The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1868-08-17
have heard it, only I had on my far
glasses, land they quickened all my

have heard it, only had on my far
| glasses, land they quickened all my
senses. ~.gz
Then I fell to wondering. why Lucy
sighed, and was very glad 1t was not
for herself, but, before had time to
TO stand with her, Aunt Jane"
"By no means. 1 cannot consent to
such a thing" answered, decidedly,
thinking of the mockeES 1t would be TO
poor Paley.
81 did not want to, but Bertha was
so anxious, and thought I should be
such a comfort, didn't know but
ought" returned Lucy.
"Bertha will need no comfort but her
/ husband" replied, severely vexed by
the ignorant girlishness that understood
SO little at what price her happiness
was bought.
| ley Fairbrother going out to see his
bride and the same evening as we sat
| by ourselves-Lucy crochetinR toilet
set for her bridal gift to Bertha, and L
| thinking of poor Paley and his unsat-
isfied heart-Paley himself tapped at
the halfopen door, and came suddenly
in upon us.
Hooked up in surprise, and was still
more surprised when 1 saw the unbur-
dened and even radiant look on his face,
mingled yet with the unrest OF anxious
doubt.
~ could wait no longer" he said, in
a sudden burst, "before speaking to
Lucy. Bertha is such an angelI And
there I was, the wickedest hypocrite
that ever lived, going to dlLOI1 her to
marry me under the BELIEF that I loved
her best of all the world thought 1
was acting from generosity, but IL was
only colrdrdice, Mrs. Iongley; nothing
else. She put me to such shame by
her own noble courage and truth. oh
| she is an angel! It was wrong, she
| said, to marry with a lie in ones
mouth, and 1 had a right to know that
| she had loved Percy Hathaway-the
| high-school teacher at Lindsey, you
know-better than me. But she never
suspected till he spoke to her, and then
she never gave him word of encour-
| agement. She felt bound to me, and
meant TO be faithful, only she could not
begin with a falsehood in her mouth,
and thought 1 had right to know.
Sueh an angel! You can't think how
handsome she looked when she said
| that. 1 had to kiss ner on the spot, and
then told her my story. And now If
Luck will not love me don't know
what shall dol"
AS he spoke in his boyish vehemenee
and manly passion Lucy went red and
| white, and red again, without saying a
word or looking up, while was dumb
as she.
Presently Paley spoke again. Speak
Lucy, won't your I don't know what
shall do if you will not love me-" he
repeated, earnestly.
Then Lucy looked shyly up. SCI
never could see how Bertha could love
any body better than Paley, but 1
didn't tell her So"
Poor Lucy! 1t seemed, with all my
graduation, and in spite of my far
| glasses, that it was she who had been
wearing the crown of fire, after all. Be-
sides returning Paley's unspoken love
with true womanly interest-which is
compound-she had been sole conhdante
of Bertha's mistaken scruples, tearing
her heart with tender sympathy, and
keeping her secrets SO closely that i, in
my blind wisdom, did not even dis
'cover that she had any secrets to keep.
But
when the shore is won at last,
| Who will count the pillows passed?"
Not long after this evening there was
double wedding at st. Pau's Church,
and 1 eat in the first pew, with my
neighbor Fairbrother wIping her eyes
in pure delight upon one side of me,
and Mrs. Bell signing out her thanks
giviDgs upon the other; while looked
through my glasses at the kneeling
| brides, and said to myself, how much
better the truth serves one than liei