Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-02-07

II
select you as one more fit to
receive his treasure than |. Still, ]
know that l, in spite Of my short
comings, have earned Miss Alice's
favor Upon that 1 depend for my
happiness. l shall to tTyretain it il
spite of all obstacles. / should bt
worthless without it. 1t alone can
nerve me to perform the labors thai
| have set myself to perform, and
t shall cling to it so long as / feel
that it exists. I must prove to YOU
in some way, that it does exist. l must
show by some means, that the smile
she gives to you are given in obedi
ence to her fathers clear desires and
that they do not come from her heart
you must be convinced, as l am con,
vinced that she does not love you.
but that she loves me; and that it is
agony of her inward contention:
between her heart and her sense Oi
duty that have caused her cheeks
to become so pallid, her steps So
slow, and her voice SO sad. This il
not egetism in me. 1t is not the
empty boasting of a vain man, OF
the wild talk of a Jealous one.
think that you have deceived YOUR
self. 1t is my simple and impera-
tive duty to undeceive you -
Here Nassau paused. His voice
had begun to tremble in spite of
himself. Willis eyes were fixed,
half seornfully and half pityingly,
upon him. For moment nothing
was to be heard but the rnstle of
the leaves in the wood, the hum of
the locusts, and the faint voice of
the men in the meadows below.
The silence was broken by sounds
on the farther side of the thicket; /;
there were voices and footsteps.
The two men recognized the for
mer, and they exchanged glances.
They were the voices of Miss Alice
and her father. His was loud and
imperious. Hers was low, soft, and
pleading, and yet distinct and earn
est. They seemed to be walking
slowly along the path.
"Womanlike! Womanlike!" cried
he. "You are blind to all the quail
tiles in man that tell" Do you
see no virtues in his experience in
life, in his ability to protect you
in times Of danger, in his power, in
his energy? Tell mel" r9 a..t efa-
'Yes-yes-but yet 1 do not love
him. One must go where ones
heart leads, dear father. One can
not say 4 must love this friend or
that. There is something that speaks
before one can decide" "
Suppose that exert my right,
and decide for you? Suppose"
''Ah, but l have only to say, 4
do not love him, and then you
would not" -a.h-,.sa tHT -....i
care you sure of that?"
eyes, l am sure"
sBut will you tell me that you
love the other--the minister
stillg'
IF you ask me, 1 must tell you
yes"
At this point the voices were
lost. ''Thefnal yes however, was
distinct. Both of the involuntary
listeners heard it. They also heard
the angry tone of some of her fa-
theirs succeeding words, but the in
creaslng distance prevented them
from catching the sense.
Willis was deathly pale. He hung
his head, and grasped his easel with
one hand.
at seems that you are right, y
said he, with something like fierce
ness in his tone. .l
"Yes," echoed the other, 81 am
right"
There was another pause. Willis
color came back, and he gradually
assumed an all of ease. He sat dowr
before his canvas again, and made
an attempt at painting.
His companion watched him. H'
noticed that he mixed his colori
wrongly, and that he was trembling
from his head to his feet.
Five minutes passed. Nothing
was said on either side. Both dread
ed to utter the important words thai
must come now.
GSTell me, sir, 1 beg of you. d.
YOU not zee that the field is mine p
Willis glanced furtively at him
and then let his hands drop upon HI
knees,
"Eyen if it is, 1 shall not leaveit.
scWhat! DO you mean to sa.
that you will rOt?"
81 cannot p
"And why, play2 Why is it tina
you, who have heard what Woup
drive a man of principle and hono
out of the sight and hearing of thA
place and all the people in it, feel
that you cannot leave US to our
peace" ?"
/. 81 am happy here" /
0That is not true! You mean
you would be unhappy if you were
not here p,
"Of course. should be unhappy
if 1 were not here"
s'That is, the poor, sad smiles that
have been given you have afforded
YOU so much pleasure that you mean
still to demand them even after you
have discovered that they were not
sincere? ? You mean to impose your
self upon-upon- BY Heavens, sir, .
cried Nassau, carried away by his
excitement, and rising to his full
height, 'then you are cowARDI" 1
Willis sprang to his feet. Hardly
had he done so, when the whole air
was filed with the vibrations of 3
deep and terrible thunder. 1t did
not come from the sky, for that was
cloudless nor from beneath, though
the ground trembled. 1t was con-
tinuous, and the earth and trees
shuddered as if disturbed by a con
vulslon. A hollow, cavernOus roar
burst out, and over the tops of the
trees, at the distance of an eighth OF
a mile, the two men saw a wide
dense, boiling cloud of dust arise,
like a cloud of smoke from a battle
Geld, and slowly overspread the sky.