Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1880-01-29

never loved before, and Elsie, you love
me" said Lewis Walton, ms he put his
arm around her slender waist, and drew
Elsie's happy face to his bosom, and
covered the warm red lips with kisses.
Nathaniel Holt fed from the spot, like
a hunted deer. The veins on his temples
stood out like whipcords, and dry, voice
less sobs broke from him, as he sank
down on the messy turf, and buried his
face in the cedar spears that lay inch
deep on the moist ground. Never again
could he take Elsie Marian's fair, false
face in his hands and kiss it with low
ers kisses. For she had willfully given
up the pure honest love of his guileless
heart for the love of a man, who in Gods
sight, if not in the sight of men, was
legally bound to another. Perhaps he
had been mistaken in himself, but this
he knew, he had made an idol of her,
and given her such love as no human be-
ing should lavish on fellow creature,
be they ever so perfect, and God had
seen the foolishness of his idolatrous
love, and punished him sorely for it.
After his passion of grief bad spent it.
self, he rose and turned into the path
that led homeward, feeling very much as
if he had stood beside Elsie Marian
grave, and saw her laid in it.. His face
had grown white and hard and stern, in
that short, but bitter struggle, and the
brown eyes were full of grief too deep
for tears. He felt faint and dizzy when
he saw Elsie standing at the meadow
gate alone, a beautiful bloom on her
young face, and the light of her newly
awakened love in her blue eyes,
Nathaniel" she speaks nervously,
for her womanly instincts tells her some
thing is wrong, "what has happened,
you are late"
"Just this, Elsie, he takes her hand
liz his and turns his set white face away
from her, have lost something out
of my life which / shall never, never own
again, an untroubled mind; and, Elsie,
dear, forgive me if ! have mistaken graf
itude for love and held you against your
will. Take the man of your choice, FL
sic, and Heaven grant you will not find
your happiness Dead sea fruit"
"Oh, Nathaniel Elsies tears are
falling over the hard brown hands; 81
did not deserve your love-I do not de-
serve your kindness now"
Cor he says, gently, and Elsie slips
past him, leaving him to conquer the
rush of feeling that threatened to over
power him. At length he felt strong
enough to face his future and went into
the house with a look on his face that
told his mother the hour she dreaded had
come, for with the keen instincts of her
sex, she had seen the result of Lewis
Walton's attentions to Elsie, and was
more grieved than surprised when Nath-
anlel told his pitiful story.
Elsie was married. The first snow
had just whitened the earth when she
left the Holt farm, the wife of Lewis
Walton, a strange pallor on her beautiful
face, strange dread in her heart, for
some thoughts had come to her, even in
the eleventh hour, that were neither
pleasant or enrolling, for they taught
her that her life had been mistake, as
far as stability of feeling and purity of
weary face of Nathaniel Holt was dearer
to her heart than the handsome face of
the husband by her side.
The winter days rolled on. News of
Elsie Walton's triumphs came now and
then to the quiet farmhouse and stirred
Nathaniel Hollis heart with touch Of
the old pain; for he could not forget that
all this grace and beauty might have been
his. Lewis Walton might value it, as a
child prizes a beautiful toy; he would
have idolized her, rs some devotee wor-
ships the beauty of his goddess-and for
this feeling alone he felt the great treas
ure of Elsie's love had been denied him.
But rumor was stirring the fashiona-
BILE world that never reached the quiet
old homestead. Men looked with pity,
on the lovely, trusting wife, women smil-
ed and sneered behind their fans, and
still Elsie never dreamed aught of the
shame and disgrace that was gathering
around her When the news of her hus-
bands elopement with dashing widow
reached her, she threw up her hands
with a cry of despair" Nathaniel
Nathaniel, my sin has found me out"
Three days later the dead body of her
husband-for n railroad accident had
ended his career-was carried home to
her; and Elsie, broken and full of bitter
remorse, followed it to its last resting
place; then turned her face to the quiet
old home she had left bride but few
months before.
Nathaniel asked no questions. The
sad white face was dearer to him now
than it had ever been before He made
no outward sign of the love that was
burning within his breast, yet his care of
hen was wonderful; and he thanked God
that through atfiiction he had been shown
the weakness of his idol, and that Elsie
was but human, while his own heart had
been purified in the fire of tribulation.