Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-06-26

sisters saw each other, and the strange I'M
pressions left upon Margaret's mind when
she and Clarice fell asleep in the room in
which their master was gambling with two
gentlemen lin one of whom | saw Harold
IS plainly as though he stood at my side),
of Margaret's terror in the morning when
she awoke and found her sister gone, Of
the pursuit of Clarice and its failure, OF
Margaret's agony when the news flashed
upon her that she and Clarice had been be-
trayed, of her keeping with her master,
enduring misery and Want, and travelling
with him in the hope that one day she
would find her sister, of the gradual fading
of her hope, of the meeting in the woods of
Margaret and Matthew Sylvester, of her
release from tyranny and suffering, Of the
news of Clarice's death, furnished for a
consideration by the man who had torn the
sisters from each others arms, and lastly
of the marriage of Margaret and Matthew's
son, and their departure for the Silver
Isle.
''This story, related in simple language
by Matthew Sylvester, made everything
clear to me nothing was wanting to com
plete the yillainy Of the plot. Clarice had
been deliberately sold and deliberately
bought, and the sisters had been taken
opposite roads on false promises, and scpa-
rated from each, other so effectually that
nothing short Of a miracle could have
brought them together again. My respect
for Margaret was strengthened, as was my
detestation for Harold, the gentleman who
lived for the pleasure of the hour and [
vowed inwardly that if the opportunity
ever offered itself, l would ayenge the
wrongs of the sisters without mercy or
pity.
"In return for the confidence Matthew
Sylvester had reposed in me impaired to
him something of my own life in the forest
owned by Mauvain, of the storm, and the
appeal for shelter by lady and her SER
want, and of my learning the following
day that the lady's name was Clarice. l
recalled the conversation that took place
between the servant and myself CONVEX
sation which, if words had meaning, de-
fined in unmistakable terms Clarice's social
position l said nothing of Evangeline,
nor OF Clarlce's lament for the child she
had lost
"'Describe the lady to me, said
Matthew.
= did 50, faithfully, and his remarks
left no doubt upon my mind (but truly
there was room for none. all the parts of
the story fitting SO exactly that the lady
was indeed CIarice, Margaret unfortunate
sister.
Ore point still remains, said Mat
thew; the date of the nesting between
you and this lady
Il find the date by my arrival on the
| Silver Isle, and Matthew Sylvester's face
became indescribably sad.
''' We were deceived, he said 'Clarioe
lived perhaps lives-a live of shame. He
paused before he spoke again. Thus do
we lose our faith in goodness. Were Mar
garet's faith in her sisters purity to be
shaken, can Imagine 10 grief more terri
bic than hers would be. The very name of
Clarice is to her an emblem Of purity.
ssThen arose within me, in vindication of
the unfortunate girl, the true history Of
her betrayal, known only to me and her
and Harold, as related in her confession in
the Bible, and I felt that it would be a
stain upon my manhood if did not speak
in her behalf.
" Listen, l said, ard do not question
me az to the means by which l obtained
my knowledge. Clarice is innocent. What
is pure is pure; no laws formed by man,
from motives of policy or convenience, can
affect the immutable. There are principles
OF right and wrong which results cannot
twist or modify by the breadth of a hair,
In the eyes of Heaven Ia convenient phrase
to express my meaningl Clarice, when I
met her, was pure woman. That what
is clear in supreme Judgment is not clear
in mans, matters little to me. and should
matter little to any human being whose
mind is not the slave of convenient Gus
tom When cunning and innocence meet,
and innocence is betrayed, know at which
door lies the guilt, and, if there be higher
than earthly justice, which viii be adjudged
49, 81 ,,.l,;ab 10 ectoL
3 "' How shall we convey comfort tc
Marguerite, said Matthew, when she
learns the story of her sisters shame?
Let her never learn it, 1 replied.
Let her rest in the belief that ClaIice i:
dead 1t is best so. Do not convey new
unhappiness to one who has already had
more than her share of suffering.
$50 it was agreed between us, and We
parted.
within a week of this interview
walked at midnight into the great market
, place of the isle, and waited for the moor
to rise. Not sound disturbed the still
ness; the land was in darkness the
: islanders were at rest. 1t was as though {
dead world lay in the arms of an eterna
: night.
81 stood before tile statue of Evangeline
unable, in the deep gloom which prevailed
| to discern the features or the molding o.
the limbs. l fancied saw a Inquire move
: in the darkness 1 advanced towards it,
: and it gEded away. I believed it to be a
creation of the dark clouds which moved
slowly across the sky.
Again and again was deceived, and
determined not to yield to the mental
; jugglery. In due time the moon arose,
and the market place was flooded with
light. The white statue of Evangeline
stood out in the clear light, work Of
transcendent beauty. The raised hand, in
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