The daily Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1878-1???, 1882-10-28


ago. Beside" she added, in firmer tone
-"Honor must be saved, though hearts be
sacrificed"
Honor mother, dear2 do not un--
derstand. do not see what honor has to
do with it, Or If it has, | should think
that honor would he better saved by my
keeping faith with lie than by breaking
with him! Oh, mother! mother 1t
will kill me- moaned 0daite.
"My child, my dear girl, hear me listen
to reason Leonidas Force has no claim
to be remembered by you. You have never
been engaged to him. You were but lit
tie girl of thirteen when he went to sea on
his first voyage, three years ago. and you
have not seen him since. What possible
claim can he have upon You, since no be-
trothal exists between you2" gently ques-
toned the lady, tenderly running her fair
fingers through the dark tresses of the
young head that leaned upon her bosom.
"0h, mother" replied the girl, with a
heavy sigh, 81 know that there was no for.
NAL betrothal between lie and myself
but-but-we all knew, you and father and
lie and I--all knew--and always kney that
we two belonged to each other and would
always belong to each other all our lives
lie and never thought of any other fate
"Idle, childish fancies, my poor little
girl, too trivial to cause you these tears.
Wipe them away, and look clearly at the
higher destiny more worthy of your birth
and beauty murmured the lady, pressing
her lipe red lips upon the pale brow of her
darling.
"Oh, mother, do not want higher des.
tiny. / do not want any destiny apart from
LIE. And these are not childish tancies,
and not trivial to me! Oh think, mother,
LIE and were playmates as far back in my
| life as | can remember. We loved each
other better than we loved any one else in
the whole world. You aud father used to
laugh at US and pretend to be jealous; but
we saw that you were pleased all the time;
for you both intended us for each other, and
we knew it, too, for father used to say when
he saw how ms parable we two were; So
much the better; ! hope their hearts will
not be estranged when they grow up! And
our hearts have never become estranged
from each other.'
"Oh, yes, dearest, know that there was
some speculative talk when you were chill
dren of uniting you and Leonidas, so that
the name OF Force might not die out from
Mondreer. But l never really approved Of
marrying cousins, Odalite, merely TO keep
the family name on the family estate
"But, mother, darling, LIE and | never
thought of the family name and estate we
only thought of one another. And, be-,
sides, we are such, very, very distant cou-
sns-only fourth or fifth, think-that
that objection could never be raised Oh,
mother dear mother! do not compel me TO
break with Lei | can not! | can not!
Oh, indeed, cannotm she cried, burying
her face IN the lady's bosom.
Elfrida Force caressed her daughter in
silence.
Presently Odalite lifted her head and
pleaded;
"He is coming home so soon now, and
so full of hope He expects to be here by
Christmas; and he eXpects--oh, yes, |
know by his last letter that he expects to
-to--to---" The girls eyes fell under the
compassionate yet scrutnizing gaze of her
mother. and her voice faltered into silence.
'To marry you early in the new year, |
suppose you mean, dear"
eyes, mother"
"He did not say So"
"No, mother, dear, he did not say so, in
so many words, but from the whole tone of
his letter he evidently meant 80. Father
thought he did, and even tried to teaze me
about the New Years wedding asking
me how many hundreds | should need to
buy my wedding clothes"
"What was it he said in his letter that
leads you to suppose he has any such ex-
pectationsl confess that l saw nothing
Of such an intention when l read the
letter"
ooh this, mother, but it was very signi6'
cant. He wrote that now he had inherited
Greeubushes and all his Aunt Lauras
money, he was rich enough to resign from
the Navy, and he need not go to sen any
more, nor ever part with me again; but that
he could stay home, repair and refurnish
the house, improve the land, and farm it
on all the new principles, and make The
| Mace a paradise for us to live in He