Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1878-09-05

| Hagar looked UP from her ltting sc
stolidly that Mrs. Delplaine added, pa:
ther, mother, wife or children2''
nagar deliberately turned the heel of
her stocking before ssAe fully statistical
the curiosity IF the cenyalescent. TRen
she vouchesafed to say that he was quite
alone; no father, nor mother, nor chil'en,
as far as she knowed. u There used to be
q wife-a poor, sick creature-but she was
done gone south years ago, and pever
a.,."Dfd the poor lady die there9' said
Mrs. Delplaine, ~.
" Hagar hesitated a, minute. Then she
said, Eyes, She died there sure enough p
sand how many years has he lived in
this desolate region, friendfess0 and
alone" said Mrs. Delplaine. - S.1S~@~ 81 ~ =
Hagar recnoned 1t was a considerable
tiae, but gave it. as her, opinion that
some peoples, room was better'n their
Company; and adding that Mrs. Delplaine
was talking too much, and that she had
better go to sleep, Hagar went out of the
room. 4ESSEzE 4 Il
Nosooner had she gone than Mr.. Hume
entered. = It had been customary for him
to relieve Hagar's duties in the sick
room. Unconsciously, perhaps, he had
been listening far .Hagar's retreating
footsteps Who can govern " these
vague yearnines, that sometimes .,beset
the strongest human heart? As
he entered the room his, face bright
ened; the cavernotls burrows in his
brow seemed to straighten out into joy-
Gus benignity, the very angles of his ma
ture, sharpened by the hopeless loneliness
of his life, became smooth, and took COM
Portable rounded shapes to themselves:
and he greeted the pale, pretty woman in
the straightforward chair with peculiar
tendernesso of tone, and manner. born Of
this new experience, THAT would have
frightened and astonsshed himself had he
been locker on But Mrs. Delplaine was
neither frightened nor astonihsed. She
was still SO weak that Hagar's harsh and
abrupt replies brought foolish tears to her
eyes, which still hung upon her lashes as
she smiled upon Mr.. Hume. She gave
herself up to the sweet relief and comfort
OF his presence. She began to believe
that destiny had determined this remark
able event in her lite, and felt an irresis-
tible desire to further the design of fate
She had never in her life seen any one so
noble and majestic, yet so gentle and
tender, as the preacher. She felt that
she would much rather, dwell with him
Gin the midst of alarms that reign in this
horrible place" but anything was better
than to part with him.
II am glad you have come" she said
II have something to say to you" A
strange, wistful, discounted. look in his
face disquieted her and she added gently
"You will not despise little advice, and
remonstrance of mine?" .r.
/ could despise nothing with which
you were associated,' he said. Z
:Then listen to me, she continued
est here by my side and listen to me. r
am getting quite strong and we'll. You
have saved my life, you and your good
Hagar, and the worst of it is that now l
must 60 away"
Here she paused, and injoyed the sud-
den wincing in his face, and resolved
more and more to spare him the pang of
parting. II am going to coax you away
from here" she said. "Indeed, MIR.
Hume-May call you Paula"
Yes" he replied, but began to grow
pale.
Indeed, you are quite thrown away
in this place. It would be so sweet to
me to see you you admired and deifed
and bowed down to, as the world out
yonder does to men like you They love
silver tongue, do the people. Will you
let me manage it for you? I promise
you, if you will, our parting shall be
brief. ! have considerable influence,
which I will WELD in your behalf You
have but to be known to be appreciated.
See the good you might do, Paul." che
added, coaxingly. Her face took fire as
she uttered his name, but that of the
preacher grew paler and paler.
81 am grateful to you,' he replied,
"more grateful than I can say, but
must remain here. Believe me it is bet
ter should remain"
Mrs. Delplaine had somewhat fcreseen
this refusal. In her exalted estimation
of his character she could scarcely hope
that her hero would step aside from the
path he had marked out for himself to
cater to the preferences of woman. She
yielded at once. g..
because you are stubborn and proud"
she said, "because you cannot bend to
any weak frivolty; and if you wilt not
yield to my wishes there is nothing left
for me but submit myself to yours. We'll,
then, will also remain here. It matters
little where I live, and this is winsom
country in its way. I think we shall
soon have promise of spring. On tha>
big stern rock outside the window can
get the poor moss growing just little
green. I can get some old house, and
old houses can be refurnished. Cold
gray homespun can give place to Persian
woods, odorous fires can still glow in old
chimney places. Since it is your will,
sir, to remain in this place, you will not
object if I make this wilderness to bios
som as the rose."
"Mrs Delplainc," he said, crunching
the slim white hand that rested on the
arms of the chair close in the quivering
muscles Of his own.
t.My name is Laura" she INTERRUPTED
softly.
"Mrs. Delplaine" he repeated, ''you
will not remain here, neither will 1 go.
You will take with you the only happi-
ness I have ever known; the memory of
it will perhaps serve to make the rest OF
my life endurable. And now let me tell
you, loveliest and most generous of wom-
en-, why cannot go and you cannot stay.
When WAS but lad of co." said the
preacher, 'and still pursuing my studies,
| fell in love with:a young woman who
lived in the neighborhood of the college.
I soon learned that her passion was
feigned from the first, and that she only
married me from motives of convenience
but mine, such as it was, founded upon a
delusion, and nursed by ephemeral va
carries Of the brain, led me into FOOLS
paradise, and even when the bitterness of
her mistake and my own began to cat In
to our lives, it sickens me to remember
how I strove against it, how meanly and
servielly I shut my eyes and CROPPED
blindfolded for the old mockery. But it
had long been a ghost, and the time
came when even the memory of it was a
curse. Then the cross was heavier for
her to bear than for me. Tied to Il man
whose pursuits, thoughts, ambitions,
affections, she could neither understand
Enor appreciate. condemned to the pro.