The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-03-14

how she should have acted had their
nositions been reversed. size had 'ot
for one momen doubted him. what
was her surprise therefore when IN
stead of the old protestations Of loVe,he
stood before her silent and notlonless.
.Of course. Willie. this Will make a
GREAT difference with the world. no
one will expect YOU to keep your
promise and marry a pennies glri
when you thought 10 find an helress'
and | am willing to release you.
..Of course il can make no difference
i'm NV love for YOU" he
~slowlv-then stopping TO pluck d
flower from the border. he murlnured
something about entangled estates,
and not being willing to ask her TO
share his poverty, all OF which she
could not understand, but she listened
with q dull pain al her heart. wondering
if she heard Alright and if after all he
did not love her. But when he turned
and reproached her with not caring
for him, saying she had ceased to love
him and was glad of any excuse 10
throw him over, her eyes were sud-
denly opened and she saw how base
and mean was this mar to whom she
had pledged her life. knowing well
that what he said was only a loop-iole
To excuse his own conduct he did not
dare look into the honest eyes Dent SO
Indignantly upon his face, but STOOD a
little way from her his head bent over
the flower he still held. She heard
him through without a word:
You know there is not a syllable
of truth in all that you have sad, she
said with slow, whitening scorn, ana
he quailed before the contemptuous
light OF the blazing eyes. gu kno"
that | have never, for a moment, Deen
false TO you-at least TO what l thought
YOU were. came here tonight with
asorrowful heart to tell you of my loss
believing it was my love, and not my
money, you sought now could re-
ioice over that loss, since 1t has been
the means of showing me your real
character before it was late -.
Enough :" she continued, haughtily,
as he tried to interrupt her, and draw
ing the tell-tale diamond from her lin
ger, she dropped it deliberately at his
feet. I'm future we meet as strang-
ers: never presume to address me
otherwise. MI. Grey, l have the honor
to wish O good night" and sweep
ing him a low, knocking courtesy, she
moved away.
For a moment he was speechless,
then starting forward, "Vere We're :"
he called after her but the naughty
head was not turned. nor the firm,
swift pace slaCkened. "Ye gods !.
what a spirit the girl has a perfect
little tragedy queen. Ill declare, If
the estates were not SO much embar-
raised, I'd marry her-money or no.
Perhaps, after all, the affair is not SO
bad, and she may take me into favor
again. But before | ask her, I'll see
how much her governor has lost, for,
if she is really a beggar -" a vigor-
Gus pull at the delicate mustache Gov
ering his upper lip, and a shrug of his
shoulders, concluded the sentence as
he turned to the gate.
We're did not pause till she had bOlted
herself in her own room, then all
power of motion deserted her, and
with a low moan she sank to the floor.
She neither cried aloud nor moved but
after that moan lay, her wide despair
ing eyes fixed on the wall, her hands
clasped convulsively. She could not
weep, her tears seemed frozen in their
beds, she tried to pray but the words
died on her stiff white lips, so there
she lay in her silent, despairing grief
while the noon climbed slowly up the
dark blue heavens and dropt t o its set
ting. Toward morning she sank into
a kind of stupor from which she was
aroused by a loud knocking at her
door.
What is it, she started at the
sound of her own voice SO different
from her former ringing tones.
If you please, misses says you are
to come directly, marster's very sick
and they've sent for the DOCTOR
With a strong effort she reused her.
self and went to her fathers room.
The physician was before her and she
found him bending over the bed while
her step-mother was sobbing hysteri-
cally in a chair. The strain upon Mr..
Herbert's naturally weak constitution
had proved too great and before the
sun rose he was speechless from paral-
ysis.
He may recove with good nurs-
ing" the doctor said to We're, but
that is all that will save him."
Il will nurse him myself" the girl
answered. steadily, and putting away
all thought of herself and her own
heart sorrow, before this new grief
that threatened her, she devoted her
self to her father, watching his every
motion, anticipating his every wish
and scarcely leaving his side for two
long weeks, at the end of which time
she was carried almost lifeless to her
own apartment after having. with her
own hand, closed the staring, stony
eyes that would never smile upon hel
again in life