The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1872-03-14

and they left me alone until you-sole-
ly for the qualification Of your own
vanity, as now sec-made me love
you, against my wish, against my better
judgment, as, for the same reason, no
doubt, you have now made Scrope."
She sits, with her head bent, silent !;
she cannot command her voice to an
swer.
"He is more creditable conquest
than I, I own," continues Paul, bitter.
lv; "but for all that you will be the
ruin Of him When he Joined me at
Dinan he was as nice boy and as good
fellow as ever lived 1 looked up
on him as brother, and he-he
sworo by me! You have made him
hate me! You have made me detest
the sight Of him i! l congratulate you
on your handiWork J"
She lifts her eyes to him, all the
softness gone out Of them, scintillating
with anger. ''Have you done ?" she
asks, in choked voice "have you in
suited me enough for one day ?"
~ have not iusulted you," he an
swers, 'esolutoly, "unless Gods truth
be an insult ; I never was good hand
at telling smooth lies my love for you
has never been blind enough to hinder
my seeing that you are, in some re-
spects, different from what could wish
you to be be ; if it is an insult to tell
you so, l can only say it would have
been thousand times better if We had
never metv'
A pain like knife goes through her
heart, but she make no sign:
81 quite agree with you," she an-
swers, commanding her voice into calm
ness by an immense effort; twill you
be so kind as to take mo back to
Sylvia ?"
He gives her his arm, and they begin
to retrace their steps; but before they
have gone six PAGES he turns aside into
one Of the rooms that open oct of the
passage. 1t is empty he shuts the
door. His soul is in a tumult full,
not indeed of the unnamed pain of LIE.
nore's, but of confusion and doubt. II
he marries this woman, he will be q
miserable man ; he has long suspected
it, and choked back tho suspicion; tc.
night he has realized it-but yct-but
yet she is as beautiful as a summer
moonrise-he cannot give her up with.
out ar effort. They are as much aloac
ss ifthey were IN desert island; lie
stands facing her.
'Lcnore," he says, earnestly, "let us
understand Que another. If this is on.
ly silly quarrel, for Heavens sake let
US make it up; if it is only a capricious
way Of trying how much I can stand
I tell you caudidly that am at the end
Of my tether I will not bear a feathers
weight more Lenore, am l unreason.
able ? l like quiet life, and I want tt
trust my wife absolutely, and to believe
in her as believe 10 God. Tell me
did you mean the things you said jus,
now, or were you only angry? Ifyou
we're, I am the last person that has any
right to blame you. Oh, my dear
think before you answer me! Ou1
whole two lives hand upon it."
| She looks at him. His face is stern
and resolute, and deeply apge>cd; bu'
is it not also tender? She is all but
melted in q second moro she woule
have been sobbing on his heart, but in
the instant of hesitation his former
words, "You made me love you," re
cur to her, bringing profound resent
ment with them.
~ did mean them," she answers
passionately. II do mean them; it i
so pleasant to me to find any one t
like me spontaneously that naturally
prize their society,""
His face pales and changes, it is nc
logger tender it is only stern.
"All right" he says, co]dly; "yo'
are at least explicit. It has come to this
then, Lenore e-you must choose between
Scrope and mo. I am far from sayins
that he is not a filter mate for 20,
than l. He is young, he is good.look
! iug, he is rich, he has every thing
catch woman's eye aud gain woman
heart; and T." Cooking down an
sighing), "well, I suppose have. no
much. 1t has been as great wonde
to me as to the rest of the world wha
you could have seen in me-you know
I told you before I'm not up to won
, ans ways-but one thing is certain
ilifting his head again, and speaking
with firm emphasis), 81 will 60 share
! with no man will have I'LL or nono
, As long as you are my betrothed wife
forbid you to dance with Scrope."
"And I decline to be forbidden,
she cries, maddened by rage-by til
internal knowledge Of being in tn
wrong, and-oh, far worst, cruellest Q
abby the conviction that he docs no
love her we'll enough to take her, fault
and all-that he will have her on hi
own terms or not at all, that he is goin!
If she persist in her p;ide-to Civ
her up, and that the giving her up vii
not cost him his life-will not trea]
his heart, or even cause it any ver
mortal pain. II deny your right t.
, employ such word to me if I were