Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1880-01-30

put his picture on exhibition. All the
town was speaking of it before night.
"Such fiesh-tints! such expressionl such
beautym
"Yet it does not equal the original"
said Grandelaw.
"No," returned Victor; "pigment is
a poor mske-shift for fire and spirit"
AT about this time he received news
that his only sister was seriously i'll in
London. He was Obliged to drop his
pencil and fly to her. without so much
as bidding Nina good.by; but he would
write and explain, he promised himself.
In the meantime Grandelaw found oe-
casion to make friends with Nina. She
had happened iuto shop to purchase
materials for her work she had laid her
pocket book down for au instant, and
not till she had nearly reached the door
did she discover tina. she had taken up,
not her own, but another's plethoric
purse. At the same moment strange
hand detained her and she was accused
of theft. This lady is friend of mine,"
said Grandelaw, stepping forward to her
rescue, having followed her into the
shop" she is friend of mine;' and
the accuser begged thousand pardons,
and obsequiously bowed herself out of
sight.
After this. what could Nina do but
accept him at his own valuation? How
could she avoid meeting him in her
walks, and allowing him to accompany
her? how refuse admittance to one who
had befr:ended herS And he Knocked
often, and watched her at her pretty
toll, and the intimacy progressed. Some
times she opened her door, and showed
a beaming face, but the smile would
fade soon. At other times he observed
that she started when footstep paused
outside; she expected some one, an
swered absently, listened to his batteries
with far-away look in her soft eyes.
One day Grandelaw determined to probe
the wound.
"Did you not sit to Victor Blumen-
thai for his Undine? ?" he asked. at
was picture worth painting; he must
have had thousand sittings."
mot nearly SO many" sighed Nina.
II should have been jealous, il l had
been Mrs. Blumenthal."
"Jealous!" repeated Nina--"Mvs.
Blumenthall His mother!"
"His wife-Victor's wife,"
ellis wife!-Victor Blumenthal's
wife!"
ooh, then perhaps you did not know
he was married.
"He never spoke of it,"
because everybody knew it. Come
Miss Nina, don't look ut me as if was
to blame. Victor Blumenthal was mar
ried more than two years ago to his
cousin Theodore. If you doubt it, |
will find you the notice of his marriage
among my file of the Tribune. But OF
course you have no interest in it. What
is it to you are me%
Nothing, nothing" she answered.
81 do not doubt it." But she had grown
very white, and her eyes shone like
wandering stars, and the needle trem-
bled in her hand. "Of course he is mar
ried," she added, in lighter tone,
"only the idea never occurred to me be-
fore--it took me unawares."
What had Victor Blumenthal meant,
she asked herself, "by those words a
thought too sender" by chances that
made love palmer than speech? Why
had he held her hand till she blushed,
and kissed the pink finger tipss Why
had he sought her out, only to break
her hearty Did he not love his cousin
Theodora2 And then she hid her face IN
her pillow, remembering how her heart
had gone out to a married man. An
other woman's lover, and she had mis-
taken him for her own! Doubtless this
was why she had neither seen nor heard
from him for SO long; he had OWNED
her heart, and conscience had made q
coward of him. But it should never be
said of her that she wore her heart on
her sleeve. And when Victor returned
with the sister whom he had succeeded
in snatching from the valley Of shadows,
having written to Nina, but in his anx-
iety mailed the letter without an an ad-
dress, she had been engaged to Mr..
Grandelaw for more than a month al
ready, and had gone to visit his mother
in q neghboring town till the wedding
should take place, without leaving any
trace behind her. Grandelaw had, in
fact, prosecuted her into consent. A
thousand things had conspired in his IA
vor. She had fallen i'll and into debt,
and work had failed, and Grandelaw had
sent his own physician to her, with
fruits, and flowers and wines, had taken
her out in his carriage when air was
prescribed, and had ended by proposing
TO take care of her all her life, by win
ming reluctant consent to endow her
with all his worldly goods. Victor had
deceived her, or rather she had taken
too much for granted, and deceived her
self, and what better could she do than
reward the devotion of Grandelaw, who
assured her that he loved enough for
both Of them.
Everybody was kind at Laurel Lodge;
everything was fine enough to win
mercenary heart, if Nina had owned
one. Nobody limited that Grandelaw
was making an unequal marriage. One
day when Nina returned from gallop
across the hills with Grandelaw, there
was tall, gracious woman waiting for
them on the veranda, who allowed
CrapJ ala M ~ Gioc u nv "a "a nd ond ,,,aJa