Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1871-11-25

low voice:
The hand had placed on his arms trembled,
II was such hard thing TO hear.
"Oh, RIchard!" 1 gasped, 81 wish you hal
never told me. did not venture to hope that
was your first love, a. you are mine, but did
hope l should never know the one you had loved
before me-"
"My darling" he said, very gravely, al shall
always tell you the truth; let US begin life by
having perfect confidence in one another. am
a better man for having loved Lily Bray"
:" You would have been good enough for me
without having gone through that experience"
i said discontentedly. And then. though l
knew it would be be better for me not to persist
in going into particulars, my womanly curiosity
induced me to ask:
IF you loved her, why didn't you marry her?''
"For this simple reason-that she wouldn't
marry me- he said, with his face flushing.
"Oh, Richard. then you asked herr"
He nodded assent, and burst out crying. II
Is 80 humiliatng to hear that a man only chose
You after his choice OF somebody else had proved
"Now, Helen, please don't be nonsensiral, my
darling," he said imploringly; '.she would not
have me, and there is an end OF H."
ono, not an end of II; yOu haven't told me
WHY you wanted to marry her" / said / knew
was guilty of absurdity i'm asking this question,
but the desire TO know all about it had got pos
He made an impatient exclamation, and then
said
For the same reason men generally want to
marry loved her."
"And why wouldn't she marry you?"
Because she did not love me in return, sup
pose, )" he said dryly. "Now, Helen, don't cook
up romance about it, the thing is past and
over and forgotten. Iilyherself probably classes
IL among the annals of our childhood"
i" Not che" said bitterly; 80 she was remem-
herring wildly this morning, when was intro
dueed to her as your betrothed, that you had
loved her first and hest"
He did not say % fiddlesticks,'' but he looked
g. fddlesticks'' at me.
Dsabuse your mind of that notion as soon
~
tiee to Lily. And now let us talk OF something
1 obeyed him. and talked about something
else. But l thought of the subject still, and
turned it over in my own mind until it became
weight. 1t seemed to me to show bad feeling
and bad breeding on Miss Brays part that she
should have elected to stay in the house when
was expected. i could not credit her with the
Indifference that Richard did. | could not free
her from the charge yof being too much inter
ested in him still.
After a time we went back to the house, and
betoOk myself 10 my own room and to solitary
rejection until luncheon. At luncheon Miss
Bray was even more gorgeousy bedight than
she had been at breakfast. 1 should have
thought nothing of the change of toilet in one
OF my order, but for young woman who was
dependent on her own exertions, whose means
were so pTecariOus as those OF a mere writer
must be, i thought this attention TO dress mis-
placed and ridiculous.
1t turned out that she was going out driving
with her aunt, Mrs. Leicester-going out for a
drive and TO make calls But even had not a
more exquisite costume de risite than this mauve
silk one. which fitted and set her off to perfec-
ton. She was abominably bright and cheerful
too, and was so depressed Altogether, Il could
not help feeling that though / was the more
beautiful woman OF the two, she was the more
attractive OF the two.
Again she called my lover 20 Dick" again she
chaffed him g. chaff' is an OdiOus word, but it
was the weapon employed by Hiss Bray) about
the lax interest lie took i'm her new literary ven
ture; again she spoke of her speedy departure
for town-she was going tomorrow morning, she
said. L rei0iced.
That night talked to his sisters about their
cousin. They were sweet girls; but had a most
preposterOus belief in Lily's pretensiOns They
quoted ,mbeclie reviews which had spoken Of
others which contradictory asserted her to be a
second Jane Austen. They wondered hadn't
read this OF hers" and xvi shed had read that
of hers" until felt quite annoyed at their
infatuation. Orchard and you look upon her
as quite light in literature" said sarcas-
tiealiy. What pity the connection couldn't
have been made closer one between you!"
cit never could be closer" the eldest Miss
Leicester said, rather eoolly; ''she is like sis
ter to us ALL"
"Indeed. from what Richard confessed this
morning L should not have supposed Sire had
been always quite like sister to him, said.
"Confessed.' they chorused.
s.Yes, confessed" 1 replied, with a little
bravado. "Itwas daring thing to tell me, wasn't
u, considering We are only just engaged, that he
had asked her TO marry him once?''
"Oh! but, Helen,'' one of the girls said. with
NEST ll-advised eandor, papa wouldn't hear Of
IL -
$50 il was only papa not hearing of il, that
! reserved Richard for me-, / said saysgely. and
they all seemed at great loss what answer 10
make me, for few moments. Then one of
me m, smltten with a happy thought said:
"Rlchard quite feels that il was all for the
best row."
could not bear It. 1t stung me to rage and
Jury; aid such pain as had never felt before
to be cooDy told that resignation concerning his
| fate was the principal feeling OF my lover-of
the man whom p! had believed to be as wholly
mine as i was his. i could not bear it. /
astonshed all those affectionate sisters and we'll
| conducted young women by such burst oftears
| and anger, and disappointment, as drove them
in frightened flock to their mothers roo m,
whence she came presently with the following
MY dear Helen! what is all thiso I'm
shocked! Lily wonld be the last person in the
world To interfere with Your happiness :"
O. Bother Lily!" cried fercely.
"oh now, now, Helen, this is foolish. Why,
| il was over long ago"
| begun, or that it ever existed" said. 60 lie
ought to have told me about it; it was mean to
| Richard could not do anything mean, said
/ the mother, in arms at once.
| "And m sure Lily would have gone before
! You came If she had thought you'd be put out
1 ciOusly.
"And she's going tomorrow, ;" said another.
/ as II her ''golng" cid away with the wrong she
had done me in ever having been loved by Rich
/ ard Leicester. No, no. He must love me- ssnOt
/ at all, or all in all" / felt my happiness de-
/ pended on his proving that he did this latter
! thing within the next few days.
The next morning, as peryerse fate would have
I IT something occurred 10 detain Miss Bray, and
TO delay her journey to town. 1t was some
vretched TITLE, some letter for which she was
/ bound toswait, didnot arrive, belieye-but at
/ any rate, this was the result. She staid on at
/ Welby Hall, and all the inhabitants thereof
! were evidently delighted that she did stay on.
/ Before that day was over L ceased to wonder
! at bis having loved her, she was so lOyeable So
/ quick 80 clever, so charming and graceful and
/ Iretty. loved her myself, though called nv
1 self fool for doing so. But she wound herself
! about one so, and amused one, and pleased ones
! eye. Moreover, she was SO independent in her
/ fTlendlessness that / bowed down before her
! superior womanhoOd before we had been many
/ hours together.
I Nevertheless, i was supremely wretched.
| There was growing within me a conviction that
/ there would never be a marriage between
/ Richard and Inc. and loved him very dearly.
! But my love did not blind me; IT only confused
me, and rendered me uncertain for a while. In
stinctively / sbrank from his earesses now
! Not that he was slow to offer them, or that he
/ offered them coldly, but something within me
/ said they were not offered by my future hus-
4 band.
| And if this result. of which had a PRESENT.
| ment, came about, L shouldhave painful ordeal