The Jackson standard. [volume] (Jackson C.H., Ohio) 1847-1888, 1881-01-20

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till she knew the worst.
1T is very bad news | have for ye
me darlin'," Fhe said sadly, IAN I'm
thinkin' whether ye can bear it."
Go on, she said impatiently, and
she beat her foot on the ground.
! Il blame myself f'-her fathers voice
was growing hoarse with agitation.
'God in heaven, child, l don't know
how to tell ye at all at all; but Yves was
not what we thought him, me darlin
he is false-hearted deceiver, and he
is coward besidesr'
Father she drew herself up
proudly, IF you are going to speak i'll
of Yves, | will not listen; you are not
speaking truth"
The color flew over the clockmaker's
face, and then he checked himself.
II cannot tell ye what ye ask me,
me child, unless spake the truth" he
said sadly. Eileen, machree, Yves
had never any love to give ye. Be-
fore ye ever saw him he was promised
to girl across the sea in Brittany"
Eileen broke into loud laugh.
Il like that" she said; "oh, do,
when he has said over and over again
he loves me dearly! Why don't you
tell the truth, father?" she went on,
contemptuously; "why don't ye say 1
did not like poor. son-in-law, so i've
sent him away'?"
'I!' the fond father put his hand to
his forehead in intense bewilderment.
''Yes, you'll" She spoke in such a
strange, harsh voice, that he looked at
her in alarm.
He was too much overwrought and
oppressed to study her closely, or he
might have seen that the blow had
already fallen on Eileen. Yves's sad
ness, his avoidance Of her society dur
ing these last days, had brought back
the doubts and fears which those few
brief hours of love had chased from
her heart; then these hours of bewil-
dered suspense, her fathers first words
had struck death to any disbelief in
them. She was not really struggling
against the truth, she was only fight
ing her own despair; the waters were
closing over her head-if she yielded
tamely to this belief, she felt that she
was lost.
Eileen" her fathers voice reused
her from the stupor that was fast
clouding over her powers of compre-
hension, ''have | ever deceived We,
machree? have | not striven to make
life pleasant for We, darlin'? When
yer blessed mother was taken from us,
| knew that I'd dale to make up to
ye, alanna. An now see," he said
hoarsely, "the very thing [ set myself
to do for your happiness has turned to
sorrow. Bad luck to the day | ever
set eyes on the skulking fellow"
She rose up, her eyes bright with
anger, a sudden hope flashed light into
her darkness.
"Why should ] believe you?" she
said; you talk and talk, but you give
no proof of what you say. Yves would
never stink away without leaving a
word for me"
Her father hesitated; he had resolved
not to show her Yvess letter-at least,
not during the first outburst of her
grief; but he did not know what other
proof to give her
''He is gone he said, Bridget saw
him go away Come, come, my poor
child" he went on fondly, and took
both her hands in his, Eileen, ma
chree, you will not disbelieve your
father?"
She snatched her hands away.
HE is gone, because you sent him.
He was wrong to go in this way; if he
had come to me, | would have gone too.
I would have followed him all over the
world. Oh, it is shamefully cruel!'
"Well, then," the clockmaker's in
dignation made him forget all caution,
''you had better know the whole truth,
and then you will think differently.
You have too much spirit to talk of
following a man who has deceived
you"
He took Yves's letter from his pock-
ct and gave it to her.
Eileen took the letter eagerly. She
tried to read it, but she was trembling
violently; she could srarcely hold it,
and she gave it back to her father.
Read it cannot readr' she said,
in choked voice, and she leaned back
on the sofa to listen.
Mr.. Smith cleared his throat, and
began to read. As he went on he
glanced nervously at Eileen, but she
had clasped her hands over her face,
and he went on reading; when he came
to the end he paused, but Eileen did
not speak.
Her motionless attitude frightened
him; he touched her arm, then she