St. Landry democrat., 1883-04-14

glass" / went down to the
sea to listen to its sullen roar; hear it
tell its tale of human misery; of fair
faces dead under its, waves; of gold and
jewels lying on green beds of moss; OF
argosies gone down, the wall of human
misery their requiem. I tried to re-
member all this, SO that mine might not
seem such q great thing amid world of
sobbing and tears. 1t was good thing
to think of the sufferings of others. and
try to ignore your own; a good thing.
But, my misery! the misery of the girl
called Helen Preston!
This girl was somewhat Of a genius,
the people said. She possessed the gift
of song and she was handsome, too,
men said. And she had two chances in
the world, and if she had had money
enough to have utilized her gift of song
she might have had three.
But She had smirched her soul, for all
her beauty and gifts; had been false to
herself, to God and humanity; false,
too, to Reginald Dacre, for she kept her
love for Alan locked in her heart.
81 have sold my soul for houses and
lands" she said, and I am wretched.
Mea culpa! Mea culpa.''
81 have sold myself with open eyes,
she said, knowingly, with malice pre-
pense. l have no one to blame. That
Alan forgot his vows did not make it
right that / should forswear myself
But the sea, with its fuss and fret,
made my heart ache, and the turbulent
water seemed wooing me thitherWard.
The chimes Of our quaint old church,
playing an old song, caused choke in
my throat. I would go and invoke
grand airs from the organ, and mayhap
/ should forget the seas roar.
1t was nay wont to go there to prac-
tee, and knew the service would not
be held for half hour. The lights
were turned down to a semi-darkness,
and the old sexton, with whom I was a
favorite, had left the key in the door
for me. The moon shone across the
organ keys and across my face; and the
trailing folds of my white dress looked
almost ghastly in its light. 0 quaint
old church! o quaint old chimes! Too
soon / would be far away from you,
over the sea to my s1itor's lordly home,
carrying with me a heavier heart than
nv years should warrant.
But it was too late to look back; and
the fault was mine. I had ruined my
own life, and must pay the price. Be-
cause / had been forbidden the desire
of mine eyes, ] had sealed my fate. I
had bound my hands, and had intoned
Phoebe Cary's Wailing words:
81 have turned from the good gifts Thy bounty
Because Of the one which Thy wisdom denied
me:
/ have bandaged mine eyes-yea, mine own
hands have bound me;
/ have made me darkness when light was
around me.
Now I cry by the wayside, Q Lord, that might
sPeccayi,' I cried, and my head sank
upon the organ and tears stained the
red roses at my throat.
'sHelen!' and my head was lifted
gently and Alan Leighton's tender eyes
met mine. "Alanp' was all my aston
ishment could utter.
My girl, you have suffered he
calculated, in a tone of exquisite ten
derness. g Helen, my first and only
love, how we have been wronged. I
only learned, an hour before I en-
barked, that you were not the false
woman you had been painted to me.
Mrs. Granger wrote me eighteen
months ago that you had married Mr..
Dacre, and left with him for Cuba. A
subsequent letter, without date or sig
nature, inclosing the tiny pearl pin I
had given your, left me no room for
doubt. I left England forever, and
have been on the wing ever since, find
ing no rest for my heart on sea OF
shore. Helen, 7 suffered as few men
suffer because of losing you, and be-
cause of your apparent falseness. But
I could not waste my whole life. be-
cause of woman's untruth, so | tied
up the broken threads and tried not to
look back. 1t was by chance / met
Herman Sloan, and in the midst OF
mutual condolences he asked me why
had never returned to America and
to the beautiful Helen Preston, who
had declined all suitors, and was still
unwed. Helen, / embarked that after
noon, and / am here, never to be part
ed from my darling. When will we be
married, sWeet?''
Married! Alan, and the dreary
present recurring to me, | withdrew
myself from his arms, and almost un-
consciously my lips framed the words:
s had died for this last year to know
4 You had loved me. Who shall turn on rate!
I care not if love come or go
Now; though your love seek mine for mate
1t is too late. ssa5s @s3. ss3s ~.
Too late! Helen, my only love, ex-
plain your meaning, for Gods sake.
Then came broken, disjointed tale
of my sorrow and temptation when l
heard of his handsome and high-born
bride; of my WEAKNESS of the hall; OF
Mrs. Granger; of myself, OF Mr.. Da-
cre's constant wooing, and at last OF the
little note only this night thrust be-
tween the leaves of his book, making
-Alan,s coming forever too late for my