The morning star and Catholic messenger. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1868-1881, 1873-02-23
JENIFER'S PRAY FIR.
PART I.

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He and she stood in room in an inn nIl. IN tne
town of Hull-aud how she wept! Crying as
n child cries, with womans feelings joining
exquisite pain to those tear; which tears, IN a
way wonderful and peculiar to beautiful wo
men, scarcely disordered her face, or gave any
thing worse TO her countenance than an indie
scribably pathetic tenderness
He was older than she was by full ten years.
He only watched her. And II the most acule
of my readers had watshed him, they would
have been no wiser for their scrutiny.
At last she left the room he had opened the
door and offered his hand to her. 1t was night;
and she changed her chamber candle from her
right hand to her left, and gave that right
hand to him. He held it, while he said =" l
spoke because l dread the influence of the
house We are going to, anu OF those WHOM 70"
will meet there"
to great dark bedroom, and knelt down, like
was in Bed and asleep before he had left the
place he had taken by the side of the sitting
room fire, leaning thoughtfully against tho
mantle shelf when her absence had made the
Then he ran down stairs and rushed into the
streets of the kngly Hull-kingston of the
day of Edward L. The man we speak of was
no antiquary, and he troubled himself neither
with the Kingston of the royal Edward
nor the Taotaria of the abbot from whom
the place was bought he walked at a
lighted, toward the ships, or among the
houses: to where he could SEQ tho great head,
land of Holderness, or behold nothing at all
but the brick wall that prevented his going
further and told him by strong facts that he
had lost his way. So he wandered walking
fast often-again walking slowly; his head
bowed down, his features working, q; aud IN his
cd on his breast, as if to keep down the surg
ing waves of memory. which carried ON theil
crcsts many things which now he could only
,x-itf nrir ntf
He and she had come from Scotland. have
said that she was beautiful-She was English
too but he was Scotch horn and bred, anu
not dark and stern, or really wild or poetic
as n Scotchman in story ought to DO. Ill
. was simply Il strong, wcll-iormed man, OF darl
ruddy complexion, and tiLe thick wavin!
brown hair. He might have been noblcmar
or a royal descendant of liuii's own king. Ill
looked it all, without being downright hand
some. But he was. in fact, only one of tn
many men who have como into thousand
wear too soon for the preservation of prudence
Between sixteen, when he succeeded to it, an,
twenty one, when he could spend it, he hat
committed many folles, and found friend
since twenty-one he had fallen in love NOR
than once. He had been praised, blamed, nc
cused, acquitted. But whether OF not thi
man was good or bad, no living sonl could tell
He was we'll off, we'll looking, we'll read, am
in good company. lie re-entered the inn q
Hull that April night, stood by the fire smol
ing asked for cup of strong coffee, went I
bed.
The next morning tho two met at breakfas
They wero going south, no matter wher
Whether to the dreamy dales of Devonshir
to verdnnt Somersetshie, or the gardens
Hampshire-no matter. They were going
what the north Britons call the south. And
did not mean Algeria, Railways were N
everywhere then rs railways are now Tn,
had to travel nearly ali day, then to coat
it,, to great town, in whose history coach
have now long been of the past. Then to &
on q second day by the old fast four horse
and to arrive about five o'clock at little qui
country town where carriage would tai
them to the friends and the house whose i
hueuce he dreaded.
In fact, that night, in the inn stting-rooor
he had offered marriage to the girl whom
had in charge for safe guardianship so ioI
n journey to her far off home where no was
be guest. She had felt that he had abuse
his trust and taken an unfair advantage
her; also, she was in that peculiarly femini
nor by yes She had upbraided him. H
pleading guilty in his soul, was in horror
tho thought Of losing her; losing her in tn
way too because he had done wrong. Bel
miserable, he had shown his misery as q strol
man may. He spoke, and selEreproachfuli
but, as he pleaded, he betrayed all he felt. T
girl saw his clasped hands, his bent form,
he leaned down from the chair on which
sat in the struggling attitude which express
disoTdered mind. He spoke. looking at t
carpet, not loud, nor long, but with terril
she cried all the moro and seemed to shri
away rs If in alarm, and yet almost angril
Why would he speak so fercely-why had
taken this advantage of herf
Then he had risen up quickly and sa
well, you know all now. We will talk
something else" But che only shook her he
and moved away, and, as We have seen W,
to bed.
The next morning they met calmly enou
On his side it was done with an effort on h
without effort, yet with a little trembling f
which went when she saw his calm, and
poured ont tea, and he drank it, and only
rather extraordinary silence told of too nut
having being said on the ight before.
Now, why was all this ? Why was this n
and This younE English girl travelling thus
the sweet south coast. amt ~ expect
L