The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1873-04-17
81 WILL If YOU WILL"

The Kay House is pleasant little hotel,
standing half way up the side of mount
ain in New Hampshire.
In the parlor there, one July evening,
were four people-Mrs. st. John and her
daughter Ely, Miss Emily May and Mr..
Millburn. AS ELY st. John went to the
piano, these two last slipped out on the
balcony, and stood listening as ELY sung:
"Coud we forget, could we forget!
Oh that Lethe were running yet,
The past should fade like morning dream,
In q single drop of the holy stream.
All! we know what you would say,
But we are too tired to hope or pray;
For, hurt with ceaseess jar and fret,
Body and soul cannot forget.
"Can they forget, will they forget
When they shall reach the boundary set,-
When with the final pang and strain
They are parted never to meet again?
Ever to them shall rest be given,
Senseless in earth, or happy in Heaven?
That which has been it might be yet
If we could only learn to forget;
But the stars shall cease to rise and set
And fall from Heaven ere we forget
ELY sung with an intensity and pathos
which borrowed none Of It's force from
within, for she was good-natured, in
consequent sort of girl, who had
never had a trouble in her life. The
gift of musical expression is often quite
Independent of feeling or experience;
Elly's music hurt Emily cruelty, and
stirred and reused the old sorrow which
had but Just begun to fall asleep for lit
tie. She had loved deeply and fondly
man who had grown tired of her and left
her, because he was greatly her inferior.
Much as she suffered, I rejoiced when
her engagement with Lewis Leighton
was broken. l had known Lewis from
his earliest childhood, and | had always
disliked him as selfish, conceited .prig.
Had Miss Mary married him, her disap-
,,n;,t,nopt would have hppn unSnpa KS ahlV
greater than it was. AS she leaned over
the balcony while ELY sung, and looked
out into shadows and starlight, her heart
was Wrung as with the first anguish of
loss, the sickening sense of her own blind
infatuation. ''Oh God!' she said to her
self, "when will the bitterness of this
death be past? Then she became con-
scious that Mr.. Millburn was speaking
to her; but he had more than half'finished
what he had to say before she realized
that he was asking her to be his wife.
He spoke at a very unfortunate mo-
ment. He and Emily had been very
good friends that summer. They had
wandered in the woods, assembled Mount
Washington, and been to Glen Ellis to-
gether. She had liked him, but she had
never dreamed of him as lover, and
when he presented himself in that light
she was shocked, and startled, and lit
lle pIONoheu' ,,,.
'fOh hush!" she said sharply. SIT
never can be-never J"
"Do you then dislike me so much ?''
said Evert Millburn, trying very hard to
speak quietly.
:" No." she said, making an effort to
collect her thoughts. 81 have liked you
you have been good to me; but all the
love had to give is dead and buried, ant
there is no resurrection"
II L. 1KNE CIan foil f1n
she had hurt him.
al am very sorry," she faltered; nev
81 understand" he said quickly. II
is no ones fault but my own. Good
night" And they touched hands ant
parted.
Evert went up to his room, where hi
friend, Dick Bush, was sitting in the dark
Dick was boy of nineteen. He had bee
irving to work his way through college
and had worn himself out in the effort
mountains for his vacation. Dick made
hero of Evert, and he had been mortal
Jealous of Emily May.
NDick," !" said Mr.. Millburn, after LITTLE
".we will go over to the Glen to-mol
And then Dick understood the case, an
mentally abused Miss May as "colC
hearted fiirt," which epithet she did nj
in the least deserve.
Evert and Dick went away early IN u
morning. Emily heard the stage driN
away, and turned her face to her pillow
and Thought bitterly of the horrible pc
yerseness of things in this world.
She knew that Evert. was good an
manly, and sensible. He was in ia
way to win reputation at the bar, and,
not just handsome, was attractive an
gentlemanly.
There are dozens that would be pror
and happy to accept his love; and not
ing would do but that he must throw