The new Northwest. [volume] (Portland, Or.) 1871-1887, 1876-03-03

I Z
ward hands and uncouth apparel, al
lowing a final gaze'of contempt to settle
upon her clumsy shoes, she said, with
out looking up,
"How very good of you to love me
You are a gentleman and poet. You
are handsome, educated, and refined /;
l am an uncultivated, hOmely, ill-tem-
pered drudge. I see strange visions
with my eyes shut, and dream strange
dreams when wide awake. You are
sensible and practical 1 am"
"The dearest, sweetest, prettiest little
amond-in-the-rough that ever caused
the soul of poet TO leap for joy" said
the lover, interrupting her by a kiss,
and breaking into her speech with a
rhapsody of tone and manner so start
ling, strange and sweet to Madge, that
it seemed to her that new heaven and
a new earth opened their rolling vistas
before her eyes, and an angel beckoned
her to enter in and walk the rose-paved
ways of Paradise.
80, George !" she whispered softly, as
soon as the delIrium of happiness passed
away for an instant, az am not worthy
of you! You will go out in the wide
world and mingle with its great and
good ones, and you'll be ashamed of me.
DO release me, please. 1 know l must
not be your WIFE"
caresses, so passionate and tender, and
yet so delicate that a maiden in love,
and having confidence in her lover,
could not repel them altogether, ex-
pressed far more of love than the most
eloquent words could have uttered.
"I cannot live without you," he
whispered, again and again.
Suddenly, as Madge closed her eyes,
vision of her pale and gentle mother,
with the shadow of great cloud of un-
mated, ill-starred marriage resting upon
her, came so vividly before her mental
sight that she shuddered involuntarily.
whats the matter, my sweet?'
"Everything !" cried Madge, starting
up. "Mother says that Jason Andrews
spoke those very words in her ears
once. She says that men always talk
that way"
"What did I say to which you so
strongly ohject?" and the blue eyes
looked unutterable sorrow into her very
soul
"YOu said you couldn't live without
me-"
"And I can't"
"What if say you DauSt?'
Maiden like, Madge was beginning to
realize an advantage, and, still more
like a maiden, she enjoyed it.
'Then 1 shouldn't care what might
l could never be blessed with your love,
and could never bear to look upon
your face again. I'd go hence with q
broken heart, and I'd plunge into dissi-
patton to drown my woes"
Strange that Madge could not philos.
ophize as logically concerning a case
that affected her personal happiness as
she had done over her mothers hus.
band, and his crowning weakness.
But twas ever thus with women, and
so we suppose it always will be. Let
any one of them become enamored o.
some wooing swain, and she forthwith
loses all desire for elf-protection; hence
it is little wonder that so many are be-
guiled into sacrificing their lives upor
unworthy altars. Were men thus prone
to self-abnegation, or, had they through
all generations past been taught, from
the cradle, that self-sacrifice was thei
birthright, they would have been a!
weak and yielding, if not more so, thar
; women are. After all, there's little
natural difference between the instincts
and intuItions of the sexes. The chic
/, difference lies in their education anC
} the inherited dispositions that resul
, from the mental bias of humanity
: progenitors.
, "How did you live before you knew
me ?" asked Madge, with a coquettisl
air that Hanson thought became he
finely.
r 81 had never loved, then"
l 'Is that really so ?''
: Madge thought, after all, she mus
have been sadly underrated until now
"What would you do if 1 wouldn'
marry you ?"
''There's no use in trying to plal
in that case, darling. Life would be
7 great, black ocean of trouble. On
t thing is certain, 1 could not remain il
: this country. Then, how could 1 go OF
j aud leave you in the clutches of tina
brutal step-father. I've rescued yo
= from his fury twice already. Let m
a hear you say 4 love you,' just once
] darling, and I'll wait for all the rest.
r Madge was determined not to say il
but she did. And when the gloamin
/ came, and she was suddenly reminde
s by the tinkling bell, the tones of whic
I had been familiar to her ears from in
= fancy, that the COWS were coming home
= and bethOught her that supper was nc
e cooked, nor the dishes washed, nor th
d milking done, she turned from the &
herr glorified presence of her lover, to th
d drudgery that lay in prospect, and hui
d rted to the cabin. He kept pace with he
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