The New Bloomfield, Pa. times. (New Bloomfield, Pa.) 1877-188?, 1880-03-16

crowded thick upon him. The struggle
In his soul was cruel one, but 1t was
the better part of him which conquered.
and drawing out his watch, took from
the inner part of the old fashioned silver
case lock of hair, faded now, but once
a bright warm brown. Over 1t lay
little watch paper on which was painted
in water colors wreath of forget-me-
nots encircllng two claspng hands.
Underneath the whole was the name
Phoebe" He gazed at these treas
ures long and steadily, while the hard
look of suffering went out of his face
and his eyes grew tender and moist with
tears. He leaned his allow on the win
dow sill and looked out across the happy
autumn field to the church yard where
for so many years poor Phoebe had
rested from sorrows. Then his eyes
went on to his brothers. house, from the
door of which he presently saw little
Lizzie pass out and take the path to the
orchard. AT sight of her his lip CULVER
ed slightly he heaved one great sigh
and then said, as if summoning strength
for some final resolutions, "yes, / will
go and tell her"
Poor Lizzie had thought her cup was
full before; but this day she was sure
she could bear no more; and escaping
as soon as possible from her mother, she
sought the only place where she would
be likely to be uninterrupted, that she
might cry her heart out alone. She
hurried along till she reached her favor
ite seat beneath an ancient apple tree
whose long branches dropped SO low as
to almost touch the ground. On one
side was the wall, and on the other a
huge barberry bush, SO that she was
almost entirely shut from view, and any
one approaching could not be seen until
close upon her.
Now, not far distant from the Jocelyn
orchard, and separated from it only by
small field, was a pleasant strip of
woodland. 1t was a part of Mark Boyn-
toms farm; and up and down its shaded
paths their owner had been recklessly
walking ever since he left the church.
He alone, of all present that day, had
understood in q flash the old mans
blunder and its cause. In that moment
when he drew himself up proudly in the
face of all who looked at him, he was
saying to himself, "She belongs to me,
and she shall be mine. That notice
shall be repeated here, and it shall be no
blunder."
Now, as he restlessly paced to and fro,
quite convin ced that affairs had reached
a crisis, and could never stay as they
were, he was fully resolved to make
good fight for his rights. He was just
making up his mind to go to Robert
Jocelyn and have it out with him at
once, when he chanced to glance across
the field to the orchard beyond, and his
eyes caught the tlutter of pink dress
among the trees. Well he Knew who
had worn that pink muslin at church
he knew, too, the nook under the apple
tree, for he had sat there more than
once with Lizzie Heath. Without
moments hesitation he sprang over the
low stone wall and went straight across
the field to the old tree, There, as he
expected, he found Lizzie. 1t is unnes-
sessary to relate all the arguments he
used to bring her to his way of thinking;
at least they were not Immediately
effective, for the poor girls conscience
and sense of duty were unfort unately
arrayed on the wrong side. They had
been thus occupied for perhaps half an
hour and were on the verge of genuine
quarrel. Lizzie, with tear-stained face,
sat pulling nervously at the long grass.
Mark stood before her talking earnestly.
She had said something about repairing
her mothers wrong. He interrupted
her almost angrily:
How can you repair one wrong by
doing anotherp That your mother fail
ed to keep faith with Robert Jocelyn is
nothing to you. A girl is not bound to
marry every man her mother jilts. If
she did wrong by him you cannot make
1t right by doing me the same wrong.
tell you my claim is better than his.
That he loves you I have no doubt
how could he help it?r-but love you
as well as he, and you love me, for you
have admitted it with your own lips.
Oh, Lizzie don't you know that love
has some rights as well as dutyY 2"
What answer Lizzie might have made
/ cannot tell, for just then the sound of
a step in the grass made them both turn,
and there stood Robert Jocelyn. Mark