The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1880-10-29
"MIZPAH.v
BY ETHEL1ND RAY.
From the Portland Telegram

| Chloe Hathaway sat in the freight
one cool, autumn evening, her head rest
ing on her hand, and her dark eyes fixed
thoughtfully, almost sadly, on the dying
embers.
It was her twentieth birthday, and her
thoughts involuntarily wandered back
over the year that had just passed.
What long, dreary, hopeless year it
had been, she thought, and a little bro
| ken sigh fiuttered from her lips.
| These last two years had been like a
| great barren desert, with no oasis-no
bright sun showers to refresh them. And
| yet no one suspected that Chloe had q
skeleton in her cupboard" She was
| always, when in company, gay, light
| hearted and cheerful-always ready to
laugh at, and make light of trouble of
| all kinds; and though she counted her
| lovers by the score, she kept them all at
safe distance, and solemnly declared
she would never marry.
But Chloe" her uncle-with whom
| she lived, and who was her only rela-
| tive-would sometimes say to her, ssy3u
will surely marry some tlme-for am
! old and can not live always, and what
| would you do without me, dear?"
sI'm sure don't know, Uncle" Chloe
would answer YEARLY. 'sI only know
| that have horror of marriage, and
! never even give it second thought ex-
cept when you compel me to. Please let
me stay with you, always, Uncle-I am
perfectly contented to drift on in this
way forever"
But there had been time when Chloe
| was 18, when life was not the dreary,
aimless thing to her that 1t was now
L, IL,
and existence itself seemed pleasure.
seemed so long ago-so many bitter
changes bad come since those halcyon
days.
When Chloe was only eighteen, she
had met Will Boonerhandsome noble,
intelligent-ius such man as women
fall in love with in spite of themselves,
and almost unconsciously she had given
him her heart.
And he, handsome, polished man of
the W. cid, though he was, learned in a
few, short months, to love this little,
pure, wild flower tenderly, and truly
with all the ardor of his strong, passion
ate nature.
For one short summer they had drifted
on in perfect happiness, forgetting every
thing and everybody but themselves and
their golden dreams-living only in the
present, forgetting the past, and caring
not for the future. All methinks such
days have dawned for all of ns-and
we're they not brighter, purer, better
than any we have known since then2
"Ah! for the golden days!'' But autumn
came, and Will was compelled to return
to the city. But before he left, he told
Chloe that he loved her, and slipped Q
40 o,,o1 ~, bor nra1.
eff you love me, darling he said,
swear it till Christmas, when I will re-
turn can say no more till then"
And then he had kissed her and left
her, and Chloe had worn his ring be-
cause she loved and trusted him. In
side the ring was engraved the quaint,
old-fashioned motto, stMizpah," signify
ing, sSThe Lord watch between thee and
me while we are absent one from the
other"
He had promised to write her, but not
one line came from him; yet she waited
patiently, trustingly, feeling snre that
in the end it would all be right.
The weeks passed away, and Decem-
ber came. and the days dragged slowly
by. Christmas morning dawned clear
and cold, and Chloe entered the break
| fast room and took her place, with her
heart in a futter of feverish hope. He
would come to-day, she told herself con-
| fidently.
Then the mail was brought in-two OF
three letters for her father and one fs1
herself, and as she glanced at the post
/ mark her heart gave joyful bound, for
it was from New York.
She opened the envelope and two
cream colored cards fell into her hand
4 -, = 1.1~o k1,a rovnn Hf;oo T.;10so roro 1,c
and the other Mr.. and Mrs. w. L.
Boone. And poor Chloe, without one
word, slipped down, white and sense
! less on the floor.
"Great God!' cried her father, 81
have killed my child-my little Chloep
And when, an hour later, Chloe came
/ back to consciousness and life, she found
| herself an orphan-her father had fallen
dead as he uttered that a.1guished cry
E"Great God; I have killed my child!'
He had always been subject to heart dis
ease, and the sudden shock had .sloosed
the silver cord" and poor Chloe was
fatherless as well as motherless.
Her uncle Immediately came, and after
/ the funeral, carried her away to his own
elegant luxurious home in the city-the
same city where Will lived with his
beautiful bride, who had taught him Sc
soon to forget poor little, dark.eyed,
faithful Chloe.
But she learned that Will had gone to
Europe, and would hot return for two Oh
three years; and SO with a dreary hope.
less despair settling over her heart, she
"took up the burden of life again." and
none of her fashionable friends or adj
mirers dreamed she had a deep deep
grave in her heart, in which she had
huried har first and only love. for nm