The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1873-08-23

was residing I'm u neighbOring city, he
obtained short leave of absence and
hastened to welcome her to her native
land and his own loyal heart.
Her lukowarm reception smote upon
his fond anticipations, like chill au-
tumn winds on budding flowers, and
he soon felt that the girl he so fondly
loved, had bowed before the altar of
mammon, and laid thereon the noblest
attributes of her being. What Harold
Ethridge suffered no one but his
Maker knew. He bore his grief si-
lently, met his great woe manfully,
with the firm resolution to conquer his
fatal attachment for one so utterly
unworthy. He gathered, as he had
promised, every letter and token of
hers and sent them to her, not even
enclosing one line of farewell. Mildred
sat alone in her luxurious chamber
when the package of mementos was
handed her, and leaning back i'm her
low cushioned chair before the fire, she
slowly undid the fastenings, and the
relics of her girliSh love fell loosely in
her lap. How familiar they all seemed.
Each well remembered passage, in
those first truthful letters, came back
freshly to her again as she read one
epistle after another
A long curl of silken brown hair fell
from among them, and in spite of her.
indifference a tear 'Gll upna II, as she
eoiied 1t again about her fingers. How
vipidiy she remembered the night she
had allowed Harold it cut it from her
head, which then hung in girlish love
and trust upon his heart. She did love
him once she had said, and here, with
all those sweet reminders of the old
happy days before her, she felt that II
would he no hard TASK TO love him
again. 4 bunch of faded yiOlets re-
called another sacred, happy hour
spent with him at her mothers grave,
when she had gathered those purple
fiowrets and babe him keep them while
he loved her. 1t had been sweet, un-.
sullied dream, full Of soft, ripping
music, whose thrilling harmony would
long linger unbidden in her memory,
turn steadily from it as sbe might.
There IS cord IN ep.iy human heart
that answers To the touch of but one
hand, which, If that hand be banished
or withdrawn, must slumber in unbrO-
ken silence for ever and ever more.
Mildred Livingstone had loved once
purely and tenderly-but she had
met the smiling and deceitftl syren
called prosperity, who had stentily UP
rooted the fairest flowers of the heart
aud laid their dead and dying leaflets
upon the sordid shrine OF self, where
tfieir rich fragrance was forever lost
While she sat there, with her lap full
of letters and souvel irs of faded love,
the door opened and young girl en-
tered, saying:
"What have you been dongi Miis
dred? YoI promised to 81 sgt on the
street with me, ! have been ready
and waiting q whole hour,n
~ really beg your pardon, jennie
she replied, "hut | have been so far
back into the past this morning thar
entirely forgot my engagement. |
will be ready to attend you in Il few
minutes" She rose and gathered the
pile of letters in 'herhanda, when her
friend exclaimed:
"Why Mildred, what is all this? A
love correspondence
ayes, and a very foolish one it is.
You may entertain yourself with il
while am dressing, il you likn,n
"Thank YOU" said jennie, receiving
the letters that Mildred dropped in
her lap, and, leaning back in her chair
she read one after another, OF those
records of her friends early life.
Dear, warm-hearted Jennie Hilton!
Tears stole into her eyes and dropped
on the paper she held, as she read on
and ON, and when Mildred turacd
from the mirror she was sobbing out
right.
"You surely have not broken with
him, Mildred" she asked, looking up
through her tears. al know you could
never cease to remember such love as
yqg have written here. Where is he,
hp'WN%n ,.,,,,,,o, =. t,,,o n,,. ,o,, i,
answered Mildred, smiling at her ear
nestncss. 81 surely did break with
him last night, and shall, probably
cease to remember just such love as /
wrote there"
"Last night! You surely DO not
mean that you We're engaged 10 Harold
Ethridge! You did not jilt him, did
you?n
mot ,jM him, dear; merely discard
cd him, Pray use some other term
when you refer to my actions. Now,
if you are ready, we will go down
street"
Mildred's fair brow flushed slightly
as her friend Indirectly called frer by a
name her conduct deserved, but aar
pride rebelled, and Jennie foSe To get
her hat WITHOUT another word. Harold
Ethridge had been employed for years
in the mercantile house of Jennie's |
father, and had for the past twelve
months been his business partner and
an inmate of his house, and, indeed,
was more like 9na Of the family than
q hoarder. Jennie and Mildred had
been schoolmates, and when the latter
returned from Europe she had invited
Jennie to pay her long promised
visit. Mildred had never spoken of
her engagement to Harold, and Jennie |
had almost learned to love him with
out being herself aware of it. Mil
dreds tardy confidence completely |
stunned her, and took away all the |
pleasure of her intended walk,
"Where is Harold now, Mildred?"
she asked when they were on the
street.
"On his way home by this time"
she replied. "He left on the carly
train this morning. Since you SYM
pathize with him so entirely, ! shall
make you the bearer of the letters he
wrote me in the old time, as you will
be returning hame In few days"
!erhank you, no." answered Jennie,
u little coldly; al would prefer not
being your messenger for such pur-
pose, Mildred"
"Eery well, as you please" replied
the other carelessly, ~ thought per,
haps you might fancy the mi,sion.n
They spent an hour or two shopping,
and returned home in time for dinner.
That night Mildred stood Ia her
pncle's splendid parlors, receiving her
'sdear five hundred friends" as grace
fully and gaiiy, as though she had not
just one day before planted lifelong
thorn in trusting, affectionate heart.
Jennie Hilton looked passing fair IN
her dress of cerulean silk, with her
golden hair falling in natural ringiets
on her white shoulders. Mildred hal
objected to the lack of style on her
friandic tailntfp but WAS fno niucl, in