heb wrapped
HIMSELF more land more IN This
books and his problems and writings.
New MSS. began to grow out of. old
ones, for he had always been given to
authorship, and the accumulation of
papers on various subjects. lin these
days a little fairy used to come in
from time to time with a apretence OF
arranging them for him. She would
open and shut the study door with
great show Of quietness, seat herself
on a big chest which was full of old
papers, and in which she meant to
have glorious rummage some day,and
begin folding up neat little packages
stitching loose sheets together; read
ing abit here and there; and looking
up now and then with a suggestive
sigh till he would lay aside his work,
and declare that she was. the plague of
his life. This. was the signal always
for the forced gravity to disappear
from Cecil's face; for her to, jump up,
radiant and gleeful, and Just have one
turn round the INTO shake off the
cohwebs, as she said. 4ib S,
T'iBut you know you, couldn't do
without me, and / do help very much.
What do you know about stitching.
papers together? And you are most
ungratefu1 man to say [ am a plague,
only you. don'tifmean it. Ilwonder
whatlyou' IL do when / am married ~
I Married." echoed Sir Hugh. "Go
and play with your last new toys, and
don't talk nonsense ;i',l3 I'll Hi II Il g
But the word worried him, and made
him thoughtful. When he came to
con slider it, the fairy was NO longer
exa city child, though she was as.
merry as a. young kittep.a He did a
little sum on. his fingers in sheer abb
senee of mind. and found out that in a
few weeks she would be eighteen. i s +
It was twelve years since he went,
that February day. to plead her cause
and his wn with Evelyn Neville. He
used to go now sometimes to the win
dow and look out, and remember the
day when he had stood at that other
window watching bare branches and
wondering about his future. He
knew it not. If only he could find out
aohy it was thus What had changed
her all at-once, on her wedding day,
from the very moment, asst scenes. to
him, that she became his wife?
IGLSir Hugh pushed his hair away
from his forehead and sighed. He
| was getting gray by this time, but
then he was past forty, and Evelyn.
his wife, must be two and-thirty at
least. It occurred to him that he had
noticed no alteration in her. She was
as beautiful as ever, with the beauty
of a statue that chills you when you
/ touch it. He thought he would look
at her that evening, and see if he
could trace no change, such as there
was in himself. =
He did look, when the room was
brilliant with soft light, and she sat
languidly turning over book of en-
| cravings with Cecil. They formed a
strange contrast; the cold, proud, in
j different beauty of the one face, and
the eager animation of the other.
The girl s. on one hand rested on Lady
Rainham 3 shoulder, caressingly, for
the tie between these two was more
like the passion of first friendship
/ than the, affection. of mother and
daughter = Suddenly Cecil pointed
down the page and said something in
/ whisper, and Lady Rainham turned
! and looked at her with smile.
As he saw the look, just such a
thrill went through Sir Hugh's heart
as he had felt when she came to him
twelve years ago to give him his an
swer. No; time had not done her so
much wrong asst had to- himself, and
| there was one hope in which she had
never disappointed him-her care for
his daughter: q " '.i' =, 49, " 7 Z
For her sake he said that night
when Cecilia was gone : am always
grateful to you
But he did not wait for any reply.