The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1881-07-14


"You always said you would like tc
hold my hand" she said, brokenly. 81
know you liked me, and thought
thought you were so kind you would
not mind doing such little thing fol
me. I do not ask much, do I ?"
81 will do anything L can for you
anything I am truly grieved-I am
more sorry for this than / can tell YOU
"Thank you," she said, simply. "It
will soon be over, and I do not care, il
you will only come to me now and then
when no one else has claim on you. u
81 will come as often as you say.
There is no one who can have a stronger
claim. They are all newer friends than
you are"
The happy nature, crushed, wearied,
breaking down under the lot she had
not depicted darkly enough, rose
blithely to CLEAN of sunshine. There
was something inexpressibly arch in the
flash of her eye as she repeated, in a
tone of infinite expression:
"AH! and still their name is legion ~
"Yes," he said, gravely; "and
thank God, Selma, no nearer, no more
limited bond than a legion of light CO.
quet1ies binds me now. / am free, dear
and honored friend, to do your will"
ooh, Mark p she said, "and thank
God you meet me thus. Come to me,
when you can I have two months yet
before the end begins. After that
she paused and "after that
1 will have done with all but the pains
of death. You will never regret that
you helped me to meet them by all the
strength that only happy hours can
give u.s."
The tiny clock on the mantel chimed
the hour.
'I must not keep you longer" she
said, cor you will count my promise as
nothing. But 1 could not help it. and
l trust you have not been very much
Dored."
81 have had most strangely sad and
happy evening"" he answered, as he
rose. 81 do not know why, but L feel
another man from the Mark Devine of
two hours ago."
"Tell me one thing. Are you-are
you sorry you ?"
"l am not" he replied, decisivelv,
holding in his both her trembling hands,
and looking down into her uplifted eyes
until they sank beneath his gaze.
Goodnight" she said, "and come
soon again"
"Good-night," he answered, "and I
will be ehere-to-morrow?"
eff you care to come"
"Then it will be tomorrow"
And it was. Mark Devine went home
in whirl of emotions. What had hap
pened to him? What change had come
over her? Was it pity that moved him
to such infinite tenderness for her?
How dreadful the thought of death
taking her out of his life !! Two months
and two weeks before those wonderful
sweet eyes should be closed for ever
What voice she had He could hear
it when he chose, dwelling with such
pathos on those words: "The happiness
[ never had" Then the shuddering
horror Of that sentence. "It was long,
drawn agony; the pitiful regret Of
"And it is only ended when it is too
late; or, most sweet remembrance of
all-the sinking and tremor of the pas
sion-stirred defiance into, "The one
thing on earth precious to me beyond
all words-I mean-your presence" He
started as he said it over to himself.
Could it-cOuld ii mean all it was capa-
bile of expressing from her lips? Had
she loved him all this time with a love
sufficient to prompt this action on her
part?
Gas I live!" he exclaimed, "it never
struck me in that light when she spoke.
What did / think? That she still liked
me, as she used to say, better than any
man she knew; that, in the fear and
sadness of her past and her future, she
thought OF what she used to call my
nature, and found relief in it;
that our old friendship had simply
grown deeper and less frivolous as we
learned to think higher thoughts. But,
how much more she might mean by the
same words. Her love would be Won
derful thing There was a man who
had it once, and thought always he
would never lose it. But if he has?"
Over and over he recalled their past,
each word and look and tone
Of the years gone by against the ever
moving memory of the hours just ended.
1t was wonderful how many things he
could bring forth from the shadows to
confront the light. Sometimes he
thought he grasped new meaning in
spoken, and forgotten by him
ut the time. Sometimes he recalled
words and careless actions of hers that
turned such fancies into irritations at
bis own folly. But make what he would
Of it, he could think of nothing else
than Selma Birney until he presented
himself before her at the earliest per-
missihle hour of the next evening.
This time he watched the door eagerly,
md saw her come floating down the long
staircase and through the curtained arch
I'll in white, and scarce less colorless.
She met him with timid air in spite of
ler cordial greeting, and during the
whole visit was so far removed, in her
pleasant grace and cheerfulness, from
he agitated woman of the previous
evening, that he could not recur to the
thoughts he had nervously combatted
I'll the day. She was certainly charm
ng. Her conversational powers had
llways been fine, and study, practice,
he desire to please those superior to
herself in years and honors, had so i'm
proved them as to render her the rival
If the much-vaunted "talkers" of his
ory. There was about her, moreover,
hat witchery of personal attraction
ome women possess to the reverend
ng confusion and ruin of men, and
'thers-a gifted and glorious exception,
ew in number-make use of to lead |
hem on to the best of which they are
'apable. To be near her was pleasant
n itself, Mark felt. He left her,