The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1879-02-26

and wandered about in fever of misery
and lrresolution. Sometimes I felt as if
I would rather never see her again {;
sometimes that I must speak to her and
tell her what I had heard, if only that
she might deny it. If she had ordered
me out of her sight at the same time,
shouldn't have minded it. To have known
that it was lie, that it was not she who
had met this coniounded Captain Lucas,
would have been worth more
than my whole life to me lust then.
And yet, how even to speak to her on
the subject, I couldn't tell. At last
could bear it no longer, and went back
to the hotel. A waiter told me that she
was in, and, as she and her friends had a
private sitting room, ran up to it hop
ing I might find her, aud alo1e. She
was not there, however; the room was
empty, but her little desk stood open on
the table, and near it letter addressed
in large bold hand, which I once told
her lauehingly I could read mile off, to
Capt. Lucas. Royal Artillery Barracks,
somewhere. I did not wait for second
glance, but turned and went out from the
room and the hotel. I had learned all
wanted to know. I never saw or spoke
to her again. She left Oxford day or
two afterward; and when the other fell
lows used to chatf me about her, next
term, most of them assuming that had
proposed to the beautiful Miss Langton
and been refused, and some of them max
ing rather merry at my expense, never
denied it; and. besides. could not have
spoken of her. My own hope was to for
get her existence, and that one was vain
one. Heaven only knows how she has
haunted my memory, and now-now!'
"You find out you were utterly unjust
to her, and that Capt. Lucas was her
step-brother, and that she sent for him to
the Rashleigh in the hope of efecting a
reconciliation between him and her father,
who had not met him since her mothers
death. Well, Hugh, you've certainly
made blunder of it.; and it isn't your
fault if you haven't broken outright as
true heart as ever beat. What are you
going to do at present2"
"Go away" he said hoarsely; "that I
mayn't insult her by second sight of
me. No wonder she looked at me with
such aversion to-day. And to think that
she might once have cared for nae! Well,
we'll, I am punished enough"
And upon my word, when I saw him
sitting with his head bowed upon his
hands, and his face as drawn and bag
gard as it years of pain had swept over it
since the morning, I almost felt the
same, and began to soften in the anger
l had felt at his first condemnation of
Cecil. He, however, wonld listen to no
excuse for his conduct, and laughed to
scorn my suggestion that she might yet
forgive him.
"Would you have me insult her worse2"
he asked me bitterly. mo, no; tell her
some day, if you like, that left her be-
cause was utterly unworthy of her, but
that I loved her with my whole heart,
and was never faithless to her even for
day. Tell her that if you will, and then
never mention me again. She will not
care that you should: And it was alto
gether against his will that insisted on
giving his message in my own way and
before he left Oxford. In my heart 1
believed that Cecil still cared for him,
and would never suffer him to go; but he
checked me sternly when even tried to
hint at such an idea, and I left him pack
ing his portmanteau when I started.
Mrs. Prior, Cecil's cousin, received me
less cordially than usual when L
visited her. She looked worried
and fretful, and told me she
could not have seen any stranger
had brough t one with me.
$50 am glad you did not bring your
friend with you," she said. "1s he a |
great friend? for, to tell the truth, did
not take fancy to him. He has the
same name as a person Who-whom
would not receive on any account; and
and did not care for his manner. Is he
going to stay long with you2"
Cecil got up and laid her hand on her
cousins shoulder. Her beautiful face
was looking very white this morning, but
calm as wax.
"Cousin Emily is not WE'LL" she said
gently. "You are not to mind her, Mr..
Quincy. It is way of hers to take I'M
reasonable likes ana disllkes, and we
have not been seeing many strangers Of
late. She would like your friend very
well on one of her good days. Come
out into the garden and look at my JAP
anese anemonies." And I rose and went
out with her gladly; but when we got to
the flowers I turned my back on them
and said:
"Thank you for taking Mal!am's part,
Miss Langton. He is man love dear
ly, and all the more that he has had
great trouble in his life perhaps the
greatest any man can have. It is very
heavy on him row." Her face turned
paler yet, her hands clasped each other
in tight hold, but she did not speak. I
went on quietly. ''He was unfortunate
enough to love woman dearly, and
wrong her cruelty. It's quite a proper
story, so you needn't mind my mention
ing it. Lately, only last night, he found
out his error. BE PAW the lady again
and" a' -
'Thought her rather pretty, perhaps
Cecil Interrupted scornfully, and even
that he might have done worse than have
been faithful to her. Is that your friends
trouble, Mr.. Gurney2 compassionate
him; though don't see a remedy for it."
NO." I said, coolly, "for, as it hap
pens, he never was faithless to her; only
to his belief in her. And great as taat