The Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Or.) 1862-1899, 1881-03-25
OUT OF GREAT TRIBULATION.
MARY REED cRowELL.

OUT OF GREAT TRIBULATION,
NARY REED cRowELL.
| It certainly was a strange place il
| which to be married, elegant and lux
urious though the suit of rooms was t.
which Erie brought his betrothed for The
strangeness of it all even more keenl,
than she had expected to-
But it had all been so strange-sc
strangely strange-that it was almost
past realizing, even now, when the irrev.
ocable words had been said, and Lillian
Dale had signed her maiden name fol
the last time, and had been congrat-
ulated-weH, the cold, half naughty
half-sarcastic well wishes of the dozen OF
SO ladies who had been invited to witness
the ceremony, seemed hardly like con
gratulations to her.
OF course, she could not but know
that while beautiful Lillian Dale would
have been cut dead by every one of the
aristocratic women who had come to see
her married, Mrs. Hubert Erie would be
received and feted everywhere, envied,
and perforce admired and courted.
And-she was Mrs. Hubert Erie; she,
who three little months ago had seen his
handsome face for the first time in the
orchestra chair of Western town opera
house, while she was singing on its
stage.
That was what she was-a singer in a
travelling opera troupe. glorious-faced,
glorious-voiced songstress who was MAX
ing her managers fortune and singing
herself slowly into fame.
And Erie had fallen headlong in love
with her at first sight-not the first beau
tiful girl he had ever cared for, by a
many, but the very first who had con-
quered him SO utterly, wholly, entirely,
that he not only lost his heart but his
head.
He managed an introduction, and Miss
Dale proved just as lovely and entranc-
ing, face to face, as with the footlights
between them; just as intelligent, and re-
served, and refined, and entertaining, in
a tete-a.tete of an hour, as during few
minutes Irritation.
So the result was-he told her Just
how it was with him, and offered her his
name, his hand, his fortune, his love,
and thoroughly convinced her he adored
her.
Do you think many women would have
refused him? And although Lillian Erie,
looking back from this hour just after
the wedding ceremony, knew she never
had loved him, also knew that she would
do her best, her greatest best, to never
let him regret what he had done.
It was almost heart breaking that she
did not love him, could not love him;
for he was SO entirely enthralled by her,
so perfectly devoted, and was one of
those handsome, gallant men who are SO
irresisti BILE in their way with women.
Besides, he had done SO much in
taking her from her obscure position,
and placing her where all his world of
social exclusiveness, and wealth, and
aristocracy might know, and admire, and
envy her, as the wife of such man as
Hubert Erie would have to command ad-
miration and envy.
But, after all, the half pitiful strange
ness of her marriage in the comfortless
hotel-room-for she had no home,s had
known no settled home for years, poor
child after the half-shamed, half
wounded way in which she had, appar-
emily, so haughtily and indifferently re-
ceived the congratulations of her hus-
bands guests after it all, and the guests
were gone, and she and Erie
were left alone-then hurt and
panied her SO keenly, that, knowl-
edge that he deserved SO much and
could receive so little at her hands-be-
cause she did not, could not, love him.
And there was sach possibility of alb
sorbing passion in even her face, in her
exquisitely curved and colored lips, her
lovely, white-lidded eyes-passion and
devotion that the master-hand had not
yet aroused from its sleep she was
his wife, and he loved her SO dearly, and
accounted all things loss in the balance
with her love.
Something of such feeling expressed
itself in his handsome face as, the last
guest gone, he took her caressingly in
his arms.
my precious little darling! my blessed
little wife!''
And is ever weman meant it, Lillian
Erie meant it when she looked up in his
face with her perfect blue eyes, clear,
pure and shining as summer sky, and
answered him:
s.You are so good, Bertie-you are SO
good to me! It seems as if it must all be
some wonderful dream from which I
will have to wake"
He held her beautiful golden head
down against his breast, with caress Of
such infinite tenderness.
t.And are you glad it is not a dream,
but beautiful reality, Lillie?"
She whispered her answer:
"Could be sorry, BERTHE? Would any
woman be sorry?'
stLill1e, look me in the eyes moment
yes, there, like that, while you say
something TO me you never have said yet,
through all our courtship. But surely
my wife will tell me that she loves me!
Dear, did you know you have never, in
SO many words, told me that you love
me?''
The faintest little smile curled her
lips. How her heart sunk at his tender
wordsl
s'Did never really? You know ]
am not very demonstrative, Berthe, but,
but Why, how absurdl Am not your
wife? Of course, IL love youP'
And the sweet, hesitant words, that
stirred all his blood, carried with them
none of the heart breaking truth.
The days and weeks went by, every
one of them teaching Hubert Erie to
love his beautiful wife more and better;
and SO gentle, so good was she, that he
never dreamed that the sometime re-
straint in her manner, the desperate,
hopelessly patient look In her eyes, meant
that her heart was starved, because he
could NOT furnish tits nourishmenf.
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