The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1877-02-09
ga PERFECT TREASURE"

IhLhIJOhEs'
One day Frank came home with look
of triumph.
"I have perfect treasure for you" F"
he said, "in the way of a nurse. Gerald
Temple is going to take his family to
Europe, and, when he heard what you
wanted, offered to let us have their nurse,
whom they will not want"
heard low sigh. Virginia, Frank g
only sister, had been sitting in corner
of the drawing groom. She rose now and
slipped out.
"How could you, Frank z" said, fol-
lowing her with sad eyes. "I have
never heard your sister speak of the
Temples since she has lived with us; the
very mention of their name brings back
the memory of Gerald's brother, and all
that sad tragedy"
81 am sorry" said Frank, "but did
not know she was in the room. Poor
Virginia 70
eyes! Poor Virginia I" I said to
myself. But once the loveliest little
creature ever knew. 1t is something
of story, but it is an "ower true
tale," and 1 will tell it in the shortest
way can:
Virginia and Frank were orphans, and
old Mrs. Chichester, their grandmother,
had adopted Virginia almost from in
fancy. The old lady had very ambitious
hopes of making splendid match for
her beautiful grandchild. Bat Vir-
ginia thought different and when she
was II, at the time of my wedding, she
anu Langley Temple were insane enough
to fall desperately in love with each
other. Langley was Franks most init
mate friend, and the pair met contin-
ually at our house, until Grandma Chi
chester found it out. After a while
Langley was ordered to his ship Che was
in the navy; but Frank waged war with
grandma until he obtained viperish
consent that the lovers might correspond.
Grandma took pains not to let Frank
know how Virginia was tormented and
tyrannized over until the poor child con.
sented to go out into society again and
there she met and made conquest of the
very man whom grandma had intended
refused him but grandma said, scorn-
fully, ",Tha made no difference. She
would come to her senses soon," and, to
my utter amazement, the preparation of
the troussedU went on, and by-and-by
we were bidden to the wedding-a quite
elegant affair, where Virginia walked
and talked as If she was frozen. Frank
and / confessed to each other, that
night, that the business passed our COM
prehension, for we had no idea then of
foul play.
Kent and Virginia were to sail for
Europe within fortnight of their mar
riage, and went to Washington and Bal
timore to pass that time. Left alone
one evening in Baltimore, with a severe
headache, Virginia remembered to have
seen some aromatic vinegar in her hus-
bands dressing. case. Kent was peculiar
in his careful way of locking up his
1ongings, and she took her own bunch of
her surprise, she found the key left in
the box. Some listless, vague impulse,
which she never afterward could account
for, prompted her to lift the upper tray,
although she had found the vinegar al
ready. Underneath, to her surprise,
she found paper, and was about return
ing the tray to its place without further
examination, when her eyes were caught
by the words: "My own Virginia, {"
in dear, too well-known handwriting.
When Kent came back that night, he
found his beautiful young wife senseless
upon her bed, with two letters crumpled
between her cold fingers-one, the last
letter langley had actually written her
the other, the base forgery in which he
asked to be released from his engage
ment. Kent was not at all bad. He
loved her madly, and you may be sure
that his sore punishment began when,
after the physician had got her out of
the death-like swoon, the first words
came to Virginia's lips, in that strange,
passionless tone which is far worse than
anger, were, Remember / will never
forgive you-never
They came back to New York for a
single day; but Virginia saw no one bat
her grandmother. The old lady upon
her deathbed raved of that interview,
and vainly impiored her forgiveness for
urging Kent on to his treachery. The
newly welded pair sailed in the l.fated
ship which took fire off the coast of Nova
Scotia, and whose name still carries ter
ror to many heart. Virginia was one
of the handful of survivors; her un-
happy husband fought for her place in
the boat, and remaining behind him
self, persisted with the ship. The agony
of terror, the long night which she spent