Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1872-10-08

tO uo Just iucii anu WuVu sun H"u iouc"
oul, rs rainbow fades, made no doubt
she would bo IA easily forgotten, or only
remembered as q midsummer's day
dream, by all,uniess it might be a solitary
warm hearted man lika The New Zealan-
der To tell the truth, was sorry for
him. Evidently, life had not brought
him all il might; and he was hungry lor
the love and confidence that had never
been his. SO was afraid he would miss
this little sparkle of girlhood and warm
youth, and find the void deeper when i!
had gone out.
To the very last day, Rosa kept her
place by my chair; and 10 tae very last
the New Zealandcr kept his place by her,
when no younger one stopped in TO carry
her of, which was pretty often, to be
sure. Then. he always quietly went
away himself. with kind of grave re-
grct in his lace. On this morning, Miss
Armour had just left lis along with n
young lawyer, to drop oranges and
lemons among the Storage passengers.
when noticed the New Zsalander look
inc alter her with . sadder regret than
usual-almost pain-in his eyes. He
had such handsome dark eyes, | could
see that without my glasses.
Now" said to myself, 81 hope ne
isn't going TO get soft.-a sensible. gen
tlomanly, agreeable man like him, and
quite old enough 10 be her tslher!" And
60 looked Al him 10 see il he was. when
suddenly he turned upon me-.
AT leas, you might have written,
Agatha Wells" said he sharply.
started. ss YOU may think. 10 hear my
own nsmeispoksn so familiarity by \
stranger; whom. looking again, behold
SAW beneath the bronze, and under the
wrinkles and behind the beard, iacc
that twenty years before was the dearest
in the world 10 me,-the face OF Duncan
Ashley! We parted one day expecting
to meet on the next; but that eycnin Z
he WAS called away. and wrote instead III
coming. La the letter. he said, what he
had said before with his ewes, those
same beautiful eyes, that | was the
choice oil his life.
Answer me-" said he: 81 cannot
wait till see you
So / answered. a long. foolish letter,
though there was no need of writing
for lie had read all could say long be-
fore, with those eyes OF his. Then
watched and waited for him: but never
saw him or heard one word more. Ii
you are young. you can imagine the
slow dying out OF hope and expectation
and if you are old, YOU know how such
things can be lived over. and hidden in
secret graves.
But now. as though tho graves had
been opened. and the judgment set. came
this sudden reproschful question up from
the buried past. | fairly caught my
breath. rs turned back my eyes. md
looked him in the face again.
Forgive me-" said he directly. in i
genter tone II did not mean to speak.
You brought it ont with Your eyss: thai
que stioning turn was so familiar Oi
course you were quite right, and | never
blamed you. mover meant you should
see the again; but the temptation TO feel
myself beside you. only tn bo in the
soothing charm of your presence WAS too
great 1t has been blessing | shall
carry with me all the rest OF my life.
He Was rising TO 90 away, but | put
on: my hand. IL did write. Duncan
Ashley" said | "lhe lettel must have
gone wrong"
"You did! You wrots!1 he cried
sinking back in his chair again, and look
mg ut me eagerly. What did you say p
There was only one thing could say
and said that" answered, bluShing as
though | had just written the letter.
A middle aged woman in hood and
waterproof! But dear me il was only
my face that was middle-aged. after all
my heart was rs young and and silly a,
ever. And rs for Duncan's face, the
marks OF care, and thought. and time
fell oil, leaving it only the eternal youth
of love.
1t was the old story Of lost letter
and the older story of proud man be-
lieving himself rejected and humiliated
and fleeing to tho ends of The earth viii
his pain.
Twenty precious years wasted!" sait
my New Zealander. 1--WE will not bs
separated another day while We both
live. There is a clergyman among oul
passengers; and we will be married this
very hour"
That was so like his headlong decis
ions! Certainly he did need sober
secondthought like me for ballast
That cannot be !" | cried. Tho core
mony wouldn't be legal without license
OF something. And | would by no means
do anything so sensational and con
spicuous.
But bless your heart might MS wei
have tried TO wipe up the Atlantic Will
my pocket-handkerchief. He was st
grieyed, and so impatient, and so rcso
lutte (and, indeed, when one comes tC
think Of it, twenty years is long enough
for an engagement that | finally dropped
of my waterproof and my sea-sickness