The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-02-19
A SHADowY LOVE; AND HOW
1T PROVED REAL.

Ileu dG IasG. % IL happened that now
found myself, heated and out of
breath, setting down my vaIise before
the still closed ticket-office. and the
RreaF round clock boldly asserting the
hour to be 10. The train didn't leave
tllI II. L sat down on my valise OPP
poslte the clock, and taking from
my breast pocket a note, occupied my
self with reading it and thinking it
over. will rot be rash enough to saw
how many times / had read it before.
nor how many interpretations I had put
upon its simple words.
Your letter came TO me Yesterday.
My OILY surprise was that il found me
unable to give YOU an answer. What
shall l say? Perhaps fac to face the
difficulty would seem less. l do not
understand myself. Can you have
patience with me and forgive me if in
the end hurt one who has been my
true friend 2"
That was all. There was no begin
ming or end, no signature. There was
a rush of tOple, and I was half con-
sclous OF being dragged and shouldered
and pushed into car while I held a
ticket IN one hand and my valise in the
other. There was an empty seat near
the window, toward which a weightv
old lady IN spetacles and a green veil
drove me, and occupied it with me.
The even beat of the moving cars seemed
saying the words of the note over and
over, chOpping them up, and CHANGING
the pronunciation. The monotopy of
this had soothing effect upon my ex-
cited nerves, and for the first time since
the writing of the letter which had
brought this note in answer to me was
able to look back upon the whole story
of my love-
Qdite as if it were tale in a book,
began at the time when / accepted Mr..
Dslancey's invitation to his country
seat for fortnigit's trout fishing as a
recreation and rest from my scientific
studies before [ went abroad. 1 don't
know what relation Mr.. Delaneey's late
Wlie mad been to me. 1t was one of
those dlstractIng problems of genealogy
emery concerning great-grandmothers
but she had always treated me as 2
cousin, which, as she was a very charm
ing woman, ives pleasing to me. Itwas
little dull without her there. for mine
host was not an intellectual man. and
very worldly, and Julia, his ONLY child.
was bat fifteen, innocent, ignorant,
pretty, but too plump. She used TO
accompany me sometimes when
hshed but was too shy TO talk. Her
cheit powers seemed to lie in walking.
so that really had thought very little
about her till ore day when I found
her crying and inquired the cause of
her misery
Papa IS going to make me marry
that silly, ugly Mr.. Norris, and go away
with him to his big town house"
"What for %
81 don't know"
docs be love Won ?"
She dried her tears, looked I'D at me.
then blushing, laughed and covered her
face with her plump hands: 81 sup
pose he does"
And you don't like him in spite of
his fine town-hoUse
one didn't answer, but ran away.
Poor child ] 1t was evident that the
gong to the "great town-house" cor-
Veyed far more terror to her mind than
marrying her rich suit9r.
In an interview an hour later with
MIR. Delaney ] found that he was in
some money difficulty, and this offer of
marriage from Norris seemed to him too
good to be lost. He put it very deli
csteiy, as gentlemen of his breeding
shouid, and after a moment of silence.
during which mastered my indigna.
ton enough to cover If, offered him a
loan, which should assist bin, ~ tbis
trying moment more securely than the
possible generosity of a future son-in-
law. III
AS We went in to dinner, Julia whis-
PeFed 70 me cts all right. Papa's
so good ~
Il @m very glad" I said, and was
amused to see the virtuous connnIacapov
OF papa during dinner.
1hree years later, when / was living
IN my very lOftily situated apartments
IN Pdrls, there came a letter to me from
Jniih. her father was very i'll. His
papers having been put in order by
lawyer, she assisted in the filing, etc.
she had for the first time discovered
htr obligation TO me, aud wrote to
thank me- " thus tardily," she said, /
was surprised and interested to find the
letter charmingly written, and that of
cultivated woman. / begged in nv an
s"et that she would wIite again and tell
me OF her fathers health. And so we
entered INTO a CORE spondence that grew
to be very intimate.
Mr.. Delaney fingered in an invalid
state, falling at last into inbeciIity:
and 1t was year after his death, when
my student life wss Completed. and
was ready to return to nv country. after
an absence of eight years, that / found
q strange excitement in the thought of
seeing Julia; strange dread, too, lest
this might be the end of our friendship
"A deep sense of the necessity that had
grown IN me FOR the cOmpanionship of
this mind. The depth of her thought
surprised me her spirituality elevated
/ lAurTaG1 H., Il
unconscious of it; l consulted her on
serious matters her tastes and intui
ton seemed TO me infallible: and all
the while she thought herself in nv
debt because | recommended her to the
Ieadlog of few books, whose names
she could have easily found in any Ii
brary catalogue.
When j landed in New York late in
June, finding every body out of town,
wandered discoDsolateIy about the
streets, given over to veEder5 of old
hats AID straw berries, putting off the
hour when l should take the train for
B,
realized that there must bs a change
in my relation with Julia-that the
purely intellectual compsnionship DOS
sible in corrssp cndencs kept up at a
distance, must, IN the shock of meet
ing, be elther quite OVerthTOwu or turn
to an emotional affection, The first 1
could not face the Last seemed posi-
BILE. The image of Julia, too-piump,
with q white dress fastened at the back,
her chssnut hair, wild and curly, fail.
ing on her neck and about her blushing
round fGcs, laughing, shielding her
bushes with her plump hands con-
stantly rose to my mind. 1t was pretty
enough. 1t was not all my ideal. /
retained to my hotel and read half
dozen of her last letters. Yes, this was
the woman who could be my companion
and helpmate, who would expect OF me
my highest self, and give me a tender
ana comprehensive iove--if she gave
me any paused. She was not
woman to be lightly won-this woman
Of the letters. Suppose she cast me Of,
and I went ell my life missing what
had almost known. She might not like
me when she saw me. ] might have a
l. h Ea1