The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1881-03-17

Leila, let me congratulate you upon
your brilliant success "a aH actress.
Silence. Let me, too, congratulate
you more heartily upon having made
the most brilliant match of the season
Mr.. Canning has told me tina, you havr
promised to be his wife Still silence
But when the home door closed on
them, and her foot touched the stair,
she turned, upon her father ike a
young empress.
Il have done as you desired have
given myself for gold that you might
still bear at least not a dl~h0norci name
| have broken the truest heart IN Chr Is
tendon, and shattered Its faith IN wo
man. | have broken my own heart,
and sold myself to the bondage Of a
thousand devils. | have cut off from
my lite all that makes the life of woman
either beautiful OF good. have done
what you call my duty. And it is done
From this night we are strangers.
Six months later the newspapers Of
! San Francisco rang the whole round OF
Ginning adjective to describe the wed
ding ceremonial of the Hon. Walter
Canning and Miss Leila Eeerson, the
most beautiful of the Golden City's
lovely daughters Society called her
a queen, and bent in idolatry at her
feet, but the husband knew her to be
snow queen. an ice maiden, who glis
| tened, sparkled. sceDtillated in the sun
shine, but never thawed
The civilized world held scarcely a
spot but barren, desolate, parched, sun
dried Arizona, which she had not seen.
Almost the first train which entered
its borders carried among the party of
1 gay excursionists the Hon. Mr.. and
Mrs. Canning. Here, like an oasis in
the desolation about her, they found
/ lovely, accomplished woman. who, fol
/ lowing her husband in his failing for
tunes, and settling with him IN this
wild country, had gathered about her
rare group Of curiOs, mementoes Of
! her remarkable soiourn among the
semi savages of Arizona. The gay
young people glanced through the
motley collection, and fitted off for other
amusement But Mrs. Canning, more
sedate, fingered BY her kindly hostess,
and listened as she related strange
scraps of incidents connected with the
objects before them queer relics OF the
ancient Aztec civilization; odd arrows
and implements, wariike and peaceful,
Of later barbaris,n At last, taking,
up a SIX kull from the group before her,
she asked its history, and the cause of
its peculiar decorations. Then the
gentle lady, in her sweet, monotonous
voice, told its story:
Il young physician, said she. who
was connected with the army, came to
Arizona two years ago, and in brave
defense to help some immigrants who
were attacked IN the desert he fell,
his brain pierced by an Indian arrow
; THIS is his skull, and, as you see, an
artist friend has drawn upon II these
sketches. Illustrative Of his life. Here,
hi, infancy, he lies a babe in his moth
er arms Next, his school days, a
= sy- cht elk boy coastlng on his sled.
Next. !. student, bending over his
hooks Then his entrance into the
world, as the grave college president
places In his outstretched hand his
iip!oma. Next, his appearance in the
naclstron OF society. Last, his gallant
defun,e OF the helpless immigrants and
heroic death IN the desert
"A strange, sad history, is it not p
calmly SAID Ms. Canning. What did
you say his name was ??
philip Ray, repeated the gentle
old lady iii wonder at the eagcrness of
her guest.
1t was enough With the empty
skull ciasped to her breast, she cried:
Il am indeed punished | have
murdered the man loved - and sank
back, white and still IN her chair.
] X
When they lifted her up she was
dead; dead-with the skull Of her LII ur
dcred lover in her arms.