Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1881-02-17


get, the sbcfaf gnff whfch' separated
them Ishe, the once wealty banks
ersrdallghter he, 9 man VIE had
risen fren the humblest ranks, bpt
whose soal was that Of q tiobleman.
,f The friends she had once known
she no longer knew. They rode !;
she walked, and must staEd on the
curb to let their carriages DRIFT by.
Earl's CHEEKY voice shd pleasant
smile her mother, too, grew to well
come, with the few choice flowers,
Or the early fruit he ever laid so
qnietly in Mrs. Arthur's hand,
growing daily, psler and thinner.
But one evening as he sat by
1rene's side alone, very calmly,
very truly, yet with a certain hmm
bleness, he told her that he loved
her and asked her to become his
wife. @'ish Sai ao-ses@ f
II cannot bear to see You strug-
gle," he said. "Once, as you we'll
know, [ could not have asked you
to become my wife, andthoIgh l.
have not forgotten, dear, that [ am
a man who has only honcrand am
bition, l yet can take you from this
life Of toll, can shield you with my
breast, can toll for you aud yours if
you will;give me the precious assur-
ance l seek.'
Was the man mad? The pride
she had forgotten in these quiet
months now surged upward as she
turned toward him with pale and
sparkling eyes.
"Sir, you insult meP'
"No man insults a woman with
his honest love, Miss Arthur" he
answered, the pride in her bearing
its reflex on his face. 81 loved you
nay, I love you, Ny love you
spurn. can never offer it again,
Miss Irene but remember-should
you ever need it, it is always yours,
ready to do for you, to suffer for
you, to die for ycup'
.* II Il
"Why does not Earl come o.
questioned the invalid. l want to
see him-I miss him. Write, Irene,
and tell him he must call this even
ing.' ~ - .I ".
She wrote in obed;ence:, 40
"Mamma asks for you. She
knows nothing. II you will drop
in occasionally to see her l will be
glad.'
1t cost her pride struggle to
send even this :. bat was it possible
it also brought a thrill Of something
like pleasure that she should meet
him once morea
The weeks had seemed strangely
long without him. Why had she
TINS answered him! Hfcourse the
thing he asked was impossible; but,
ah, how cruelty she had spurned
him eois-ilE aon1 = II
Had he forgotten it She ex-
pected some trace Of sorrow on tie
handsome brow, but when he en-
tered, in obedience to her sum :
mons, the frank smile lit up his
face, as devotihg himself to the IN
valid; lie spoke to her only when
courtesy required. .7os,s IN
these weeks seemed to
have improved him, too. He had
acquired a polish or was it only
indifference, where love had reigu.
ed2 II.
"Men easily forget" she thought.
and. with the thought, she sighed
+ The winter wore to an end, and
slowly the invalid grew weaker and
more weak. The shock had been
greater than her nervous system
could bear, and SHE sank under il
day by day. until the exertion Of
moving from her bed to her couch
became too great, when,, for the
first time, the realization burst
upon her daughter that she was
soon to be left desolate indeed. 10 d"
Earl, during these 1uonths, came
and went as Of old; but sometimes
Irene asked herselfif his words to
her had not been a dream.
9t Not once did his eyes rest on her
with the old look-not once did he
hold 'for0a i single omo,nent the little
fingers within his own; and a sense
of empty disappointment, none the
less bitter because unacknowledged,
brought to the proud young oyef
many an inshed tear. But the bit
.terer sorrow was in stsre, as the in.
valid1 rest apProachsc more and
more near, until tile Angel OF
Death stopped and gathered her te
his breast. Earl, was there, at the
last and sishe. 3ay 90, .4nietly or
.ller piilo~s--l&ey thosght her spiri,
'iiad fewls-slje lsudAea3y uroused
and laid her 'daugiosss hand ii
!. ,Dsts S1I lsssl afsfll tH,sr Ill give be
Then fha ovoa cloa>d forovoe