Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1880-04-09

| Udu ureaneu OF mySbll, anu III was 0OI |
| till | came into possession of certain
family secret that began to revolVe @
the possibility in my mind. It seems
that when my aunt married her second t
husband, Mr.. Browne-Susette and
Anne were both Lowells-they had sub c
sisted upon the patrimony left to. Cedric !
by his mother, and that after his fathers
death, Cedric had turned in the same
yearly income from the estate for the {
family use, and that /, Adrienne Lennox,
owed my daily bread to the man whom S
l had refused, and who had forgotten {
me. Earning my own livelihood was '
out of the question, drudgery was my (
only vocation, and that was too badly
paid to be encouraging. l looked at the
Rev. Abel Amherst often at this period,
with view to installing him in Cedrics
place, if Cedric would only vacate.
Oddly enough, Mr.. Amherst renewed
his suit at this time, and pressed it with
the eagerness of lover, and for the first
time | began to hesitate. 1.-The woman
who hesitates is lost" said Susette.
l had been out on the hills one day
trying to make up my mind to forget
Cedric, and marry Mr.. Amherst; but
whenever l began to think with some
interest of going to parish meetings, be-
coming the president of Oak ta.leagues
and sewing circles, visiting the poor,
and drinking tea opposite the Rev. Mr..
Amherst all the rest of my days, some
how or other Cedric's face would slip
, into the picture uninvited, and blot out |
his rivals, as strong sunlight fades a |
negative photograph.
"There is letter for you, Adrienne,"
said Aunt Browne, when | entered the
house, in the music room, on the top
of the dado, under Mozarts picture" l
; went into the music room, but there
. was no letter to be seen.
"Perhaps one of the girls has re-
moved it," she suggested. But no one
had meddled with it.
Grandma cooked letter over the
tea-kettle," said little Teddy, refec-
lively.
"Yes." said grandma, 81 wrote
letter to your pa, child. l hadn't any
blotting paper, but the file answers the
!, purpose quite as we'll"
L At that time l had never heard of
:, opening letters by steam. Well, we ran
q q sacked the house for that truant letter,
II but in vain.
J; "Who was it from, auntP'' l asked.
q "How should know, child?"
IL But the handwriting - the post
B. markP"
he WIS DluIISu.
u Had it a foreign stampp" l asked,
y with sudden eagerness. Cedric had
. gone abroad some months before, and
had not heard of his return.
a "a foreign stamp! No. Were you
IL expecting foreign letter."
It mo; but it is the unexpected that
-. always happens, you know"
=. ~ Its awfully provoking" said .Su-
" " sette. perhaps it was only the recipes
~ III Mrs Clark was going to send you"
y. Nothing more likely; but what has
70 70 become of itP It's prolonged game of
~ ~ hunt the thimble."
s. "And supposing it's letter notifying
no YOU of the existence of first Mrs. Am
m omr herst." put in Anne, "or of a legacy left
d by your forty-ffth cousin in Austria
Is. liza" And then the door-bell rang.
tn Well, after that suppose must have
We accepted Mr. Amherst. Everybody be-
sv haved as if I had. Ireceived congratu'
nd lations and ring, and the parish begun
7 repairs upon the parsonage, before
ne could muster courage to tell Mr.. Am
w herst all about Cedric and my mistake
80 ,S, and how wasn't at all sure | could evel
,e3 get over it, and care for anybody else
ho' but that | would domy best. And h,
to smiled in a sort of absent way when
90 told him, but seemed content to tax
bo me ms | was, for better or worse: onl.
Lbe it did strike me sometimes that he wa
ho the most undemonstrative lover il
ito Christendom; but | hadn't much ex
se perience in lovers, and perhaps the
the weren't as gushing in real life as novel
ink pictured. He used to kiss my hand whe
we parted that was all. He was yer
itb gentle, but little sad, tancied, with
vas look which might mean that he ws
am afraid of so much happiness, or that
m marry the woman he loved wasn't a
fancy had painted it; and often I though
,rv. had perhaps done wrong to tell hin
10 everything about Cedric so unreser'
q of edly; yet had only meant to be homes
+ II But the day was appointed, and SUI
ore denly Cedric appeared among us, whit
,;nr I thought he was at the worlds en-
, rae and he and the girls decorated the lit
had church with white field daisies al
tor grasses for the occasion. You may b
and (ieve that avoided the sight of CedI
ore in the interval before the wedding
ban- much as possible, but somehow l W
IN always stumbling upon him; he seem
He to be perpetually at my elbow; he 81
,on prised me more than once with trat
,,aiss of tears upon my face; the sound of
- bo voice made my heart turn and quiv
~ au,n' mo within me. II / had dared to withdr;
r;sb at this juncture, I'm afraid | shot
h;n, have done so; but it was too late; a
XII though felt like hypocrite wheneN
o.. ns Mr.. Amherst appeared, his looks
a. i;at 90 sober satisfaction, which reminded
I,sO ms;o of those lines of Matthew Royden
, en- Sir Philip Sidney,
make ga full assurance given by looks,
Continual comfort in a face,
or,cd The lineaments of gospel books"
+ me might have taught me that all was v
en- he with him.
whole "You are the oldest sweetheart
,ith ever saw" gossiped Susette.
n his wouldn't give "a straw for such 10y
ough and Us for you, Adrienne, you resen
" day a ghost more than bride"
: win In short, thousand years of pul
g into tory would i'll represent my suffer-
ace of during those last weeks before my
COM ding. Well, to crown the whole, A
Browne said Cedric must give me av
ing to he was the only male relative, the l
led to of the family, so to speak, and he c
do it so admirably.
Dm his "We shall see," said he. Pm al
I should make poor figure at gi
Cedric Adrienne away" and he stroked
:" as if triste mustache as he spoke, and To-
tie. at me Just as he looked that day Y
le I'D to we gathered the laurel for Susette's
down I could have sworn he did. l d
saw, are answer, for fear my voice woul
Jedricp husky, and the tears would start.
Pm a The wedding was to be quite pr
only relatives. Aunt Brown
T." said ranged everything to suit herself
pinning the prorrietiesi IL olcnt oeeoi