Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1883-05-31
shoulder, bright hair mingling with bright

now and again he talked.
Mary did not shed tear. She seemed ab
sorbed in him beyond all consciousness o
self or sorrow. She moistened his lips OF
wiped his brow continually, and her eye:
seemed to cling to his.
The sunset entering the room touched
those two. She was watching him intentiy
His eyes, only, half opened, seemed to look
at her dreamily, like the eyes of one wht
dozes off to sleep. The light faded, the
dusk gathered. We did not stir, believing
that he slept.
By-and-by, through the gloom, the neal
hush and distant noise of the great city
Mary's voice, low and awe struck, reached
me asking for light. / had fallen into pro
found thought. Life, love, death, immor
tality, failure, success, the worlds vanity
1 do not know what I did not think of as
sat motionless in that dusky room.
I procured lamp. / set it down on the
table, where the light fell on those faces.
found that Mary had sunk lower and lower
as the head on the shoulder grew heavier
A glance told me the truth. He was dead
She saw it, she knew it. She sank down
lower yet, till his bright hair was on the
pillow, hers beside it. She moaned softly
lying thus cheek to cheek. l heard few
Words-"B Brother, take me-take me with
you. have none but you"
Then she lay quite still, half on the couch
half on the floor, face to face with the dead
What did I do ?
stood and looked at them.
AS I stood and looked at them, l went
through one of those experiences that it is
no use to try and record-that are writer
on the page Of life forever.
By-and-by found that she was lying in
dead faint.
| l disentangled them, and laid her or
the floor on as good couch as I could make
of my wrapper and the cushions of an ole
chair.
had told her the truth when I told her
was a sort of doctor. That had been the
profession I had not loved well enough tt
follow, after large fortune left me had
made the pursuit of profession needless
I could treat her as we'll as another. l die
what could for her, and saw her revive.
My entreaties prevailed on her after
time to leave the room for few hours, 60
ing with the woman to the rooms below
but before the night had passed she was
back again. =,
"Do not be angry with me. want to sit
and look at him. won't cry. Soon I shall
lose him forever"
She took her station by him; she begged
me to 90 away somewhere to rest. 1 pre-
tended to yield but found myself too anx'
ious to go beyond the ante-roOm. She was
not in state to be left alone.
The dawn brought the horrible and har'
rowing business of putting away, out OF
sight, ought Of reach, the mortality that had
been so dear, that we have clutched sc
close, and never could keep too near-to my
mind.
1 talked to her as little as could, and as
gently. Gently If words could have float.
| 81 &1,n oir 10 Oil fnnPhpC
her with gossamer-light touches, they would
still have seemed to me too rough to be cast
at her then. Still, was forced to try and
assert her wishes.
"You know what is best-you will dc
what is right" she answered me, gently
"but don't ask me to leave the house while
he is in it. Think of the long years that
There she paused-burst into violent weep.
ing. She had not cried before.
"Oh, feel as if my heart were breaking"'
she said, pressing her hands over it.
clasped her to me; / comforted her as
we'll as I could, reminding her, as we'll as
knew how, ofhow well things must be with
her beloved brother. spoke, too, of the
place where we would lay him to rest, o
the country quiet among the roses, the vio
lets.
She lay quiet in my arms, and by-and-by
lifted up her face to listen.
To see that sweet, sad face resting against
my. breast, to look down upon it, and meet
its trustful eyes, filled me with overmaster
ing emotions.
"If you love me-" said then, "you need
never feel alone or unsheltered, never more
while live. This is no unfit place or time
to tell you this, for he knew loved you, ano
was glad in knowing it, but do not ask
or expect, or desire any ansWer-nOt noW.'
I hardly know that she took in the sense
of my words; sorrow and exhaustion hao
drained her life. No tinge of color came tt
her cheek, she just listened.
'How good you are.how good you are'
she said. "What could l have done but tol
you ?"
arranged everything for the best as fal
as knew tempted her from the room tt
go with me to the graveyard beyond the
walls, to choose where he should lie. She
seldom spoke she said afterwards it was al
like dream, from which she expected a
any moment to awake.
The next day we buried him.
When all was done, we fingered near tht
place. The place was very soothing anc
peaceful, lowered over by the great mOnu
mental tomb of some forgotten great one
That was day to be remembered.
promised her that the grave should bt
When we went away l took her to the
care Of the motherly, kind, Quakerish lady
of the stage whom l had prepared to receive
her.
did not see her again for some days ; she
was too exhausted, when the reaction from
long over-tension set in, to leave her bed.
1 called every day, and always found some
gentle-worded, grateful message ready tol
me but day after day did not see her.
At last bright day came when | did.
She was more altered, more broken-doWr
looking than I had anticipated. The meet
ing me agitated her very greatly. Hel
black dress, too, increased the delicacy o
her look.
Mrs. Emmett stood by her, smoothing hel
hair and petting her with loving deeds ant
words till she was Calmer then-gOOd WO
man she left us together.
l had no idea what lay before me.
Our interview was a long one. More thar
once left her side, and paced the room ir
despair stood at one or other OF the win
doWs that looked down upon the city, ant
pondered how could convince her of my
Iove-that is to say, of the selfish and inter
ested nature of it.
She met my definite offer of my hand anc
heart with the most meekly, humbly-frn
refusal.
Her gratitude was so full and SO lOWly
her agitation so great, that could not be
angry with her but was greatly irritated
and turned my irritation against myself.
cursed myself that 1 could find no word:
strong enough to convince her.
1t was just like me, she told me-just like
what she had always heard of me. She
would always love me with the most crate
full reverent love, always remember me il
her prayers but be my wife-no!
1t was long before | could get a reason