The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1872-04-14

true position. She ha. really liked Frederick e'Ia
able in house whore all are either older or
younger than herself except him. Their
he had seemed to her more honest. But now
he trents her with certain familiarity Of look
and tone which offends Her nice sense OF pro
In which she is placed. She has been
very reticent concerning herself and her |
relatives. True pride and dignity have made
ts 20 no nsr ss
herself She does not wish to seem to make
any claim for considerations outside of her own
proper seif-respect; and this feeling is in
creased by the utter silence which Lizzie has
preserved toward her.
interest in this battling coquette, for SO he
firmly believes Elinor to he. Does he not hold
the prooff He has sent his own picture to E.
At the usual and he
session. He waits until he receives an &C
knowledgment from E. l.; and then he watches
Elinor; He is prepared to see her betray her
overwhelming confusion at discovering who
her unknown correspondent is. What then is
his amazement, his disappointment at seeing
no ripple Of disturbance in her composed de-
meanor! He is exasperated at this assurance.
He determines to shake her composure by direct
means. The opportunity offers only too soon.
| AS the last music lesson for the day is
Mr.. Frederick Schuyler presents himself with
: peculiar and, to Eiinor. an offensive smile on
"Miss Lloyd he says blandly. edo you not
think it is time to drop this maskingf"
Elinor looks at him with wondering and
offended eyes. They are not the eyes Of either
known hitherto as hers. They fash mp to him
understand you, STRIP
bornness, that he almost as Indignantly replies,
"And I am sure cannot understand your
II do not desire that you should, " she retorts,
"but think it due to myself to demand why
i you presume to thus address me, Mr.. Schuyler"
4 The offended tone remains, but blended with
it is o little faint tcaeh of grieved feeling,
"Can you pretend - still treat me as if you
did not recognize met Is my picture SO I'M
like me that you do not know the original y
i "Your picturev and su oh O world Of WONDER
ment is expressed in her voice that he thinks
she ought to be on the stage for consummate
acting.
Perhaps you do not recognize this and ~ d, he
holds before her picture SO like herself that
she is confsunded. For the moment, she real
ly does not see her cousin Lizzie as plainly as
herself The photograph, like one of those se
libellons stories which are true in detail but
false in implication, has given the reddish tint
in Lizzie's hair, brows and lashes dark as her
own, and there is the blonde cousin pre-
sented, the very counterpart of the brunette
one. The light hazel eyes are, in the photo
, graph, dark as Elinor's own.
Elinor gazes speechless for o moment. ihen
she recognizes the dress of her cousin, and the
expression not her own which she knows SO
we'll. It all rushes upon her perception at
once-the cruel mistake-Lizzie's ciandestlne
correspondence, of which she disapproved SO
much-the well-known resemblance between
them-the picture more like herself than Liz
zie-she secs it all. and she sees Mr.. Sch1yler's
triumph in her discomfiture. entity Lizzie
would not look SO guilty as innocent Elinor
"Checkmate m says Mr.. Schuyler. His tone
Mr.. Schuyler, this is not my picture.
never sat for it."
/" Miss Lloyd"
repeat; .s 81; This is not my picture and
But you are e. L." he says showing her
his lasemissive with that signature: and you
confronts her with duplicate of bis own
picture.
have seen either of these pictures" she replies,
glancing disdainfully at each of them.
"Do you know whose this is :" herasks.
At this point-blank question, Elinor bursts
into tears. The cruelty of the, position in
which she finds herself is too much for her.
She will not betEsR her cousin, and she knows
whelming videncds rests her defence of herself
And in tears, distressed beyond measure, she
rushed from the room. MI: Schuyler gives
she has told him the truth, in spite of all he
knows and has seen. For why does she wish
to deny it What girl who could do this thing
sertion, "My name is Elinor Lloyd. and have
never writ Ten to you," rings in his ears. He
believes it, as will all Of us sometimes be-
lieve, apparently against reason.
A little book lies near o roll of music on the
j piano, with her gloves and hat. He takes up
this book and examines it, for no reason ex.
cept that it appears to belong to her. A copy
of Dickens Barnaby Rudge, with a mark as7tne
description of the Lord George Gordon
and pencil marks on the margin. He ~
idly to the fy-leaf, and written, q = Il.
beth Lennox, from her brother Robert.e4
cruel evidence! circumstance, that uuspirita<
ual god and mscreator,"' again shows Elinor as
a liar What can he do now bnt doubt her
word Einor meanwhile is pacing her room
in n tumult of agitation. Her first impulse
is to abandon her engagement with Mrs Wood
at once, and go to her parents. But poverty
among other hard impositions forbids us acting
on the dictates of pride, be it ever 30 honor,
able, Elinor shrinks from staying, but also
shrinks from giving her reasons for leaving
to her parents or to Mrs. Wood. To give
false ones, covering her real one never
for one moment occurs to her. She feels
keenly the cruelty, the injustice of the
false position in which Lizzie's folly Las
placed her. Yet she is too generous at
heart to betray Lizzie even to her mother.
l NJ