Litchfield enquirer., 1869-12-30
WHOLE NO .a326

WAtA gu0 0A4VLe sO ppESe8s 0&A LetWOtAO0s 8U0e then drew hersrns around his neck with | But he nnwound her arms and for Che first time drew back from her embrace IL -sMary, my love -Holt's eyes Aashed fire at the tender words and fones--s'tell Mr& Holt if you remember anything in your life before you awoke from your trance in this house?"ec ssz ef ff r5sTs q do not, she said; s'.I remember noth- ing. have said SC, many times"
 ''Swear it, cried Holt a'95.9As s3 noEai 1T swear it, she said. ''by my husband Richard Astiey."nsts E
 Poor Holt! He threw himself ct her feet, clasping her knees, and crying pas sionately: 1od z,9l1G tra 43GoI es7liT o5 ''Oh, Edithl have you forgotten me- your husband. David Holt? Oh, my dar- ling, you must remember me, and how happy we were for that short two yearsSr But she broke from hls grasp and threw herself into Astleys arms. crying
 asend him away! What does hs msans Send him away! She was pale and trem. bling with terror. -.l, T 4a;7b s,.'s K. "Let her go!'' shouted Holt, GOT by" s' The oath was interrupted by Astlsy.
 "Holt, God knows will try to do what is right, and for her sake ask you to be calm" He placed her in a chair where she sat weeping fos very fright, and went on: @ .'la 20 s1f4E 0.Il .GJ5i Ck1abd- "You shall say all you can to bring the past to her memory. and if she can re- member in the faintest degree, will give | up my claim to yours. But if she does not I-oh, Holt, saved her lifel'' The strug. gle was an awful one, and shook him as the wind shakes reed.
 "You tell her, ," said Holt. bitterly: 'sper. haps she will believe what you say. At any
 rate she will listen to it." ... ,.,.--- It was hard to begin the cruel task; yet for her sake he undertook it, his voice trembling, though he tried with all his will to steady it. .raf .uae- .e.. fai ''Mary, love-. listen. You know that you must have lived twenty years befote you were brought here that night" ga-H 5l l4 ail
 t1 do not know" she said; T can not remember. v. yfs5.,f-. ,.,. ,,s.-s ..s . l.. -.-
 "But it must have been so; for you were Q woman then" 1o @s -# h'f5
 "I can not understand" she repeated,
 "T have no recollection of anything be- fore that day." --..., .-
 Astley turned to Hol( with 6 look of ag. ony. "You see how it is; let us end this torture" ....r 1.- .a..7 !..,r. ''Give me back my wife!" said Holt. Ifercely. ''. ''You will not take her," Astlsy cried. e the thought of his doing 90 against her will struck him for the first time. iaof..,. ,...
 ''She is mine," said Holt ''Go on; tell her the whole story. If she does not un- derstand it, she will believe it when you tell it to her." The sneer with which the words were spoken was cruel one, but 1,ss al N ly knew what he said or did. s.-g- azya,fI Aud Astl-,- &~lA has all ;r a faw warda. {. She looked bewildered. = "It must be so. if you say SO, but can not recollect, and, oh, Astley, I love only you" ",s.ti.~I -aj 70 -..... ,z. ..s.. -.-J E.,
 .'She must come with me-" shouted Holt savagely. The demon had got the better of him, and the poor wretch, mad with jealous pain, spoke bitter and unjust words, that made the terrified woman cling more closely to Astley for protsc- ton.
 The scene must be ended for hes sake. and Astley besought Holt to leave them till the next day, when, if they could but decide upon what was right, it should be done. For her sake, too, he condescend- ed to plead with the frantic man; and ses1 ing Mary had tainted in his arms, he laid her down. andled Holt from the room, that the sight of her might no longer mad den him. His rage died out from simple exhaustion, and throwing himself into Q chair he wept like child. - ,.a ,.,..
 Astley reused him. "Holt be Q man. this is an awful tragedy; I wish to Heaven had died rather than played my part in it. There are not upon earth two such broken hearted men as you and I. Let us accept what is inevitable. but let us spare what anguish we can to that unhap.a py woman. Leave me now,and tomorrow will see you again. 4..,--;.,f@ IT., g,. ..I.ts
 Holt rose passively. ''You are noblsr than l., he said as he turned to go. .iA.tit It seemed to Astley that his grief ,was' but beginning when he tried to explain the whole thing clearly to Mary. The tor ture of putting it into words was 50 in. tense that all before was nothing compared with it, When at length, she compassionate | ed, and when she asked him if she wished her te leave him, even that agony seemed slight entrusted with what he endured in telling her that he believed she ought to do SO. r.. t,,fs..t a.E ..r. ..,.,,<t.-r .,..
 Loving as she was, she could not oon- prehend tho sacrifice to duty which Astley was striving to make, and her theron gh ignorance of the world rendered 1t impos-
 
 sition would be if she remained where she was. And yet this was Q acase--so Astleys tried to persuade himself -so extraordina- ry, so different from anything he had eyer seen in the world before, that no law, hu- man or divine, could apply to it. Bat above all, the thought rose dominant, that by whatever mystery Of funconciousness de- prived of memory, she was still HOlt's wife and not his, and with this thought piero- ing him like sharp sword, he said that he believed she ought to leave him. 4',fss,
 She rose up, cold and proud in . mo- |ment, and would have left him then, bat at the threshold her spirit failed, and she turned again to throw herself at his feet, with tears and sobs. a-. izs. 5sl ? @ab gAlf g Night has yelled many sight of woe,. the clouds have many times beeu pierced by cries of anguish, bitter cries for faith and patience, going up by the stars right to the feet of God, but night never shrouded deeper woe than this, bitterer cries never pierced the shuddering darkness.
 When morning dawned they wefs both very calm and still. Their tears were shed and their eyes were dry. He had decided for the right though his heart was broken in the conflict; and she, woman like, he'd accepted the right, not because lt was so' but because he said it was SO. ls1 s3