The herald and mail. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1873-188?, 1875-08-06
I raaded mo- fnrther ,,roof al his onin

lSAA1k--auQ buCn D4lo do QCdbus Wudt
do you know of herr" he cried, hoarse-
". WHO has been telling You lies?"
i No one," answered. Your face
IS proof Of the truth of all / have
heard. will make this our last meet
ing. My eyes are opened in time, thank
God. do not want to set them upon
You again. Do not try to see me, for it
will be useless. I utterly despise you.
Go back to the only person who believes
you worthy Of love-who is dying for
you."
turned and sped back to the house.
and for two weeks scarcely stepped
outside its walls. was i'll in mind and
body. My romantic folly, that 1 had
called love, died suddenly, at one blow,
and knew that there was only one
man that / loved, or ever had loved, and
that one man was Rollin Weatherbee.
But my heart was filed with regrets for
my past folly, and fears for what might
follow. But two weeks passed by, and
/ heard no word and saw nothing of
Breeze Rogers, until that chill October
night, when my story opens.
turned my face away, lest the light
of those dark eyes should bring back
the old delirium. For at that one
glance felt the blood leap through my
veins, and strange glow shoot through
my heart. i thoroughly despised this
man, yet he had power over me still.
A woman who has ever been held In q
mans arms. and felt his kisses upon
her lips, can never so learn to despise
or forget him that the sight of his face
will not sometimes move her. At length /
arose and moved away from the window.
A second later something struck the
glass with a sharp click.
"What was that asked mamma.
"The wind hurled something against
the window-pane," answered. A mo-
ment later and it was repeated. "Why,
it sounds like something thrown against
the glass" mamma said. "Tell Har-
wood to see what it is, Rose"
got mp and went out of the room. /
knew it was useless to resist Breeze
Rogers summons longer. I must go
and see what he wanted. 1 threw a
dark cloak over my shoulders, and went
out. He heard the door open, and
glided into the shadow again.
What do you want ?" asked, Jelly.
"Why are you here? I told you never
to approach me again"
"Yes, but you were angry then. You
have had time to think more kindly of
me since, and came to tell you that
Cora is dead. She died last night, and
with her dying lips she forgave me
whatever wrong I have done her. /
was with her and caught her last breath.
II she cottld forgive me, surely you
ought. know that did her a great
wrong, but repent of it, and she has
forgiven me, will you do the same, and
come to me ?"
He took step toward me, but re-
treated. "I have nothing to forgive"
I answered, coldly. eff she whom
you SO wtonged has forgiven you, we'll
and good. / owe you no i'll will, but
do not love or respect you now, and
never can"
"Rose I" he cried, "you are cruel
Oh, come to me, and fly before it is too
late"
'Hush /" 1 said, sterniy. "All that
wild folly is past, and forever. shall
be the wife of RolIin Weatherbee next
week at this time, and far from here,
The wife of the only man ever loved.
That mad fancy conceived from you
died as suddenly as it sprang to life,
and never can live again. Go away
now and leave me. Goodnight and
good by"
1 sped back into the house, and
locked the door behind me, leaving
mamma had fallen to sleep in her chair
by the stove, and was relieved that
would thus be spared answering her
questions.
The wind blew colder and harshef
across the moorlands. A dreary rain
began to fall, and the night settled
down, desolate and lonely. Merideth
House was oppressively quiet, and my
heart was full of sad forebodings. What
if the dreadful autumnal storms should
come on Just after Rollin embarked for
Avondale What if the ship went
down in the waters of the lake, and he
never came to me? Would it not be a
just punishment for my wild folly?
Had / not been untrue to him in
thought, and almost broken my vows,
and fed with another, and that other
abase- hearted, unprincipled villain?
Had not let his kisses fall on my
lips, and listened to his words of love?
Obi 1 was ashamed-ashamed; and
hid my face in my hands praying God
to forgive me, and send Rollin to me in
safety.
The days that followed were damp |
and chill, with mist and wet east winds. |
But the dreaded storm did not come on.
Each night I went to rest with heart |
full of anxious fear each morning I |
arose thankful to find only wet winds
and sombre clouds. Thursday morning |
came, gray, cold, chill, like the ones
that had preceded it. Thursday night |
the ship Cora Bell was expected, and by |
that ship Rollin Weatherbee would |
come to me.
/ was restless and uneasy all the long |
day. No glimmer of sunshine lighted |
the dull, gray skies. A damp mist fell,
and the cold east wind blew over the !
moor. By night was almost hysteri- |
cal, and my heart was like lead in my |
breast. ga want faced bride yell be, if |
ye dinna brighten up Bit" Harwood
said to me, and / did not wonder as I
caught sight of my dead white face in
the mirror.
The evening came on dark and desc
late. No moon, no stars, only gray |
sky, varied here and there with dense |
black clouds. I could not stay in the |
house. It seemed like prison to me,
and, Selling cloak, threw the hood |
over my head, the cape over my
shoulders, and walked down the avenue,
and leaning on the stone pillars of the |
CRATE, looked out toward the lake.
Suddenly something caught my eye it |
was bright light, high up in the air.
ga light house, of course" l said |
mentally. stbut why have / never seen |