Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-03-20
A ROMANCE BY B. L. FARJEON


g l paused, in great agitation. Never
till this moment had I realized how COM
pletely this man held me in his power
"He repeated my words. And if l
found her? Well?'
"' Would you restore her to me?'
"' You must think me a dull-brained
IDIOT, indeed Clarice is worth her weight
in gold to me-
You know that my heart, my life,
are bound up in Clarice, and by force you
woull keep her from me?
Still unreasonable, Margaret, he said,
in cold tone of displeasure. 1t is not 1
who would keep her by force from you;
it is you who, by your own deliberate act,
will decree the separation. A little re-
Election viii serve you to clearer view
of the case. You have told me IN nu-
merous offensive ways that l am acting
the part Of tyrant to you; 1 am, after
all, a man Of feeling-that is, | am not
entirely a log of wood, without sensation.
Matters have gone on most unpleas-
antly for many months until at length
they have come to crisis, and | offer you
what you sigh for, your freedom. Upon
this, you accuse me Of further cruelty
There is no pleasing or satisfying you, one
way or another, and 1 am more than ever
resolved that our relations shall come to
an end or be placed upon a better footing.
What is more, l will have no trickery.
You have six hours before you for decision
| shall remain about the inn till o'clock !;
if you do not come to me before that hour
is passed, shall adopt what course l deem
best
"'If, said timidly, 4, being alone,
should by some good fortune find Clarice,
would You take her from me?'
"' She is my apprentice, and I can claim
her whenever have the opportunity. l
offer you your freedom; l shall not say
how should act by her. You will confess,
Margaret, that by her side you are but
small attraction l can give you up more
easily than l could Clarice. But make
your mind easy. Without my aid, your
chances of ever seeing Clarice again would
not be worth pinch of air.
"By this time we had reached the inn,
and there my master left me. entered the
room in which had been made prisoner
the previous night, and endeavored to
think but my mind was in whirl, and
the narrow space seemed to add to my
confusion. [ went into the open, and
under the better influence of sweet air
which cooled my hot face, and bright skies
which whispered hope and comfort, 1
schooled myself into calmer mood. l
did not forget that the good Lord was over
all, and that my faith IN Him would surely
help me in my great trouble. 1 bowed my
head and prayed, and my mind became
clearer. That my master would be as good
as his word, and would give me my free
dom if l wished, saw no reason to doubt
was not so certain that he really wished
to rid himself of me, for if he desired it
he could do SO without difficulty, by
simply leaving me on the road. 1t forced
itself upon me that by accepting his
offer of liberty 1 should be depriving N.Y.
self of the only link that might lead me to
Clarice. 1t might be that the entire affair
was trick-that he himself had planned
the separation, and had conducted
matters to their present crisis, so that l
should of my own doing destroy any claim
| had upon him, and leave him free to
travel with Clarice wherever he wished.
l shuddered at the thought. Helpless,
friendless as / was, the reflection that
absolutely my only chance of finding
Clarice was by remaining with my master
and keeping watch over him, grew gradu-
ally into a conviction. To beat despair
ingly against the bars would not assist
me-coolness, watchfulness, submission
might. Upon this decision 1 acted at once.
1 sought my master, and found him, as
usual, playing cards with two or three
village louis. He threw up the cards and
came to me at once.
81 have made up my mind. l said.
"'To Whit efFect?'
To remain with you.
"' And be submissive
eyes
You are wise for your own interests,
perhaps not so much for mine. But l am
man always prepared to do my duty. 1
have drawn up two papers, in one of which
you ask for your freedom and give it you.
on the condition that you never trouble
me again. That, tear up. He did so.
This other paper is to the effect that you
bind yourself afresh to me, that in full
knowledge of all the circumstances that
have passed, you are satisfied that my con-
duct is that of an honorable man, and that
you promise to obey me in all reasonable
ways. VIII you sign it?'
"'Yes. You will do your best to re-
cover Clarice ?
"'I promise you.
"He called the landlord to witness my
signature, and thus bound myself afresh
to an abhorred slavery.
From that time to this l have never
seen Clarice, nor of my knowledge am |
acquainted with the smallest detail of her
life since we were so cruelty, so wickedly
parted. My master and l travelled from
place to place in the old way, and he made
what use he could of the gifts possess.
By my services we have managed to live in
a poor fashion; we might, doubt not,
have done better so far as the earning of
money goes, but my master appears to have
lost all spirit since the fatal night from
which my thoughts never wander. He
lava tho blana ,,Don Clar,oa onJ cows