Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1882-08-31

God in heaven bless you,' sighed
I Craven. and as faint. satisfied smile
! lit his pallid features, the soul went forth,
! into eternity
I After the funeral ayhile Cecil, in her
1 coarse black garments, was counting
drearily enough thecoutents of her mod
est purse, Aubrey Mortimer came TO
/ her
1 Her lip quiycred at the sight of him
I he was 50 interviewer with her life, her
/ JOY, her bereavement.
He drew the poor little purse away
/ from the slim brown fingers. and seating
her with gentle authority in the one
easy-char the room contained, he said:
Cecil child, your louelincsSfnu>t ex-
cuse me for speaking To YOU of love at
such time, You need protector,
! poor child. 1t was your father wish
4 that YOU should become my wife"
and yours% She quered, timidly.
"And mine"
"Alr Mortimer raising two wiStful,
/ tear-iilled eyes to his face, lido you love
me?'
For al instant he was struck dumb.
! The handsome lips which framed so
readily in society smooth and charming
! speeches. were mute before little Cecil.
! Suddenly he knelt upon Il hassock be-
/ side her chair, and framed the sad girl
| face in his strong hands.
Little Girl, he said, Il love no wom-
an better-you believe me, don't you!
/ am not a very good man. | have ilved
an idle life, and had many rowing fan
| cies; but no woman commands OF me
| such honest liking and respect rs does
| the daughter of the man "ho was my
! dear friend | do not expect YOU to love
me- just at first; but all that money and
| earnest desire can do, shall be done to
make your life a happy one; and, little
girl. YOU can make my home bright and
| pleasant We will drop this wandering
| life and settle down comfortably at
! home. Come dear, am as lonely as
YOU are-shall We not join our for
! tunesgn
Az, Cecil allowed him 20 take her in
/ his arms and kiss her, saying in her
heart all the time:
'IIe docs not love me! He shall not
! know how dearly | love him.'
To England they went, after being
quietly married in an old stone chapel
in the queer little German town, and
! began housekeeping in n luxurious fash
ion in a fashionable quarter of London
! For year they went into society not
ut all, and received very little company
/ During that time new writer had en-
! tered the literary world, whose nom dc
| piHnt was Feulleton. Charming
sketches of the old world and daintily-
sweet bits of yerse-which not infre-
qucntly were set to mGSic-appeared
under this name.
Again and again did Mortimer praise
thcse articles to his wife.
1.-The author must be u woman" he
said, rich in cXpcrience--a woman who
has seen the world, loved pasSionately,
and suffered. yet who has been true to
all the noblar instincts of her woman
hood. would be proud to count that
woman among my friends"
And quiet Cecil, swaling tie and fro
! in her low chair. in her plain home at
tire. with bit of ncedlework in her
| hand, would smile little wiStfully, and
say nothing.
When they began To 90 dHt more, in
vitations poured III upon them, and at
last came one from Lady Barmnstcr, n
! leader in society, who had the rcputa-
ton of gathering under her roof the
most brilliant authors, musicians. and
! men of science.
1--WE must attend this party, my dear
said Mortimer LADY Rarminster is an
old friend of mine. i met her in the
street this morning, and she told me that
the publisher, whe has printed so many
of Feulleton's exquisite articles, has
promised to induce the authoress to ac-
ccpt an invitation"
Cecil, with demrely downcast lids,
signitied her pleasure.
Il wish YOU could play and sing, Ce-
Gil; they'll be sure to ask you"
Il used while at school, said Cecil, a
faint color ilu,tering into her brown
cheeks And then, half sorrowfully;
I'm dc the best can, Aubrey. Hope
you won't be ashamed of me-
Ee laughed rather uneasily
"What a sensitive little thing ii isn'
And his lips touched her brown head
lightly as he passed her on his way to
the door, where lac hcsitated for mo-
ment, and then returned.
CtNllf i4N Ctt'NSr ll'olt'AAiil4tNs W ilttt
shall you wear? 1t must be something
exquisite, for Lady Barminster gives
magnificent parties. | wish you would
allow me to select something for you. -
Then, for the FIRST time in their ac-
quaintance, Cecil showed her temper as
She faced him, bright-eyed and crimson
checked.
Nov, Aubrey you may just go
straight about your business, which ism t
the choosing of my toilet | viii en-
deavor to spend as much of your money
as | can upon it, in order to do you
credit
And then, as Mr. Mortimer puckered
up his mouth for a whistle, She broke
into ringing, musical laugh and hur-
ried him out Of the room.
On the evening of the party, she came
down to the drawing-room, where her
husband was awaiting her.
He looked at her IN dumb amazement.
/ He had never before seen her in full
evening dress. and II burst upon him all
Of sudden that his brown little wife
was a beauty.
Shn yvora far th, first time tbc dia-