Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1879-10-17
relative. until ,he mortgsge Should be

be speedily settled TO their satisfaction,
and now, just rs they were expecting TO
hear that their home was their own
again, came this cruel letter.
ASMarion had said to her mother, not
even the loss of the home went to her
heart with so sharp pang as did this
evidence of the change in her brother.
That Jack should have grown so world
ly and heartless rs to consider his pc
cuniary advantage before the gratifca-
ton of his mothers comfort; that he
should allow them to be actally turned
out OF the dear old home, and so to re-
side in the strange city, where they
would never feel al home-oh this was
the bitterest pang OF all.
So Marion had thought upon first
reading that letter; and it was not until
hearing Miss Melia's words to her
mother that she awoke to the conscious
ness that fate could have even great
er sorrow than this in store for her.
One year ago she had parted from
her accepted lover, Wat Hinton in mu-
tual anger on both sides. Wat had be-
come jealous and spoken sharply to her,
and i'll manner which she considered
herself justified in reSenting.
Wat was too proud to apologize, and
Marion too proud rs we'll as too deli
cate 20 make advances looking to the
reconciliation; and SO they drii;ed apart,
both miserable, until Wat had broken
the last link by going to the west.
She heard Of him from time to time
through his family, but no word or
message to herself ever came. In all
this while, she had looked forward with
II faint, yearning hope to the possibility
Of his sometime returning, and all be-
ing made up between them.
But now this last hope was rudely
stricken to the ground. Wat was going
to be married. He had forgotten her,
and vas lost to her forever.
"Oh il is hard-so hard to bear!h
thought Marion, as with hands uncon-
sciously tightly clasped, she passed
slowly under the apple houghs of the
old orchard. Life is bitter. 1t has
taken all from me, can have no more
to give. Only my dear, dear mother
and Myra. For their sakes must be
strong and try to bear it all"
On the verge OF the orchard, where
the high bank sloped abruptly to the
meadow, she came to a mass of tangled
honey.suckle, fashioned into rustic ar
Dor. Wat had made it for her, and
here, in fact it was that they haG part
ed. Down in the meadow ran little
pathway, leading by short cut to Watts
home, couple of miles away. How
often she had sat here of an evening,
and watched for him!
She could scarcely look back upon
any object now before her eyes which
was not connected with some assoca-
tons of him. There was the walnut
tree which he and Jack used TO climb,
and there the clear, laughing brook on
which he had taught her to steer the lit
tie boat which he had made for her,
laden with grain, down to Jacks fam
Gus water-mill, at the roots of that old
willow.
Further up was the real "grist mill"
which Jack had beer so DESTROYS of
owning, and which everybody said
would be such good investment for
one who could manage it properly.
And then Marion, seated on the bench
in the rustic arbor, turned and looked
long and yearningly at the old farm
house, peeping from the great beeches
across the orchard. No other place on
earth could ever be home to her--and
her mother! Oh, it would be harder
still for her, whose life of fifty years had
been spent under that roof.
A sudden sound aroused Marion--a
sharp whistle as Of some one calling to
\ dog-and she saw through her tear
dimmed eyes the figure of man hur-
rying along the pathway in the mead
ow. She drew back behind the screen
Of the honeysuckle.
The path led past the arbor, but at
the foot of the steep bank she would
not be discovered in her retreat. So
she thought, but moment or two after
there was a sound Of footsteps ascend
ing the bank, rustic of the honeysuckle
branches, and Marion saw standing in
entrance of the arbor tall young man,
who looked almost as much startled as
herself. For moment they gazed at
each other-Marion pale, and the stran-
ger with flush rising on his handsome
face. Then he said, as he held out his
hand:
Marion, don't you know me ?"
she gave him her hand in silence. 1t
was Wat And suddenly, with the sight
of him, came the full bitterness Of her
sorrow in the consciousness that he was
lost to her forever. She was nothing
to him now, and he must be nothing TO
her.
!" i am SO glad to have so unexpected
ly found you here in this dear old spot"
he said. ~ arrived at home only an
hour ago, and could not rest until | had
seen you"
She met his eyes, bent upon her with
strange earnestness, and her pale
cheek family flushed, but she could not
have spoken word.
Marion" he said suddenly, have
you no welcome for me? Is it possible
you cannot forgive me 2"
Forgive you?"
Yes; for all my absurd jealousy and
folly. / have never had happy mo-
ment since | parted from you, Marion,
and | have come back at last to beg
your forgiveness and to beg, too, for
the love which I forfeited. but which