Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1881-05-07
Forever and Forever,


emD, broken voice.
Forever" scaoe1 the weeping
maiden by tina ted ide.
The wasted hands were raised
over the heads of the Kneeliug
figures; the pale lips Of the dying
woman parted-the tongue tried
to utter blessing, but AL bright
ness faded from the eyes. The
womau va dead.
The young girl knelt al he bad
side. Constance Owen WAS tie
name OF one, with sallOw skin and
large brown eyes. T. iiih Ormond
was the other, with ringle.s of
gold floating around her fair neck,
and whose head was leaning upon
the shoulder of Constance, who
had promised the dying woman
to be a sister, protector, mothsr
even to the fair maiden at h'r
side.
The strong,' faithful, homely
girl called Constance, was an
adopted daughter of the dead lady
-one of those waits of The streets
whose only hope in life is in the
charity of soIne-tender. he ,rte
stran er. She, however, repaid
her protector by love and regard
as filial as her own daughter, and
when upon her deathbed Mrs Or
mond babe Constance Owen make
her the solemn promise recorded,
the brave girl not only did not
falter, but whispered moro to the
stricken girl at her side.
Yes, Edith, for the sake of The
love your dear mother gave to the
orphan will | love you better than
myself-forever." And darkness
was in that chamber, desolation
in the hearts Of the mourners.
Two years pass d-two years
since Edith, the beautiful, and
Constance, the brave. had lost their
best earthly friend. The former
had grown more lovely even than
the promise of the dawn OF her
maidenhoood; the latter more
homely, large featured in face, but
with the two years, an added dig
nifty of mein, more intelligent
light in the tender brown eyes
and force of character better de-
fined in every movement. There
came many suffers to Bonnybrook
so the little country seat belong.
ing to Edith was called-but, SO
far, the little coquette did not pay
much heed to any of them. She
was chasing the butterflies of
fancy around that Garden of Eden
first youth. But at length her
beauty, grace, aud perhaps, high
social position, brought one day to
the gates of Bonnybrook one DR..
Paulding, a superior and rising
young physician, who lived in the
city close by, and when he had
found his way to that pleasant
country nook, somehow he dis
covered patients in that vicinity
very frequently, Was it Edith's
fair face that made him take that
blooming highway so often?
He was indeed fascinated by
her bright, girlish beauty, and one
evening after he had been wander
ing in the garden, under the moon,
soft, pleasant words must have
been spoken, for after he had gone,
Edith, with flushed face, darted
into the room where Constance
was awaiting her, and throwing
her arms around hsr, said in a
happy, trembling voice:
"Oh, darling, | Gam 50, happy {!
he has told me he loved me-"
Constance spoke not word;
Edith was held a moment to a
beating hear, a soft kiss touched
her forehead, and the next mo-
ment she was alone.
"Fe loves me! He loves me ~
And Edith looked out over the
gardens from which the dews of
night were distilling all their
odors; she gazed at the round,
beautiful moon, peopled the shad-
ows with 7he image of a man who
first stunned her young life with
the divine music of love.
A month after the pleasant con-
fes7ion had been made Edith was
called to the mountains Of Yer.
mont to attend a dying aunt, the
only sister of her mother, and she
had to proceed alone, as Bonny-
brook would have lacked q guard
ian if Constance had accompanied
her, DR.. Paulding's duties utterly
denying him that pleasure.
Constance was engrossed in her
home duties, and saw but little
society, save few rustic neigh
bors, who only recommended
themselves by their goodness of
heart, and certainly not by the
brilliancy of their wit or under
standing, Once in a while DIR
Paulding would ride out to Bon
nyor~ok, as Constance told him,
IRON tho force of old habit - but