The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1879-09-17

| boldly; and Guys arm was ABOUT 10 In
close her, his lips were bent to her cheek,
when voice out of the fog asked, g. Is it
private theatricais Have we intruded
behind the scenes?" as Lucia and Du-
chene drew nearer. "Cousin Guy, there
are letters for you and telegram at the
house," and while he went for the mail
in the convoy of his cousin and her
escort, Miss Lowell escaped to her room.
The telegram proved IN urgent sum-
mons, and Guy was obliged to leave by
the earliest stage next morning. AS sMiss
Lowell, unaware of this fact, was asleep
at that hour, he slipped note of explain
alton and observation under her door rs
he passed down; but the wind blowing
through her open wi 1dow swept it back
into the hall, and wien Essie tripped by
to breakfast it lay in her path. Miss
| Lowell" she read, land Cousin Guys
handwriting" and she carried it to her
room, lighted taper and let it shrivel in
the flame. That evening. rs Miss Lowell
fingered on the yeranda. Miss Essie
brushed by her and turned, You are
not, perhaps, aware" she said. in under
tone, THAT Mr.. Thornton is already en-
gaged-has been engaged for years. He
has not told you, of course-what' man
ever tells such things when he amuses
himself ?"
Yes ?" rejoined Miss Lowell, "and 1
am engaged to marry myself-since some
time"
"A bonnie boalche to write Guy"
thought Essie; Il will put it in a post
script as an afterthought." II was not
strange if Miss Lowell became sadly dis
turbed at Guys departure without q
word, and at his sui sequent silence. She
could not question his cousins; and as
day after day passed without a syllable
in explanation, she decided that he had
been merely passing the time, as people
will at the beach; that it was no true
affection, but will-o'-the. wisp which
she had mistaken for;I reality. Guy, in
his turn, was both hurt and angry that
she paid no heed to his farewell note;
but he had no time to upbraid her, and
then came Essie's postscript.
Another letter arrived for Guy in the
same mail-a letter from the woman to
whom he had been engaged for years:
my DEAR Mr.. THORNTON Git RAM
-"Your last letter was received in
May. Ireturned I from Europe early in
June, but did not notify you, because I
have been revolving a certain matter
in my mind. / feel lnat it will he i'm
possible for us to fulh the engagement
which was brought about by our
parents. 1t is out of the question that
you, who knew me as \ mere child
seven years ago-have we met once in
that time?-can love me. ltu used to
say that my straight nose was my only
beauty, and l. was thrown from car
riage while abroad, and it is row an
aquiline feature-not bad for IN aqui-
line, either. am confident you would
sacrifice yourself rather than to disobey
the dead, who have mortgaged us to each
ether, so to speak; and l feel obliged to
lake the initiative and declare our en-
.;agcment null and void. I have fitted
myself for teaching and have several
pupils; and during the enjoyment Of my
grandfather's estate have saved enough
for rainy day. Do not attempt to see
me or to change my resolve, which is
Interchangeable. Sincerely,
"JULIETTE l.. CAvENDISH."
Guy had not been deliberate villain
in this transaction. Miss Lowell had
won his heart before he dreamed of dam
ger; and as for Juliette Cavendish. she
was hobbledehoy schoolgirl of thirteen
when he saw her seven years before
shy, nervous and awkward, with elf
locks of tow-colored hair. Her grand
father and Guys father had been sworn
friends. in spite fthe disparity in years; {;
ind it had been tkeir hobby to unite the
family fortunes. If Guy and Juliette
failed to marry they forfeited their in
heritance. Happily for Guy, he had re-
ceived legacy from his mothers family
unencumbered by ugly conditions; but
he had always supposed he should carry
out his fathers will and marry Miss
Cavendish finally, and they had kept up
IN irregular correspondence daring her
sojourn in Europe.
"A strange affair."" he thought. "Can
she have fallen in lovep I feel TO blame
us if I ought to have taken pains to love
her. A snarl always ensues when the
dead dictate to the living" At least he
was free to marry Miss Lowell; but had
not Miss Essie just notified him of her
long engagement? He hastened to write
Miss Lowell a letter full of bitter re-
breaches and angry love; but she had
hiddena dieu to the Orchard Farm be-
| fore it arrived there, and had left no ad-
dress, having abandoned hope at the
same date; and the poor love- letter, with
Ill it's angry protestations, was laid on
the shelf, and Guy was obliged to own in
his heart that he had been deceived and
misled. At about this time he began to
wonder what manner OF woman Miss
Cavendish might be; ifshe had really u
lover; and if not. what had prompted
the sacrifice. What but noble sim
cer:ty? After all, why should he hesitate
10 fulfill his fathers will, and unite the
fortunes of Cavendish and Thornton?
Might she not be taught to love him? He
was wise enough to know that his ac-
count with love was not closed because
one woman had proved untrue. AS she
had giver no address, he called first upon
her lawyer as the most likely person to
know her whereabouts.
Miss Cavendish," said that gentle
man, "was at the seashore quite lately,
by the doctors orders-a slight difficulty
of the throat. Had some crotchet about
earning her daily bread, and has been
practicing her voice too steadily. Wo.
men who can afford to be idle are
always hankering for vocation. Hel
relatives made such an ado about Cav.
endish working that she has cut adrifl
from them, They made her life a bur.
den. You'd better call in the evening
she has pupils all day. She's in earnest
about not marrying, perhaps YOU know!
Perhaps she'll change her mind when
she sees you," laughed Mr.. Small. ooh
by-the-way," he called after Guy, I'm
growing absent-minded-it's age; don't
grow old, sir; it's bad habit. Tc
spare the feelings of her high and mighty
relatives, Miss Cavendish has assumed
her mothers maiden name, Lovell-asl
for Miss Juliette Lowell"
miss Lovell!" gasped Guy. "What
does she mean by keeping up such s
masquerade with me?"
"You had better 60 and ask her."
And Guy obeyed.
Il was at the beach for my health,
Miss Cavendish explained, later, aftel
some preliminaries had passed. II coule
not afford to lose my voice, but I never
dreamed of meeting you there. After
ward 1 thought perhaps you might grow
to like me, if nobody obliged you to d.
so. had taken my mothers name, no