The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1881-05-11

y VIII go with ypu,n shesaid..
The room. was ,iimly lighted but
! Merwin recognized sher,as She euter.
ed Shewent TO his Bedside and
gently took his hand. rs
sSo;syou have come Isiliaay
thought yon would 4 wantei toask
you 70 forgive me for all have mq
ypli snIgsf, and 1 wished tell NJ
too that il was not With fnteati6s|
that ] broke my promise 10 y5d 6ev-
sefao:t touch, .again the insbriatiAS
cup. A never blamed you, dear that
you could not love dfanEafd,
/ Enough perhaps if you had become
NV gifs itEsgld have saved pas.
4 b the tad6iy al lhe lar!
ftherehd dfthe room the truth began
to dawn upon my mind. Merwin
paused, and then Lilian's grave, sweet
tones stirred the silence.
mo, Merwin; if to win me you
could not resist temptation, had ]
become your wife it would still have
been the same. But you may recov.
er, and | know that if you pray tc
God, He will give you strength, and
yourstwill not be wasted life after
Iall,15h l "a oj,
."No,n he said, "it's too late. l dc
not blind myself know thatI am
DYING For the sake of the days
whensmy life and lips were as pure
as your own, kiss me-once-twice-
it is;my last request
She stopped and kissed him, then
with an uncomfortable burst of sobs
she left the room.
When She had gone, in few pa
thetic words, my cousin told me the
sad story ola life blightod with the
curse Of intemperance.
He had begun ~ by' indulging once
in awhile, and'the taste had rapidly
grown upon him. Soon after their
engagement; reports of his.intemper-
ance had come tot;Liliap; but refus.
ing to believe them she had gone to
him. II had been ana easy thing,
through her.entire confdence.in his
truth, to deceive her, and assure her
that the.rumors were only the fabri-
cation Of some enemy. But the TING
came ,whengonessS sSenirg, not master
of'hfmself or conscious Of swhat he
was doing, he had entered her pres
ence flushed with wine. What had
passed he had not remembered, but
the following day Lillian had broken
their engagement. Then for awhile
he did abstain, and once hi5te he
pleaded with the girl he loved (and
whose love for him, though it had
received a rude shock, still struggled
in her hearUto forgive and forget
what had passed, binding himself by
a solemn promise never to drink
again. That promise he broke, in
an unguarded moment and enticed
by so called friends. Then finding
by his fatal weakness he had forever
lost all hope Of Lilian's becoming
his wife, he had sunk from worse to
worse, till at length the incurable
illness from which he was dying
brought on by his dissipated habits,
had seized him.
Harold" the poor fellow cxclaim-
ed, as he finished, "if ever you marry
and have q son, when he is old enough
tell him my story. 1t will be a
warning to him. Tell him if he
values hislife's happiness, his peace
upon earth, and his hopes of a fu.
ture salvation, to beware of Satan's
deadliest agent the wine cup!p
A few days after my poor cousin
died. | was obliged to go abroad
again upon urgent business imme-
diately after the funeral, 'and it was
u year before l saw Lillian again.
Then | sought her, and, confessing
how had misjudged her, 1 asked
her if she could pardon and once
more consider me as a friend. A
faint flush tinged her sweet face as
she replied. The flush gave me
courage, and l used my privilege of
friendship SO well that when another
year had passed, and | laid my heart
at her dear feet, it was not rejected.
Thus | won my precious wife.
Poor Merwin's dying words often
recnr To INV mind and whannvar 7