The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-12-31

time.
"Let those beloved red roses 90 ~ she cr,ed
"somrbodv wants vou Nillv -
And | turned quite leisurelv as n man.
stem sounded beside me--,nd thcre stood my
Idear old friend Hilton
The shock stunned me 7 don't know how
I welcomed him. or if welcomed h,m M all
or # il seemed To- him that I was Glad TO see
him. There was a certain cons,rant unon
him I saw ard when Nav left us he smoke
more of hcr-of her beauty and GRACE than of
himself or me. that was what made me sud.
ldenly and stcrnlv remind myself that he was
only nv dear old friend and tba, while Nav
was beauty and eIphteen 7 was what he Ind
long GDretuld for mr-au old maid indeed for
4 | was thirty.
II WAS well that I remembered # in time
The old fond love woke W IN nv heart with
such overpowering anguish OF longing that
had ii not been for that thought. at the very
first he might have seen how much loved
him. Oh, how much my pride reioiced that |
had not betrayed myself when, before he had
been in the village a week, he spoke to me
about his wife.
| He had opened branch of his uncle's house
in the city near by he told me, and the old
Hilton homestead beng his own he desired
TO make it his residence. He was quite sure
his wife would like 1t better than the city," he
added quietly, as quietly as If his words had
not dealt me hearts, worse than death.
1t seemed so cruel, so hard. | had loved
him so well IN the by.gone days, had built
(and seen ruincd) such hopes upon his truth,
had suffered such long heart sickness ard pain,
and had settled down at last into a cold, mo.
nOtonOus conentmcnt, as far removed from
love and bliss rs 1t was from passion and pain.
Why couldn't he have left me to this cold
IpeaceiulnessY Why should he come back IN
10 my life once more, To make duty and peace
impossible? The home of love which once |
hoped to share with him could never be now
but need he have come here TO drive me out of
this dull home? For | felt that to live in the
same place with his wife-a little village,
where we must often meet-woud be lmpos-
sible.
frettcd and brooded over nv grief, and
avoided HIM, but he would not be avoided. Ill
never seemed to occur to HIM that could suf
fer or care
He had forgotten the love of which. when
he went away, he was so sure.
All | knew now how sure he had heen of
me, and it maddened me to think that, know
ing how once had loved HIM. he sbonld dare
to speak to me of her
He had the homestead nut INTO exquisite or
der. Men came from the CITY tor the purpose.
People said 1t looked like palace.
One afternoon he came To me
"Will YOU come and see the home I have
prepared for nv wife, Mlllyyn he SAID very
quietly.
| had lust been tor,urng myself with the
thought of how much he must have loved her
TO make such nrenarations for her weIcominr |
HIS cool invitation maddened me, turned
on him in frenzy of icalous main
"What is your home to mes1 cried "Was !
the world no, wide enough that Won conld
find no place hui this 10 hiring your wife that
you might tlaunt your welded happiness be.
fore me, whose life YOU have spo,led and
whose true hear, YOU have brokenY on YES
YOU may learn from nv lips what YOU know
already. | loved you, Iwould have rome ON
loving YOU to the end If Won had dealt gener.
ouslv or honorably with me-oh. if Won had
only no, made me desnse wont BIT v6ur vani.
,y has fed itself ON the love Won did not prize
Won have gloricd in your mower to owe mo
balm. Well | despise YOU for IT. and contcmpt
will cure me of love, Why could Won not
have said to me, 'Mllly. no longer care for
you--'"
He INTERRUPTED me. SEEING nv hand.
at would have been a liel, he said al do
care for Won. nv darling M,llv love Won
more than ever: ! have never ceased to love
YOU; shall love Won 10 the end of nv life
This would have been much more truthful
speech than the one Won dictate to me and this