Rapides gazette. (Alexandria, La.) 1869-187?, 1873-08-23

mel. He was conspicuous for reckless
ness in the field, and did his duty like a
man. He was in sixteen pitched battles,
and never received scratch and fever
and disease passed him by unharmed.
SO many are taken who have every
thing to live for" he said once; "but
nothing happens to me-" 1t was the
only allusion he ever made to the past.
When peace came he went to Menango,
where his sister had married, and resumed
his profession, but in very unambitious
way, occupying himself chiefly with the
business arising from his brOther-in-law's
large property. He had talents, and had
| once been devoted to his work but now
he seemed to care for nothing but to make
| for himself the modest income which suf-
| feed for his wants.
There was pleasant little society In
the university town Of Menango, but Mr..
Devine went nowhere but to his sisters
house, and seldom there if there was other
company. He busted himself with books
in his leisure moments, and tried to forget
himself and the ghost of the past in
study; but, after all, life was for him
very heavy and uninteresting business,
and he would not have been sorry to lay
down the burden once for all. At thirty
| five, much to his sisters vexation. he
spoke and thought of himself as one to
whom all the chances, ambitions, and en-
joyments of life were closed.
If the idol to which he had sacrificed
himself had possessed even head of
gold, Mrs. Hassan could have borne it
with more resignation; but when she
knew that the costly sacrifice had been
laid on the shrine of wooden image, no
better than that fish-bodied doll which
the Ephesians adOred as the virgin hun
tress, Mrs. Hassan's patience was sorely
| tried.
| And now the woman had come here to
throw herself in Sydney's way, and his
sister could foresee nothing bat trouble.
60 If he once marries her, she said to
herself, she will find out what fool she
| is, and having and hating is far worse than
losing and loving"
The next evening there happened to be
little party at President Lyons. Mrs.
Hassan and her mother-in-law had meant
to go but, at the last minute, arrived an
old friend of Mrs. Hassan's the elder, and
that lady preferred staying to talk over
old times. Mr.. Hassan had gone out OF
town on business Classy did not like to
go alone; and, rather to her surprise, her
brother, who was in the house, offered to
accompany her.
Not till she was coming down stairs, to
get into the carriage, did it occur to her
that Mrs. Armer would probably be al
Mr., Lyons.
"But she would contrive to meet him
somewhere" thought this uncharitable
woman, land it may better be there than
accidentally on purpose, by the river, oI
in the woods"
As Mrs. Hassan came down the stairs
of DIR. LYONS house, she heard from the
parlor a certain hard metallic laugh with
, which she was familiar, and she saw hel
brother look about him with startled
glance, as IL some old association had beer
unpleasantly Jared.
The brother and sister paid their com
r pliments to Mrs. Lyon and the Presi
: dent, and then Mrs. Hassan looked abou
her. Sydney, who felt lonely and out o
! place, attached himself to Professor Beau
} cour, and made conversation about tn
college library, to the extreme disgust o
Miss Maude Clay, who had been maxim:
+ herself agreeable by asking series of dis
: connected questions varying from astron
omy and chemistry to the professors owl
paper on the "Catac0mbs," in the las
North american.
The Professor was shy man, and, lik
most authors, he could not bear to talk @
his writings. Perhaps he felt grateful +
Mr.. Devine, for he entered with ardo
2 into the subject of English classic itera
e ture. In the meantime, MIR. Devine wa
conscious of curious feeling-no
hope. not expectancy, not terror
|. an influence in the air, for which he ceul
: not account, only as it connected itse
Z. with rather loud treble voice, and a fri
I quent sound, half-laugh, half-giggle, ths
came from amid group of students. Th
voice, the laugh, were oddly familiar
!, They were like, yet unlike, sounds wbic
q had rung in his memory for many day
Mrs. Hassan, listening to the cOnvers;
+ ton of that very elegant. young gentl
!. man, Master Dick Monroe, was at no lo'
= to recognize the voice, for the memory I
/! aversion in this case was truer than th'
:. of love. She sat where she could see Mr.
Armer's figure in the center of grou
!, of young men. Mr.. Armer had not bee
I. dead more than eighteen months, bl
/ Mrs. Armer had chosen, since Sunday,
70 leave off her mourning, or only to reta
'e faith than by sight.
~ She wore a pale lavender silk, MAJ
very low and trimmed in every cOnceiv
- BILE place. She had violets and viii
- !. roses in her hair, and black velvet ri
g UOu VIII PStl ClOco Oh hSf "liAo~ .A~S
= = and pearl and jet bracelets on her arm
- ~ She had not grown old, and at twent
W nine looked hardly less fresh than at min
;. teen. Her color had not faded, and 8
- had the same way of rocking to and Fl
VI twisting her neck and rolling her eyes
"a "a a manner which some people called graz
- = full. and which had of old disguised Cas-
N ie Devine and charmed her brother.
70 Would it charm him again? Mrs. HI
os san glanced at him across the room, a
nn ne saw that he had seen his old love, and "
q watching hef, quite oblivious to the pl
- fessor's remarks about fine histori.
n collection which he desired to see add
q to the library. The look on Mr.. Devln
90 face was not of admiration, or grief,
ad any very intense emotion. except that
an shocked surprise and wonder.
a Presently, as Professor Beaucour turn
n to speak to some one else, Mr.. Dew
We made his way to the group OF which NJ
Armer was the center, and reached It j
iss in time to hear these words:
mt "Oh, people in America make 81
it. frights of themselves, wearing mournl
TX forever, and going about like so ma
Il