Ashtabula telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1874-1880, 1874-01-03

/ Ir6GIul bOuS3 duu AOA HASN 6A''4ASS
froze her blood with a horrid rev
alation. Opposite sat Capt. l..
| and the woman whose uncharitable
attack upon her had been as cruel
and uniustifable as would have been
blows upon a chained and defense
less captive. Worse than all, thtS
was his wife, the woman of whom he
had told her, and his manner to her,
icily courteous, said more plainly
than words: 81 hate you'll detest
and loathe you; but the world looks
on" For moment the table seem
ed to whirl and the floor to slide be-
meath her feet; then, with mighty
effort, she recovered, excused her
self on the plea of sudden illness,
and retired. Mrs, A.-soOn came
to her with refreshments, but she
could not taste them, and lay with
eyes closed as if she would shut out
! the horrid vision. So this was the
end of her romance,-this the wO-
man he had sworn to cherish,-this
the creature who, having yoluntari-
ly abdicated her place in his heart,
he had proposed to compel to abdi-
dicate his home that he might give
her, legally, and honorably, the va
Gated place:
HAhl bitter, bitter, we're the lees. -
The dead love stirred IN her heart
as if it would roll away the stone
with which she had sealed its grave
and come forth. Sobs stifed and
deep, shook her as the winter
winds shake the aspen leaf; and Mrs.
| A-,wise as she was kind, with del
ieate regard for her suffering, with
drew, expressing kindly worded
hopes that she would be better
Happy wife! she did not know then
II hope she may never have learn
ed it later-how far SURPRISING ''the
ills that flesh is heir ton are the
Wearisomeness and heart sickness
of hope deferred-and the agony
that is born of despair.
Later in the evening Mrs. A.
returned with her husband who
begged her to come to the parlOr,
and give them some of the exquisite
music he remembered to have
heard in her house; and, in her graf
itude to them, more than from a de-
sire to please others, she consented.
Her musical talents were superior,
and no expense had been spared to
perfect this branch of her educa-
tion.
Song after song was called for and
given, from the masterpiece of Bee
thoyen to the tinckling serenade of
the Spanish TroubadOur; and odd
ly enough, the last sad strains, of
the ''Miserere" were followed by the
merriest Bacchantine song ever CIV
en- at unlicensed revel where wit
and beauty graced alike the festive
board, and Joy was uneonfned; but,
she ended with
They hurry me from spot to spot,
To hanish my regret,
And, when one lonely smile they win,
My sorrow they forget,
tears fell fast on the white keys
that throbbed baek-their mournful
response to her touch. That pecu-
liar fascination that attracts our at
tention to one person in a crowd
who observes us closely caused her
to lift her eyes, and through the
shining mist of her tears, she saw
Capt. L.-standing apart from
those who had gathered around her,
his arms tightly folded over his
chest, his proud head dropped slight
ly toward, his brow knitted as if in
sharp pain, and his eyes bent upon
her with such sorrow and reprOaeh,
such regrets and unspeakable ten
derness as she never saw on face
before,-something of the agony
that must have been on Lneifer's
when, hurled from the battlements
of Heaven, he turned one last, de-
spaifing look at what had once been
his own It was as if an eternity of
love were concentrated in moment
IA fierce and hungry love; and
though maddened by restraint, he
would tear himself free, gather her
to his bosom and shield her in his
heart from world he was ready to
defy.
At the same instant, Mrs, L.,
who was attentively regarding her,
followed her eyes, saw, and read as
well as she, the look on her hus-
bands face. One glance of hate
she gave them, then glided silently
as a serpent from the room.
When Annie landed at the place
of her destination, rain fell in tor
rents, and the midnight was as
black as the sky and starless as her
life. In the darkness, through which
she could not distinguish one face
from another, hand led her across
the plank to a carriage in waiting,
and then she was elasped for an In
slant by strong arms, while between
kisses, the words, "My darling! my
darlingl l cannot live without you!"
BETRAYED his identity. A moment
later, alone, she leaned back on the
cushions and almost unconsciously
repeated them again and again, as if
they were all her comfort upon
earth. 1t was their last meeting
theirlas parting. After the war,
we .drifted apart, and / heard from
her but at rare intervals, Now the
word has come to me that she is
dead; and wonder-I cannot help
it-if in that home that is fairer than
this-where storms neverrage, where
the winter never chills, where night
never darkens,-If, in that Heaven
where the will of the Lord is the
light thereof, the sweet patient life
that was so utterly a failure here,
will be crowned with joy? And viii
they be united where no human
frailties mislead, where the frown
of society is not feared, where mis-
understandings never arise or mis-
conceptions blind? God grant it
else how could we endureY
GARNET b. FREEMAN.
tU maant 10 have told YOU of tha