New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1872-03-31

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wonderful powers Of adapting himself to his
audience.
When you came to the central qualities
OF the man. he was good -natured and good.
hearted, with plenty of underlying self-cOn-
ceit, which he had good taste enough to
keep mostly in the back ground, and gene
| raj purpose of being gentleman, in all the
relations and circumstances of life. He ad
mred Philip Sydney and Sir Walter Raleigh
and all the grand and poetic figures of his
tory and had feeling. whth b, it is cLarita
bic to hope, sprang from something better
than mere egotism, that he belonged by
birtLright OF sympathies and aspirations to
this company OF the great and good OF all
| ages.
He was just the sort of man. you see. this
! Dick Kennedy, to attract the fancy and
heart OF OF young girl like Margaret
duane. Size was not so very young, either
| but she mad high ideals of men. and those
| she had met had been sure to disappoint
| her in themselves before long.
The business reat between ithe
| houses OF Duane and Kennedy afforded
! Dick a very comfortable footing in the
| former family.
He was fascinated with Margaret from
! the first time he beheld her-hOnestlv
| thought her the sweetest and noblest wo-
| man he had ever met; and for her. II heart
and soul were a little slower in yielding to
! the new attration, they were drawn steadily
| toward it, as moons draw the tides.
aln not writing a mere love-story; Il l
were. | should liDger over this enchanted
ground OF Margaret Duane's youth. Few
| men, perhaps. are loved as DICK htnnecv
was. How Margaret glorified and idealized
| and worsniped this man, with all the ten
deIness and all the iinag nation OF her
| nature.
Yet there was certain dignity AMI reti-
| cence in her affection. Sentiment with her
| never left solid ground, "to lose itself il
! ouakng morasses of sentimentaity.'
Dick Kennedy was certainly an ardent
lover enough, at this time. to satisfy the
most exacting of women, and Margaret
| had, Of course, absolute faith in him. She
was TOO loyal and proud for any pettinesses
OF jealousy.
The companionship of such woman
lifted Dick Kennedy into mood that was
hardly natural to him, vet he was not con
sciously insincerc, and will say this much
for him: if IN those happy days ofcourtship
he could have been made to believe that he
would ever be false to Margaret Duane's
hear, and faith, / honestly believe the fel-
low il his disgust and horror would have
gone out and shot himself
Gerald, on the whole, was gratitied with
his sisters choice. He would have liked to
=
ant suburban home, and, beyond his own in
terest. he was honestly fond of his sister;
but he felt that it would not be quite fair to
ask her to doom herself to single blessedness
for his sake.
And, ii he must give W Margaret. Dick
Kennedy had many of those qualities likely
TO commend themselves to man who sur
veyed all things from the side of their ma
terial values, who believed in money and
comfort and responsibility.
Dick was in a fair way of making for
tune. the brother reasoned, if the fellow
would devote himself to business and not
be drawn off by any dilettante tastes i'll
literature aud art: he was good-Da
tured, had an unblemished name, and
was desperately in love with Mar
garet. So Gerald Duane comfortably made
up his mind, musing after dinner, betwixt
his newspaper and slow putfs of his cigar.
Margaret. it was true" he concluded.
was IA splendid creature, worthy OF the best
man that ever trOd shoe leather and she
had evidently taken it into her mind to
exalt this mortal Dick Kennedy into a kind
of god. Well. it seemed in the woman
genus 70 do these things smiling com
placentiy 10 himself: and so, when the time
came. and his consent was asked, which
everybody understood was the merest cere-
monv. Gerald played very handsomely the
role ot elder brother and guardian Va
rious circumstances, however, occurred TO
delay the bridal-mcst unromantic illnesses
OF the children, to whom Margaret was de-
voted
Then, OF a sudden. serious illness of one
of the members OF the firm summoned Dick
to San Francisco. That was in the days be
fore tie opening, of the railroad. and the
young lover was obliged to make the jour
nev by sea.
IL never was made up after the pattern
Of Jacob. l can not serve seven years
for nv Rachel. though she be a thousand
times fairer and sweeter than she OF Ha-
ran. said tie young man to Margaret. in
their last interview. These six months
seem an eternity"
IL know they do. Dick" raising these
wonderful. blush. grayish eyes to his, and
when he looked i'll them he actually won
dered if there had been so splendid a
woman in the world before, thinking OF
Cleopatra, Portia. Beatrice.
''Anu across the days and distance will
shine tits one truth we have each other to
love and to trust
She was silent moment here. The two
were walking in the grounds of her broth
er's hone. Il was a still moonlight night. |
the edges Of the outgoing September just
a little crumpled by the trosts. and a lonely |
crying OF katydids among the strawberries. |
Then Dick Kennedy spoke, Il was Won
ieilng how managed to live in this world |
without that knowledge, Margaret; vet I |
did. and made shift to get along pretty
too, strangely enough, it
seems, now.
Her face looked up at him in the still
moonlight, which seemed to have touched
the world with tie holiness of heaven.
Dick" she said very earnestly. Il do not
Delieve M a very good woman
'Marg3ee
'Decause. | can not understand how I
.ouid live Il moment in Gods world without
Iour love. without my faith in you. and
houid no. want to- Is that right. | wen
Ter o.
And again he said, more softly and ten
leriy, : possible, than before, ''Marga-
Ct =
But don't you see, Dick. there have been
women with hearts as tender and faith as
tIong as mine, and they have Lad to lose
10Th the love and the faith, and vet they
wed on, brave. noble, heroic women. How
id they do il :"
You will never he put to any such tests,
hid" lie said. yet, if anything should
appen 20 me
She drew closer to him. with little ges-
lre CT terror which made him hasten to
ay. il a careless tone:
"But nothing is going to happen. l
rophesy to you. Margaret, that six months
rom tonight you and | will walk upon
hese very paths. and the moon will wait
pom Us. vi h all her court of stars
But what if there should be no moon,
nd it should happen to rain p she said,
'lth that swift sparkle of humOr which was
part Of Margaret Duane, and which gave
S own freshness and piquancy to her talk.
/ hen Your prophesy will have failed you,
hex Kennedy ;
N L. |
18th one sabre stroke Of your wit" laughed
he man.