The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1870-03-04
Mi,'seslIany. {
An, usLUuKT, T,sMILE. ', II
BY FLORENCE MALCOLM.

faEt An tNuONAl cmfUHs
BY FLORENCE MALCOLM.
st--T-y s.t.FaAff\ +
There were angry, bitter thoughts il
Mabel Colchester's heart as she Sa
alone in the splendid solitude of hel
boudoir. F't
Her dark face exquisitely beautiful
i'm its perfection of outline, and in its
scarlet tints of lip and cheek, bore in
the humid eyes and tear-stained cheeks
the unmistakable signs of recent weep
ing. The naughty curve of the lips
and unconscious clinching of the deli
cate, jewelled. hands, bet0kened that
the grief had been accompanied by an.
ger, while the nervous and constant
tapping of one of the little satin-slipper.
ed feet, made it evident that Miss Col
chester was reither meek, mild, mol
Some one raped at the door-hel
maid, no doubt.
$50 away" she said impatiently,
/ go away, Hortense! did / not tell
YOU that wished to be alone this NOR
ming ?'' - IL III I.,ytsIl.
| - LII ISL L l1OfCcDoc,, oufi tiiO pStoou
outside, ats Ben"
The words Were simple and common.
place, but the rich grandeur Of the voice
made them sound like a short, sweet
strain of music.
A bright smile broke over MabePs
troubled face; she opened the door in
MDear old Ben, how glad I am TO see
you Where have You been keeping
yourself all this week ?"
Sat home"
"Have YOU been ill ~ and pair oi
lovely, anxious eyes, looked up into
Ben Morford's face, sending thrill OF
subtle JOY through lis young veins.
mo" he said, seating himself be-
side her. =" / have not been ill, but
chose to play recluse for few days.
And now let me question yoa. There
are tcar-stains on your cheeks
has vexed you this morning."
1T is .nothing-indeed it is moth
idg,'' said Mabel, hastily. You know
how foolish / am, Ben; mere trife
will make me shed tears"
He saw that his question had pained
and embarrassed her, and therefore he
did not press it further. -.
After a few minutes of desultory con-
versation, she relapsed into the am
pleasant revery which his coming had
disturbed. - 7s-fsg .-r-et.l.s
Before any other guest she would
have striyen to maintain her accus-
toned gayety of spirits, but IN the pres
ence Of Ben Morford-her dearest,
truest and best friend, - as she was wont
to style him-she felt no restraint, and
no necessity for deception.
Aud he, the dearest, truest and best
friend, sat looking at her with q shad-
ow of pain coming across his splendid,
passionate eyes-eyes, which, of late,
could scarcely keep the secret of the
love which had grown with his growth
and strengthened with his strength,
until it had become the first thought oi
bis heart, and the brightest, ,purest hope
| of his fair young life. ,....ss.
That Mabel G Colchester a girl of quick,
keen perceptions, should have remain-
ed unconscious of this love seems al
most impossible, yet so it was.
Had you suggested such a thing To
her she would have laughed amlsediy,
and told you that Ben while still in the
ignominious petticoats had rocked heI
in her cradle, that he had teased and
petted her during her whole life, that
he had loved her just as he had loved
his sister Bertha, that he was a dear,
noble fellow, but that he had never
dreamed of loving her in romantic
fashion, and that you must never hint
such thing again, or else she should
be quite angry with you, and so ever
afterward You held your peace, and
Door Ben went on loving, and Mabel
went on liking, until at last the year
and day and hour came in winch the
man spoke of his lifelong love ana the
girls heart was undeceived.
And the year and day and hour was
that in which Mabel sat thinking with
passionate anger and pain of her love
of the keen, crafty, handsome man, OF
whom the reader shall hear anon-oi
the last nights bal n,asQ,tc, in which
her heart had been SO terribly wounded
by his indifference and neglected. the
fair, fair woma,i who had leaned upon
his arm, and looked up into his face
with love-lit eyes-of of her own fierce,
though smothered jealousy and rage.
+ MOrford's voice broke i'm upon heI
gloomy reverie:
"You are in sombre mood this NOR
ming, Mabel?"
There was a culver of pain in the
voice, which she could not fail to
detect.
"Dear Ben," she said, patiently, 81
am in a sombre mood, or rather very
unhappy one. Forgive me, for having
appeared sullen and disagreeable, but
cannot help it; you would not blame
me if you knew how wretched, how
unhappy l ann :.
He would not ask her again what II
was that vexed or troubled her, but
with OH irresistible impulse of passion.
ate tenderness he passed his arm around
her, and drew her closely to his side.
1t was the first act of love, and Mabel
was 50 startled and bewildered by II
that she had not power to speak ol
move.
His face was dangerously near hers
and swift and silent his first kiss fell
upon her lips.
Then she freed herself from his en-.
circling arm, and looked at him sor'
rowfully, amazedly, saying very gent
ly, while the bushes famed upon hei
cheek :--u---.- .-s.-szsa-.ls----az,
al think you forget yourself, Ben;
never knew you to act in this way be-
FORE"
al love you," he said in husky
impassioned tone, "let that plead my
excuse"
Mabel's heart was stirred to its pro
foundest depths of pity and tenderness
The knowledge OF his passion, sud
denly as it had come to her, hat
brought with il no loathing-no repug'
nance, but a vague, dreamy sense o
sorrow, and a pity almost akin to love
Something within her heart seemed
TO saw to her-this, is your true lover
the noble, genial, gentle-souled man
SO well suited to take your wayward lif'
into his own, and make it serenely
perfectly happy. Turn away while
there is vet time from that other low
which you have madly hoped to claim
for Ais Is the stronger, the purer, :h'
two.
But across these inward prompting
drifted the vision of face-a manly
splendid face, lit with dark, magnetic
! eyes, and crowned with a halo Of sun
ny hair-a face so wondrously, so gio
riously beautiful, that once seen i
i could never be forgotten; even an i'm
I aginary vision, its beauty held Mabe
spell-bound. She had no word of hop
for poor Ben; she could only look a
him i'm painful silence, while the grand
Iy formed head. and bright, vivid fac