The Albany register. [volume] (Albany, Or.) 1868-18??, 1874-12-04

d.
viii buy you fine wedding gown, my
daughter
Thorpe started, stung by a thought
which for the moment sent the blood in
a cold current to his heart, and glanced
at Juanilla with great fear in his eyes,
which, in spite of his efforts, he could
not conceal.
She simply answered "I am glad
that Pancho has been lucky. Poor fell
low he has been long time away
Thorpe arose, and, bidding them an
toward the sands. 81 Ny God p he said
| aloud, g What have been doing /? Am
1 dreaming This is terrible-terrible
It can't be possible that / love this
daughter of wretched pauper fisher
man but by heaven p'-and he struck
his forehead with his clenched hand
'sthls IS jealousy, so sure as there is
| such passion and if the intense con-
centratlon of all feeling, an absorption
OF ones self into another, be love, then
| l, silly fool that I am, love this pauper
curse me !" For an hour he paced
up and down the cliff, overlooking the
sands where he had first met his siren,
and reflected bitterly on all the folly of
his unfortunate attachment. Marry her
he could not. Nay, even if he decided
| to marry her, he did not believe she
| loved him, and he knew, or thought he
| knew enough of her character to feel
assured that his wealth and position
would not influence her one jot. But
| who was this Pancho ?--no doubt her
| bethrothed, vet she had aforementioned
his name. Still, her idiotic old father
spoke of a wedden-gown. Yes, Pancho
may the devil drown him had gone
whaling to defray the marriage expenses.
But what did all this concern him-this
| episode in the life of a poor fisherman's
daughter? He felt it concerned him
too much and, full of anger, love, and
perplexity. Thorpe sought his lodging.
Long before dawn the next morning
he was on the sands, awaiting impa-
tientiy the arrival of Juanilla. And
when at last she stood on the cliff from
which he had seen her first, the quick
heart beat and the Joy that flushed him
were additional alarming convictions of
the intensity of his passion. He could
not, for the life of him, mention the in
cident of the previous evening until
they had walked some distance along
the beach. Juanilla stood barefooted
at the edge of the tide, now turning
round with merry laggh when the
incoming wave splashed up to her knees,
and again shouting with delight when
more than usually rare moss was thrown
up. Thorpe sat on rock, and watched
her moodily.
''Juanilla, come here for a moment. ;"
go, senor, here is beauty, the pret-
tiest bit have caught in a week. But
why do you look SO grave this morn
| ing ?" and she took seat beside him.
Thorpe took her hand in his own, and
looked down into her brown eyes. The
clasp of those tiny fingers thrilled him.
She seemed to recognize the passion in
his gaze, for she turned to the bay
where the fisherman's skiffs were lying
at anchor.
'f fJuanilla, when is your wedding
gown to be ready %
She turned to him q white, startled
face, trembled, and the great tears
dimmed her eyes, but she was silent.
| And then all Thorpe's self possession
forsook him. He took her in his arms
and pressed her to his heart. He called
heaven and earth to witness that, were
she queen, he could not be prouder of
her they should be married at once by
the padre, and sail with her father in
the next vessel for his English home.
Did she love him?
JuaniIla leaned her head over his
hand and kissed it. "Senor, she said,
simply, 81 love you but we were
betrothed from our cradle. It was his
mothers dying wish that we should be
married, and my father swore it. An
oath cannot be broken. Goodbye, and
/ the white saints bless you o nay love
my love-good.bye." She tore her
self from his arms, bounded up the
rocks, and was out of sight in a mo-
ment.
Thorpe walked up and down the
sands, and raved like a madman. He
wept and moaned, and kissed over and
over again the hand her lips had
caressed. And then the storm was sue
, ceeded by an intense sorrow. He ewalked
to the woods, and laid until evening
under the pines.
In a week, Pancho's ship came in.
It was Juanilla's wedding morning.
The poor moss-gatherer was fearfully
changed. Kind neighbors said thai
!, anxiety for her betrothed had stolen the
roses from her cheeks but the stalwart
young whaler was shocked at the cold
ness with which his promised bride re
ceived his caresses. The wedding pro
cession moved to the church. Panche
gay and happy, and Juanilla's face a!
, pale as the white wedding-g gown she
= wore. The VOWS were exchanged, anC
the gray headed priest blessed the mar
! ried pair. And then they returned tc
! the whaler's cottage, the guitars wer,
! GOuCACO1 duO d11CnO leu Oub AiS lONO1'
bride in Spanish dance. They hat
scarcely taken step, when a cry from
the beach brought everybody to tn,
] porch. A boy was seen standing on tn,
+ bluff, shouting wildly:
s'Down to the boats THE English
g man is drowning! To the boats, or h'
D will be lost %
Before the wedding thropg fully com
: pretended the alarm, a white fgur,
: burst from their midst. Like the wint
she dashed down to the bluff, then owe
the rocks, now lashed by the angr.
j waves, for the tide was high and
!! strong Northwestern blowing. At he
feet-alive, yet not struggling ct al
a with the breakers-lay Thorpe, his fac
d full of the agony of death. JuaniH
: sprung from the rock with wild shrek
8 and her arms encircled the drowning
d man. And then, before even her hus
) band could reach the cliff. a might,
/ wave came and drew them both far on
d into it's depths. An hour afterward
0 the sea gave up its dead. The arms Q
a the bride still encircled her lover, an,
J, one of his was clasped in the rigidity Q
d death about her neck, and upon hi