Delaware Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1843-1874, 1874-05-04
MONDAY MORNING, MAY 4. 1874.

would choke her, and at each attempt to laugh
an effort was made to keep back the tears
| Aud when she had completed ner daily morn
Jugs task of filling her fower-vases and feeding
her birds she ratlled of gay tune on the.piano
went to her own room, locked tue door, and
cried; cried more bitterly than ever in her life
| before. At first she fell indignant W ith Nor
ton, and then with herstlf. What had she
done2 What had she lost I? How foolish and
wicked she had been Oh, If she had only
acted ddiffsrently-and now II was too late
| But no-l will win him bgcke she thought
at last; and she rose and dried her tears, aud
pushed back her dsordered hair from flushed
] face as she looked into the mirror. Il know
| that can do II, and then will make amends
for all my folly and wickedness. lie is SO
good, aud true, aud noble. l could not bear
| TO loose him Oh John-' and she cried
afresh.
BY and by she became more composed. Al
! ter ALL the Two weeks would soon be passed
1 In two weeks there was tO be the military
ball, at which Col John Morton, as a leading
committee man, must necessarily appear; aud
| then would she not look her best, aud act her
sw eetest, and so lure him back without SEEM
| iIg 70 intend II.
| Il will wear wh.ta tarletane,' she thought
| TO her self, "because lie likes it so much and =
wreath OF white es,i because they are so be-
| coming in my dark hair &; and-oh dear glanc-
l
some Miss Jenkins coming in at the gate :
What Is she In such u great hurry about, ]
| wonder?"
/ Miss Jenkins was one of those birds of H.
omen, common to every neighborhood, whose
chief happiness appears TO Consist i'll going
about aud retailing Ill news. And now her
| hasty steps as she assembled the garden walk
and the eager tones other voice, heard from the
hall below, assured Marian that she had some
thing OF more than usual interest to communi-
Gale. She, however, bestowed 10 thought
upon ii until presently there were quick foot
steps on the staircase, and hasty tap at her
| door.
'Marial-Nlarian! lei me iu.' cried all excit-
| ed voice; and opening the door, hel sister Rosa
stood before her, pale and breatbless.
| 'Oh, Marian, such all awful thing Such a
| terrible accident!
'What is it, Rosa? You frighten me-
| The lrain-the seven clock train to X -.
| Thrown from the track into the river-so many
lives losl-and some that we know? And Rosa
| bust into tears.
In an nother moment, Marian stood white and
breathless In the midst OF the family group, IN
whose appalled, ears Miss Jenkins was pouring
| her tale of horror.
AS said, the train had fortunately nearly
passed the bridge, and il was only the last cal
that fell into the river-the others rolled down
the embank,nent. But ah, my dear, all our
Il
Allen, and Mr.. aud Mrs. Metcaf, and young
| Col. Morton. Gracious goodness! what is the
! matter with harian?'
For Marian, with a low cry, as Of physical
| pain, had sank upon the floor, her face hidd en-
in her casped hands, resting upon the sofa
She had NOT tainted, but crouched thus perfect.
ly still, resisting all attempts to raise her al
| minister restoratives, until Miss Jenkins was al
least gotten rid of; and then lifting up her white
1 sh hap ia -In IL ,i,,l
| ii can he .rlIe?"
81 hope not, my dear. such things don I
turn out as badly as they are at first reported
There was an accident, II is true, but We don I
know po ilively who were the sufferers. Lie st III
Marian, and try to compose yourself. We shall
probably hear better news presently"
So the grl lay quite still on the sofa, while
the mother and sister closed the window blinds
to shut out the hot glare Of the summer day
and moved with silent steps about the h h)lisc
not TO disturb her. And AS she lay, striving
| not To ihihk, not tU feel-never in her lite had
thought and feeling seemed SO keenly, so pain
| fully acute within her. All the past Two wears
in which she had known John Morton, all the
little memories and incidents connected with
| him, came back to her with pang such as she
had never before experienced. Shu thought O
his goodness of his noble, manly generou!
naiiIre-and, above all, ofhis true and unwav-
ering devotion to herself, and how she repait
|
iional slight as only this morning and las
night at that miserable party. All, the pail
that all this Brought her, and how ofen sh,
yroaiied inwarjly-"Oh, il lac is only spared
what viii nol do To make atonement y
And then the anguish and feeling of III,
ierribls suspense would grow too great to b,
borne, and she would rise fiom the sofa, an,
walk up md down, with clasped hands, uuti
her BRAN seemed TO reel and her limbs TO f.,i
hel; and again sic would throw hel self upol
the sofa. striving to shut ort light, sound, con
seriousness ITSELF SO that she might tiud mo
ment S rest frcm her terrible misery.
, Presently there We're voices in the ball, all,
) Marian, listening with sense uunaturally calul
) heard broken phrases.
.'No doubt that poor Morton was in the rea
E cai!-Mr. Appleton left him there just as the
r approached Milton station Nothiug since beel
!, seen OF him Preparing to raise the car whel
talkner left His brother gone down for tn
body!'
! Mrs. Moore came In few moments after
G pale, with trace Of tears on her checks, aud
:. lender, plying, motherly look at Marian. Tn
? girl turned her white face TO her mother, ii
+ she said, i'll low voice, that was not he
OWL
8 ''ile is dead mother, heard il ALL"
e And with gentle consoling words, and in
e wardy n joiciug that Marian appeared to bea
1t so calmly the mother sat beside her, bathin
: the white eyelids, aud never dreaming that he
seeming calmness was hui the stupor Of a gres
despair.
Is Dead lost TO her forever! Dead-and
II great tcling void IN her heart and In her lif,
| which could never, never again bc filled.
Q The hot summer day wore away-a Cot
= | breeze stole through the windows, laden " il
| the breath OF helotropes--a scent VIII ich Ma
g ian hencefortl never forsol-and still, sr
!, twilight shadows gathered in the silent room
l NJ A Ihta mn. Sis off
e ly to her side aud spoke low aud tenderly; b,
Il Marian only shook ner head, and begged 10
], left alone and they complied, knowing that
would be best.
So she lay st,ll as though lite itself had lie
n her body but lhinkng-thinking- until Il
l.. stunned mind seemed to revive, and consciou
= ness returned, with all its unspeak able al
'e guish.
If aft could de-if could only die aud go
is him n she murnurel. "Or Ii he could come
If me for moment, only one moment, that
might ask his forgiveness, aud tell him how
"a love him p
II Then she thought of what she had SO ofte
A. heard-the spirits of the departed revisiliu
Is those they have loved ON earth. Marian ha
ID always shrauk with a sort of shivcTing drea
y from the idea; but now it brought TO her
strange thrill Of joy.
IL "Oh, John! if you could only come to me-
ii only be neal me, though might not see yol
IL only give me token of your pIesence-'
r A soft faint rustle-an almost inpercep | .
Al breath Of the heiotrope-laden air-and Maria
l. opened her eyes and gazed around with an T,