The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-09-20
WHOLE No. 1 ,916

first falsehotd. Who is to blame for it :
And to what will it lead
X x = = ;
Three months later. Ray Remington and
| Mrs. Thornton have met many times since
that sad day on which he sent her the Vic
| lets. They have lunched together rode tn
sether, and attended the matine,.s toget her,
| and ght il is all arranged that she will
leave her husbands protection for that OF
Ray.
Is she happy at the thought of leaving her
husbands home" Happy? No. wretch,
eddy unhappy. But that which seemed only
Il slight grievance ut first has become now
| an unhappineSS too great to be borne
OF course she conded her sorrows to Ray,
and his Indignation was intense.
| That any one could 90 neglect her. She,
whom he would have cherished so tender
| ~" and so forth, in the usual strain.
OF course, all this only made her lot seein
| the harder. And now she is going TO escape
from it all. But the treacherous little heart
| in her bosom, that She had thought so cold
and dead to Charlie, now begins to plead for
him.
How he haunted the corridor outside her
bedroom that time when she was so i'll, and
he was forbidden to enter. And when nj
last she was well enough to see him, how
shocked she was at the alteration in tie dear
face. Why, it was worn us thin and white
as her own, and when she first saw her own
face in the glass, the great hollows in the
pale cheeks he used to praise for their plump
ness and bloom, and saw in place of tho
luNuriant brown trcSseS he was SO proud of
the boys shock of curly brown hair, and
threw herself weeping on her pillow, sob
bling, how could he-could he love her now ?
How tenderly he took her in his arms, laid
her head on his breast, and kissed the shorn
locks and sunken checks And though she
lived to be old and gray, could she ever for
get his words?
My dear one, my wife, I am so thank
full that hold you here on this heart, where
at one time | feared you never would rest
again. | love you, my darling, for yourself,
your warm heart, your pure soul, not for
the bloom that can fade or the benny brown
tresses that are gone"
All. with a sudden Sharp catching of the
breath, could any other man ever be the
same to her AS Charlie? Oh. she must not
think Of this.
What is this? A bracelet he gave her on
the first anniversary Of their marriage. No,
she cannot take that. And her wedding
ring. Yes, that must be left with the rest.
oh. she had not dreamed il would be 50 hard
to part with the old love tokens Even the
despiscd Leila is caught up and kissed, and
cried over. And-what was she about To
uo cS, Sne wis acIUilly gong 10 KISS
the little white tidy OH the back of the sleepy
hollow, where Charles head rested every
night while he read the Sp0uter
When Charlie returns to his deserted home
Che left for Washington that morning),
what will hesay? VIII ho care very much?
Hark. One-two-three-she counts to
nine. Then the strokes cease.
The hour has come. She starts for the
door; stops, with her hand pressed to her
heart, gazes wildly around, and dashes out
blindly into the night. y tall form is stand
ing ut the foot of the steps; it is Ray. He
draws the little cold hand through his arm.
the steps are down, the wife has entered
Ray is about to follow. whcn-ah. great
heaven. what is; this? Her husband stands
there before him There is the flash and
report of Il pistol, and Ray Remington falls
She shrieks wildly, springs from the car
riage, and awakcS!
Yes, thank God! awakes to find it all Il
dream.
She is in her own dear little sitting room.
There is the dear, old sleepy hollow, and
there is Leila, the fluffy 4Angora cat Oh the
rug by the fire. Bjou there, too, with his
funny little google eyes and funny little
pink tongue lolling out, and-vhat is this 4?
4 card-Ray Remnington'S She rrmem-
bers now he did call, aud he had the ilnper-
tinence to show by his look and tone that
he still cared for her.
She rings the bell violently.
james, in future, when Mr.. Remming-
ton calls, am not at home