Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1881-04-27

blushed without Ecomprehending why.
We danced and diued, aud sang and
SUPP ed together, and in a week were
betrothed. Our betrothal, however,
was not unwisely hssty. His parents
and mine had been friends, and society
recognized him as a gentleman oil
wealth and worth and much professional
distinction. Aud that our affection was
real and leal, we both knew. Never
lheless that glad, sweet summer ended
in grief and anger. Suddenly Larry
seemed oddly changed. He was still
devoted-too puRctihously so, fancled
but the dear, spontaneous tender
ness had gone from his manner, and at
times he would watch me with gloomy
inquisilorial gaze that would haunt me
for days with an agony of dlsquiet ng
speculation.
And sometimes he would speak
vaguely, in a cynical sort Of way, as II
he doubted the unsel6shness Of all hu-
manity, and my owu fealty to him most
Of all. 1 was proud and 1 was loyal
and his ambiguous denunciations pain
ed and angered me, and finally became
no longer endurable. Aud 80, one day
when one of his lnexplicably churlish
moods had become insuferable, 1 en-
ded our pleasant dream by quiet
little homily ofresentment that tried
to make as dignlhed as possible.
Larry began, with commendaole
calmness, though my Wild tears were
rioting unseen, latterly have farcied
that you regard our engagement as a
misfortune to yourself. cannot con-
lecture why. l have fancied, too, that
you suspect me guilty Of some grievous
fault or wrong, and that am not
quite worthy Of your love, that l am
sure despite this melancholy mystery
is mine. You are not brave enough,
went on, hotly, to tell me what yeu
suspect. You are not manly enough
to explain the strange and cruel hints
with which you have outraged my pride
and crieved NV affection for weeks
And so, Larry, although l love aud
honor You as l never loved and honored
any other, believe am acdng rightly
ID making you free. l shall be gratised
if YOU will consider yourself no longer
betrothed to me-
With the concluding sentence ! .ett
him alone, conscious that his dark eyes
were regarding me with as much anguish
as astonishment. 1 did not see him
ayain. The next morning he left the
place. aud then came my terrible Ill
ness. when for weeks l lay delirious at
the doors of death, to be thrust back at
last deaf and dumb, into life that must
be lonely and loveless evermUre. And
VET even on this day OF catastrophe,
heaven had been kind to me. was
no longer mute. l could once more
hear the sweet sound Of voices and all
the noises of the busy, perplexlng
world, OF which in my youth and health
| could not be quite W cary.
was still staripg-sith stupid resig'
nation it must have seemed to osser'
vers. no doubt-through the coach
window. when the train stopped, and
after a happy exit Of Supsrhuous occu-
nants some one offered me a seat.
was more amused than annoyed
when | observed that this seat was
directly behind that of my chatty ac-
oualntances, who greeted me as sur
prisedly as if they had supposed me
permanent inhabitant ofthe Anupodes
until that particular moment and l
favored them with a smile much more
brilliant than it would have been, l
imagine, had | not heard their interest
inc and momentous dialogue.
MY seat was not entirely vacant. In
deed. | found small room 10 place my
aim form and Quakersh skirts quite
comfortably and neatly 10 the little
space beside the aisle, that was no
more faslidiously clean than one usually
finds that of an ordinary coach to be.
A gentleman occupied the place BY
the open window--a gentleman Of
goodly weight and proportions, evident
". who from his sristocratically small
ears to his shapely, polished boots, was
wrapped in a great rich brown ulster
aud whose visage was completely con-
cealed by the big black Rubens that be
wore iauntily upon haushtily-poised
head.
l had installed myself in my limited
seat as unostentatiously aud coEily as l
could possibly do, when the shielding
Rubens hat was pushed aside, and the
dark handsome face Of Larry Murry was
turned toward me, and for au instant |
could feel the deadly pallor that Was
making my own face icily cold.
He smiled upon me with an express
ion / thought oil pity, and that half
maddened me. Then from somewhere
in his great ulster he took notebook