The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1877-08-04
Letty's Promises.

When Laurence Van Everen was abou
| to sail for the East Indies, he asked Lefty
| to walk half an hour In the orchard will
| him, which was wreathed and perfume
with fruit blossoms.
"Tve request to make TO you, my
dear Lefty" he said, ''and I'm half afra il
you may think 1t a selfish thing 10 ask
| indeed know it is, but yet, With the re
| nOwned selfishness of man, not only ask
| beg it."
"What on earth can it be ?" said Lefty
smiling. ''Do you want to get me to 0
nunnery till your return, or to travel tc
Calcutta to marry your Or do you wan
me to give the cold SHOULDER to Tom Long.
worthy, and promise never to say 30 much
as 'how do ye doi to him ?" For the Cos
sips had said their say in Van Everen's ear,
when he returned from his last voyage, &c
the effect that Longworthy had taken ad.
vantage of his absence to be sweet on Let
ty, and that Lefty was by no means averse
to sweets, supplemented by the assurance.
"HoweVer, Tom isn't q marrying man, and
If Lefty hadn't been promised, he would
have said her no heed; Tom always goes in
for a safe thing" But this philosophy by
no means satisfied Van Everen.
"No Lefty, it lie none of the trifies, he
answered ; sit is something much more i'm
portant to my happiness"
"You know ] will do anything to please
you."
"You will? Then promise me this thing
-solemnly promise that if anything should
happen to me, if l should never return, or
should die, promise that you will remain
mine foreVer-that you will never, never
marry another. Can you promise me this,
darling p
"Certaiuly. But you will come back
you must. Why, l should die myself if
you failed. There is no need of such q
promise, but give it all the same. prom
Use solemnly that if you die ! will Fever
marry
"Thanks,r said Van Everen, kissing her
cheek with an air of having conferred ia.
vor. 81 have exactly five minutes left in
which to say goodbye. There u great
deal called love in this world which is only
propinquity but one mustn't call it loving,
so the poet tell US
Unless you can love as the angels may
With the breadth of heaven betwixt us.
And you think you can, Lefty ?"
81 know it. Perhaps you mean TO COM
NIT suicide in order to test me-"
And then followed few minutes of ten
der nonsense, and Van Everen tore himself
away, leaving Lefty in tears. What a
long, long time it was to look forward to
How many storms would beat along the
coast, how many suns would shine, morn
ings dawn, and evenings gather to their
close, before they met again In the mean
time here was her trousseau to finish and
she used to sit at it hour by hour, with her
thoughts away on some distant reach of
the Indian seas. except when Tom Long
worthy loitered in TO help kill time. One
morning he brought her letter, which a
sailor who had spoken the Flying Scud,
two months out, had entrusted to him, and
he looked out the window while she read
it, whistling "The long, long weary day,
softly. Tom was really comfort to her,
in spite of Van Everen's unreasonable jeal.
ousy. He could tell her all about the long
Indian voyage, of cyclones, Gains and
trade winds-all about the great foreign
cities to which her lover was bound, with
their sunburnt natives, their strange Gus.
toms, their fantastic stuffs, and curious
| architecture-till she felt as if she were
there herself. 1t was some months later
that Tom Longworty came in with cloud
on his face.
"You are ILL.," said Lefty, regarding him.
ANOt az JOu, OuiJ III NJ tdbe.
"Then you have some bad news"
eyes, have some bad news"
''Nothing about Laurence?" she gasped.
81 hope not"
'You hope not. For heavens sake,
don't you know What is it2 Don't think
you are aparing my feelings. You are only
cruelty"
"The Flying scud ="
sis lost2"
"Has foundered. But there is no GER
tainty with regard to Laurence; he may be
among the saved. Lefty Lefty! don't
look at me as if l had brought it about.
would exchange places with him gladly
for you sake; would indeed !" he cried.
She left her needle where the ill-news
found ii, and folded away all the wedding
garments. And month followed month OF
anxious forebodiugs and one or two old
seamen struggled home to their families,
battered and destitute, after many hardships
but they knew nothing of Van Eyeren he
had not taken the same boat; some had
been swept away by wave, before the
ship was abandoned and 80 by sad degrees
hope and Laurence Everen was given up.
But though the object that made existence
precious has been rudely torn from US, yet
we 60 forward with the drama perforce.
we must dine. read letters, receive condo
lence, discuss Grape and bombazine, as il