Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1875-11-25

his eyes as he spoke A multitude of feelings
contended for the mastery in my heart. AT
last my overpowering love for him prevailed
and kneeling down beside him, took bis
hand.
ARTHUR" said brokenly, II do trust you.
I cannot believe that you do not care for me,
or that you would do me any wrong"
He drew me to him, looking earnestly in
my face.
"Do you truly believe that? ?" he asked,
quickly. "Tell me so again The assurance
is balm to my soul"
eyes, trust you. But at the same time, I
cannot help being little wounded by your
reserve-however, you say l must not speak
of that"
"Rosamond, do you consider me tyrant?'
"No," said, bravely.
care you disappointed in mef''
81 am disappointed in some ways-you do
not need me to explain that. / know that
you do not give me your full confidence, and
this is, of course, painful conviction, and
makes me, sometimes, very unhappy"
"You are unhappy! And through me
P1auoi,r,
and selfish in me-"
"Disturbed it, how"
"By marrying you, of course; how else ?
If you had remained Rosamond Lambert,
you would have known nothing of this anxiety
and unrest"
"And perhaps you would have been better
off too," said I. 81 know am torment to
you"
"You are my greatest blessing. My child,
whatever else you believe of me, never believe
that you don't stand first in my heart, in my
thoug ghts, in everything"
"And yet you act in way to make people
think very differently"
"Peoplel What people?'
"Ellen called me Griselda this evening.
Of course she did it in jest-but still"
"Still you think she really meant you to
understand that she thought you worthy of
the name? Well, do you object so strongly
to the character? 1 thought Griselda was a
pattern among womankind."
"But her husband imposed on her dread
fully, you know"
"Did he? I don't recollect much about
him. Who and what was he? ?"
"a horrible cold. .blooded creature, who tried
his power over his wife by taking her chill.
dren from her, one by one, and sending them
away, and finally taking everything she pos
sessed and ordering her to 60 back to her
father house in the russell gown she had worn
when he asked her to marry him-all Of
which she bore without murmur, supposing
his lordly wisdom to be due authority for ev'
rything."
"And what happened then ?"
"Oh ! when he found that she was too meek
to resent anything, he turned round and made
much of her, and gave her back her children
and all that he had taken from her, and told
her she was pearl among women and she
was foolish enough to be quite grateful for biz
condescension. Now wasn't he wretch ?"
"He was rather hard on her, I must say
But don't treat you quite as badly as that
do II"
"No; but sometimes fancy you are pro
wing me, to see how far ,uiu let you co.
"Give up that idea, Rosamond; it is
wrong one-utterly wrong"
arthur, you will make me one promise
7 will try and he content"
wv hat ls that, darling
"Promise me that some time or other yor
will tell me this secret that you are keeping
! from me now"
"That secret-that secret! Why do 20,
harp upon it so continually"
Because the thought of it is the bane o
my life !"
"It is the bane of my life too," he rejoinet
| H., tGP,k hal;ouo II 10 nofhinp hurt
full to you."
"Then there really Is secret-and one o
Importance. You never admitted that mucl
to me before!' I cried excitedly. He pauset
before replying.
"My dear child" he said, slowly, at length
I cannot prevaricate. You have guessed tn
truth. But 1 cannot throw any light upol
the subiect-at least, not at present Thi
secret, as you call it, is, after all, simple at
fair; but it concerns another person as init
mately as it does myself, and for that reason
must keep it inviolate. 1t is nothing of re
cent date. 1t originated yearsand years ago.
"And Barbara knows it," said 1.
"Unavoidably, Barbara became party II
it,"
"And Mrs. Green knows it."
"Only partially"
"It is too hard" said I, bursting into tears
"that I, of all people, should be kept in igno
rance"
"You, of all people, Rosamond, should b.
spared the knowledge of it."
"Is it something so terrible, then"
"It is, in measure, terrible-it is 80 to me
1t weighs on me sometimes like mig ghtmare-
yes, like nightmare
A shudder PASSED through him as he spoke
and looking up, saw that his face wore
look of intense suffering, that won my pity il
spite of myself
"Rosamond," he said, pressing me convul
sively to his heart, eff you love me, don
speak of this again. Some day, perhaps
when I can nerve myself to the confession
you shall know all about it. Meanwhile
trust me-believe that I am acting for tn
best. Be my help and comforter-let you
love support me through the trial l have tt
endured"
1 yielded to his appeal could not d.
otherwise, in the love I bore him. prom
sed to be his help, to do whatever he askee
me- to seek no more to know what he judged
it best l should remain in ignorance of; ant
so ended, like the preceding ones, this effort tt
win my husbands confidence in regard to th'
mystery I had 80 desired to solve.
fro BE CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.
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