The Sunday herald. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1866-1887, 1880-03-28

o my lover speak to me and hold me fast, mine
own
For fear this rising sea- and these winds and waves
that moan
but never word he said
lie Is dead, my love is dead
All me ah me did but dream: and am all alone,
Alone. and old. and gray; and the tide Is rolling In;
But my hearts away, away, away, In the old grave
yard Mt Lynn
Temple Bar.
NINA.
Victor Blumenthal was sauntering through
painting thinking how the light among the trees
suggested certain strains OF music to him. when his
s M FEEDING hs
Sssi thought; sSe ist@s very Image Of Undue
the brim of the basin to toss crumb into the
water and lost her balance Quick as thought Victor
and confronted Undnc out Of whose face ali Tie rose
had faded, all the sunshine had fled. 'oh, how
shall thank you! what shall do for yon!', she
lived. She is my little neghbor, and promised to
be 50 careful Of her. oh though you are stranger
feel as II you were my best friend!''
telling me how our little friend hears her drenching
he returned as he put them into earrlge. Then he
went to his studio and tried to linn tie face OF
undIne and threw down his brush In despair. And
the next day, happening into hepubc garden again,
there she was before him, smiling and blushing with
the child beside her.
~ thought perhaps we should meet you here she
| confessed. "Jenny brings her mothers thanks.
''Iiow can we repay you but with our prayersg''
"1f you could sit to me-
81? You mean Jenny?''
~ mean yourself. II you could come to my studio.
| and let me paint you
sob, you are laughing at metz
81 was never more serious In my life'
''Let us go then, " She said.
Your picture Is long in finishing, :" she remarked
every night wiped ont what he had laborlously painted
In during the day. difficult was II to mprlson the
shadow Of his model within the canvas to lend to
Undlne the soul that sat and smiled In Nina's eyes, to
endow her with the spirit that informed the face,
flushed IN the oval cheek, or trembed about the
''You tired of coming to me. tax you too
long,
| made my flowers SO slowly should starve.''
Victor laughed softly. Fame is better than
money!
'.And life is better than fame
And then Victor threw down his brush. ''The
Is setting. he said; "et us go out upon tile bay for
And Nina followed, nothing loath. How cool and
sweet the hour was ont there with sails blowing out
boats lettering or speeding by How gayiy the sun
sniote the cy's spires, and changed the windows of
dIngy warehouses on the wharves into precious stones
like those of Aladdin's palace How much peasanter
all this was than sitting at home, in dark alley,
over her artificial flowers trying to embody her far
Victor walked to the dark alley In the dugk with
Nina, and thought of the white lilies that grew into
perfect beauty and sweetness though rooted IN mould
and slime.
So the friendship grew between Victor and Nina
race, and Victor Blumenthal, the artist and million.
aire-and the picture grew apace. Somehow he dared
finish 1t, lest Nina should feel her debt paid and
son, what Is that beautiful thingp'' she asked
one day. MS he rilled familiar air, while spreading
his palette. "Did you make 1t up yourself?''--hcr
| face all aglow.
at is an air from an OPERA laughed Victor
from Trovatore. The honorof making 1t up be-
longs to one Verdi. Have you never heard an
opera 7"
vatore is on the bill for this blessed night. What
concidence!'' And 80, when the city lamps were
bling hand within his own, and they became part Of
the gay and fashionable world inside the theatre.
lights and beautiful faces, the simmer Of silk and
Jewels the odor of musk and sanda-wood, and the
kind, handsome face of Victor Blumenthal shining
upon her! How the tenor sang out. sweet as sylla
bes OF love. how the soprano soared what depths the
bass explored! what pathos. what sorrow, what de-
light sweed and ebbed with the chords! Did people
really love and suffer and despair and triumph like
tbisp Had she lived through 1t all herself, some
where, somehow, that it seemed like an echo of her
| come? When the curtain fell Victor discovered
tears in her eyes Other people were laughing around
|
her bat as he passed, bowling to her companion. and
would have Joined them had Blnmenthai been less
frigid. ~ have seen that gentleman BEFORE ~ said
| Nina; "he came with n lady who was In n hurry for
some flowers had promised. He called her stella.'
cit was his cousin. Stella Grandelaw,'' said
| Victor.
One day Victor, who could no longer ind a pretext
to continue the sitngs put his picture on exhibition
fesll-tints such expression. such beauty'''
"Yet 1t does not equal tho original " said Grande-
law.
mo, :, returned Victor; pigment lisa poor make
shift for fire and SPIRIT
| At about this time he received news that his only
sister serouslyil In London. He was obliged to
drop his pencil and fly to her, without much as bid
ding Nina goodbye; but no would write and explain
| he promised himself. In the meantime Grandeaw
found occasion to make friends with Nina. She had
happened into shop to purchase materials for her
work; she had laid her pocket book down for in
stant and not TIL she had nearly reached the door did
she discover that she had taken up not her own but
strange hand detained she Of theft.
'This lady Is friend OF mine" said Grandelaw,
Into the shop she is friend Of miner and the
accuser begged thousand pardons, and obsequously
bowed himself out Of sight.
| his own vauation9 How could she avoid meeting
him In her walks and allowing him to accompany her?
how refuse admttancc to who had befriended her
And he knocked often, and watched her at her pretty
toll. and the Intimacy progressed. sometimes she
smile would fade soon At other times he observed that
she started when footstep paused Outslde she
some one answered absenily listened to his batteries
Grandelaw determined TO probe the wound.
'.Did YOU not sit TO Victor Bumenthal for his
ing; he must have had thousand sttings.''
''Not nearly SO many" sighed Nina.
~ should have been jealous, II ! had been Mrs.
Jealous - repeated Nina; "Mrs. Blumemlal
His motherp''
ellis wife-victor's wife,"
"His wife-Victor Blumentiiai's wife -
son. then, perhaps you did not know he was
'.He never spoke OF It,
:" Because everybody knew It, Come Miss Nina,
menthai married more than two years ago to his
cousin, Theodore. II You doubt i, viii md the
notice OF his marriage among my file Of the Tribune,
But OF course you have no interest In 1t. what IL II
TO you or mep''
q Nothing, nothing, - she answered. ~ do not
eyes shone Ike wandering stars and the needle Iem
bled IN her hand. "of course he is married, - she
cured 10 me 6efore-it took me unawares. -
What had Victor Blumentha meant, she asked her
SELF 'by those words thought too tender. :, by
gances that made love palmer than speechY Why
had he held her hand TN she blushed and kissed the
pink finger tipsG Why had no sought her out, only
to break her heartY Did he not love his cous,n Theo
doraY And then she hid her face IN her pillow,
membsIng how her heart had gone out to a married
man. Another woman s lover and she had mistaken
him for her ownl doubtless this was why she had
neither seen nor heard from him for so long he had
Of him But 1t should never be said OF her that She
wore her heart on her sleeve. And when Victor re-
turned with his sister, whom he had Just succeeded In
to Nina, but In his anxiety mailed the letter without
an address, she had been engaged TO Mr.. Grandelaw
for month already, and had gone TO visit his neither
In neghboring town iii the wedding should take
place. without leaving any trace behind her. Gran
delaw had, In fact prosecuted her Into consent. A
thousand things had TRANSFERRED In his favor. sbe
had fallen III and Into debt and work had failed and
ras and no@ers s and Snss and had taken her GU,
In his carriage when air was prescribed, and had
ended by proposing to take care OF her all her life by
winning a reluctant consent to endow her With all
his worldly goods. Victor had deceived her, OF
rather she had taken too much for granted, and de-
ceiyed herself aud what better could she do than
ward the devotion OF Grandelaw, who assured Ter
that he had love enough for them both.
Everybody was very Kind at Laurel Lodge; every
body was ine enough TO win nercenary heart II
Nina had owned one. Nobody hinted that Grande-
law was making an unequal marriage. one day when
Nina returned from gallcp across tho hills with
Grandeaw there was u tail, gracious woman waiting
for them on the yeranda, who allowed Grandelaw 10
kiss her hand. and made Nina a stately bow.
''liaye the skies fallen, that We catch larksy''
| asked Nlna's lover.
| A eaat hat yn. lax IA