The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1883-06-06


much neither good nor true.
al promised all that l could, and
while the dying woman seemed to
trust me, she understood better than l
how little equal to the protection of a
young girls life an unmarried man can
be, and was but half-satsRed when the
final moment came.
"Poor Gabrielle was distracted; she
clung TO me as to brother. pitied
her, but 1 pitied myself more, because
she took no thought, and | did, of the
future which now loomed up before
me like a terrible problem, to which
the thirty thousand dollars offered not
the slightest clew of solution.
What to do with her now did not
know. | had no near female relative;
/ had not even the traditional old
nurse to help me out of the dilemma.
My business was suffering from neglect,
and yet l could not leave this clinging
grief-stricken girl alone and unsettled
in this first space Of her desolation.
81 finally determined to ask a
widow lady, who was distant relative
Of Halstead Scot, to take immediate
charge of his daughter, but before
writing to her | thought it would
only be kind in me to consult my ward
in the matter, and learn if there were
any other arrangement possible more
colgenial to her own mind.
"She came to the interview looking
most fair and fragile in her black
dress, and listened attentively to my
proposition. Then the tears whichlay
very near to her eyes in those sad days
pushed their way from under the
terse-drawn eyelids, and rolled heavily
over the white young cheeks, and she
said, in a trembling, pitiful way:
"'Then cannot live with you, Mr..
Penrhyn?'
al had rather pronounce the death
sentence in thousand cases than to
be obliged again TO meet the emer-
gency that stared out of those innocent
eyes at me; but something had to be
done then and there, and had rather
have tried modern strangulation in
my own person than to have explained
to this pure child the reasons why she
might not live in my house as my sis
ter, when there seemed no other home
no heart in all the world that held
for her kindly feeling save mine.
$50, and as told you in the begin
ming, it seemed to be the only thing to
do at the time, asked her, as geHtly
and delicately as 1 could, to marry me.
at came very sudden to her, and
especially so to me but she con-
sented, not that she was greatly in
love with me any more than with
her. but because her quiet, straight
forward life had taught her none of
the hollow sentimentality of pride
that would have led her to question
my sincerity, or the prospect of form,
ing a connection that held no romance
but only the continued society and
friendship of one whom her aunt had
held in respect and trusted.
Immediately, and beside Miss
Patience's new-made bed, blanketed
with drift of sweet syringa bells, we
were married, feeling at last content
that the sainted dead would rest now
quietly from her labors. if her spirit
might look down upon us two made
one"
"And-I beg your pardon-but did
it turn out well?" asked the listening
friend, his cigar burned down within {
hairbreadth of the blonde mustache
and smothered recklessly with Ions
white ash.
"Turn out welll Why, Gabriel and
have grown to love each other to {
degree that makes the slightest separ
alton unhappiness to both. There arr
two babies, and-Lord love you, man
L guess it did turn out well % and the
smoking Tom tumbled the long, white
ash into the gayly-painted saucer a
his elbow, and murmured, somewhat
cynically:
AFTER all, it was an experiment p