Ellsworth American., 1875-09-09

| Walllngs had hitherto been lenient with
their debtors, but. having become inlpa-
tient of slow and scant returns, they had
determined, of late, to pursue more rig
Id policy. | was the unhappy medium by
! which this policy was carried out, but |
contrived to do my duty and to speak my
harsh words with sufficient grace TO ward
OF all ill-feeling.
At the hour Of my arrival, at Middle
Bass, NAT, low-lying island, Thurman
was out walking. | gained a hint of the
| direction he had taken, aud followed him.
came. after half All hour, to the gateway
| OF the Reinhart farm, and. As it was one of
those in which my principals had an inter-
est, IL occurred TO me to stop for a mo-
ment TO find out how matters were going
there. l walked down long lane between
two fields OF ripening fruit, thinking far
more. admit OF the beauty Of the day and
the delicious warmth of the air than did
of profit and loss. All was as quiet and
sunny as the heart could wish and a kweet
fragrance filled the air almost TO repletion.
| AT the distance OF quarter of mile lay
the sparkling waters of the placid lake,
| and at the edge Of the land there stood
thin line of,tall old oaks, the giant branches
OF which. half naked and half dressed in a
gloomy verdue. reached upward toward
the shy like human arms. Reinhart's house
was old. .and IL was painted red. II was
surrounded by low willows, and It's yard
and its high-pitched roof were in shade.
As turned ont of the grape-held | saw
sitting side by side, upon a bench beneath
the rugged bole of one OF these trees,
| Thurman and a sweet-faced girl of eigh-
| teen, She was bareheaded, and her gold
| en- hair was plated and bound up in tight
knot behind. Her dress was of dark
brown stun, and from beneath her skirts
there projected two pretty feet, crossed
and composed. She was knitting n blue
sock, aud she was listening at the same
| time with her head cast down. and inclined
slightly upon one side. 10 what my friend
| was saying, and he was saying ii most
| earnestly, though by no means secretly.
| recognized at once the daughter of
| Renhari, for | had seen her, three years
| before. and she was then a most lovable
| child. She was now woman, aud have
| never seen more Innocent face than that
I which she raised when first made my
| presence known. Thurman showed no
signs of discontinue, but he welcomed the
warmly. Seibcl-that was the girls name
| led u about the place, showing Us all
/ the sights. These are the old country
| pannlers that we gather grapes in. These
are the pipes that the wine runs into. This
is the winc-press-ah, do so long To see Ii
/ sometimes. Did you ever hear the stream
/ of red wine flow into the empty pipes 1t
makes such a little roar !" and sue laughed
and showed her white teeth.
WheE we were about 10 90, Thurman
| put out his hand. Seibel put hers into IL
fairly and looked him Ia the iace-not
/ with that abOminable sham iranhness that
knows Its own name, but with natural
thoughtlessness.
| The season WAS most charming. aud
did not hesitate 10 make up my mind 10
| spend a month on the island. The greater
| number OF the summer visitors had long
since departed, and the long walks and
the shady groves were almost entirely de-
serted. Now and then.in long walk, one
I caught glimpse OF a city dress, or heard
the ring OF n city laugh. but 1t was not
often, the glorious sunlight. now doubly
yellow, poured down upon the silent fields
AID the white roads, and everything paused
6'r the grapes To ripen. Thurman went
every day to ReinhaIt's house, and fire.
quently went with him. Finally Eeinhart
himself, urged by the good wife whose
anxious face had more than once seen
peering cautiously through her yne-coy-
cred windows at the group upon the bench,
came and put the question in good-na-
tured roundabout way
/
TO be hanging Dund our Seibel so much?
What do you tlink!"
"I'll speak IA him. said /.
did so. Tinrmsn replied, quietly; Il
am going 70 m;rry her.
What"
ut Is true
But your hart, your spirit, your en-
tire nature, mist be antagonistic to love,
You are fresh rom one OF those defeats
that drive mel mad, or out OF the world.
II is Impossible for you to stimulate new
passion"
That is vey true
Then expAin."
Listen: admit that there Is ruin
somewhere. observe myself from with
out myself, nd see that am III, that |
am purposelss, that am full Of sorrow
and regret. 90 through a slight calcula-
ton, and erceive thar / must recover
myseif In oher TO be of any further use in
the world. You admit that. Very well
Then, iusted OF taking usual measures-
by usual masures mean the slow pro-
cesses of the and travel-I take u heroic
measure. force upon my attention an
object whoe nature Is such that my dis
tracted spit and outraged sensibilities
must onusimilate with il. | find in
Seibei cr,iture of absolute purity, eleva-
|
upquestioRg trust. | am as certain that
my heart vi entertain her at some time
in the fGtur as am that we now talk to-
gether. ! not say that the memory of
my real potion does not agitate me at
times evelpelore her face. but | am re-
solved TO bid her to my breast until her
nature dot its healing. purifying work.
and then HAIL hold her forever"
This wahis idea, and faithful did he
labor TO cry it into execution. 1t touched
me to theuick to see him go up. pale and
languld. pm some new realization of his
, pain, ahdeeL IN ,he srape-helds this fair
faced. siple-hearted child, and walk be-
side her our after hour, bending his in-
telligencwith an iron will upon the things
that "a, her interest and qualification.
Reinharand his wife took my word for il
that the need have 10 fear, and SO Thur
/ man fOtd welcome from both at their
house. lie dined with them often. ate of
their rdRh dishes,a and looked pleased at
their siple surroundings. On these oc-
casionseibel was gay and unaffected, and
, she wdd sit beside him happy I his con-
tentnd.
E Mesvhile. the q apes rpened poorly,
aud Il buyers who we're abroad shook
t their ieads. l sent intelligence to the
, Wallgs through the office, aud proposed
10 wauntu the gathering-seasOn came,
t for irouid then be easier to judge of the
| fnanal prospects Of the farmers. Week
e aftereek In October went by, and still
s the ag Of love was sung without let or
d hindnce. saw two sitting beside the
e shohn the long, sweet afternoons, idly
listing to each other. Thurman was
suceding. l noted signs of yeturning
: strgth In his manner, and an Increased
o Wig in his method Of talking. These
: prds were slight; to be sure, but they
e wepositive as lar as they went.
t tthe 23d Of October, At late hour I'm
b th.fternoon, received q note by a mes
seer who came from club. hotel at the
lO'r part OF the island. 1t invited me to
e cat once on matter of pressing iRpor-
II tse and II was signed by Marion Wal.
d Ii. Twas thunderstruck. She had found
Uut. and was upon the ground with no
IN "a parpose. What unhappy fate had
n her hereY Thurman was not present.
y listened to Ubey the summons.