The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1875-05-05
A FORGOTTEN VALENTINE.
THE MESSENGER WHO BORE IT,
CHAPTER |.


And who never delivered IT, Perhaps
Il would have been too much to expect OF
him that he should do so; too much to ex-
pect that the little packet, carelessly taken
and thrust away amongst others, would
ever enter bis head again. At any rate
it did not. He was a young man still,
though be had been for some years a
widower; and he had fallen in love, and
was on the way to learn his fate.
1t cannot be fattering to young lady;
IL she knows IL, that her sutton should be
capable of taking thought OF any one be-
sides herself; but certainly Sir Hugh
Rainham tried to believe that he was not
making his own happiness altogether the
first consideration There was the we'll
being OF his little girl to be thought OF;
and what did he know about bringing up
little girls? He had heard sensible people
say, and he was ready enough now to &C.
cept the dictum, that the wisest thing
that a man in his condition could do
would be to marry again; wisest both for
his own future and his child's. He said
this to himself as he stood in Evelyn Ne
ville's drawingroom,h nat in hand, waiting,
looking cut upon the bare branches which
were soon to be green again, and wonder
dering in a desultory fashion, if this Feb
rusry day would bring him another
spring-time. or only the desolate branch
es, the dead leaves whirling about. and
the cold sky beyond. He had not long to
wait When she came into the room,
and that thrill went through his heart
which the presence OF one we love alone
can bring, it must have left some mark
upon his face; for she knew why he had
come, and in a few rapid arguments had
decided upon her answer. He was rich;
but she did not care 50 much about that,
not knowing what it was to be anything
else; be was Sir Hugh Rainham; but she
didn't care for that either, her pride being
of another sort: he was good, generous,
and devoted; these things she did care for.
He loved her; and he came on a day
when that same pride of hers was smart
ing under a sense Of neglect. In the few
seconds allowed her before he spoke, Ev-
elyn Neville made her decision. She had
thought that be knew, and was jealous
of, her friendship with that cousin Frank
whom she fancied might one day be near
er than a cousin. But that was over
The cousins had kept up childish hsbI
vi cSfNL-<A1S1nS NdicullueeB anu OO-udl
there was soothing from him, while hel
own had gone as usual That was tn,
Illuminating part Of it II she had broker
through the custom, it would have beer
we'll but that he should be the first anC
when. too. be had given her cause to ex.
pect that his would be no ordinary valen
tiaet Here, within her reach, was Thu
means of Furnishing him; at any rate, o
letting him know she did not care.
Evelyn listened to Sir Hugh with
forced attention; but he knew nothing o
that, when he spoke Of his little girl
falteringly, she reused up and saw th,
strong essnestness and anxiety in tn,
mans face; and. strange to say, this
touched her more just then than any pas
sionate, lovers pleading from his lip
would have done. She turned toward
him suddenly, and put her hand into his
and ssid, speaking Of the small Cecilia
"She shall be very dear to me, and pre-
cious: 1 will care for her as much as yol
could desire"
And when Sir Hugh had left her, sh
did not repent tits true that there cam,
upon her q certain sense of being bound
Of having done what could not be undone
and that half rebellious desire to be free