The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-10-01

nature as that to such one. But fdEl
her--l And | could not hold her to nv
bosom, knowing that she would BAI
much rather be In the arms Of another
nan." ALI this he said to himself; but
be said 1t In words fully formed, and
with the thoughts on which the words
were based clearly established.
When he came to the end of his Jour-
ney he had himself driven to the hotel,
and ordered his dinner, and ate 1t in
solitude, stih supported by the ecstasy
pf his thoughts. He knew that there
was before him a sharp, cruel punish
ment, and then weary, lonely life.
There could be no happiness, no salts
faction, in store for him. He was
aware that it must be so; but still for
The present there was q Joy to him
In thinking that he would make
her happy, and in that he was deter
mined 10 take what immediate delight
It would give him. He asked himself
how long that delight could last; and
he told himself thai when John Gordon
should have once taken her by the hand
and claimed her rs his own, the time Of
his misery would have come.
There had hung about him a dream,
clinglng to him up to the moment Of his
hotel dinner, by which he had thought
It possible that he might yet escape
from the misery of pandemonium and
be carried into the light and Joy of
paradise. But as he sat with his beef
steak before him, and ate his accus-
toned potato with apparently as good
q gusto as any of his neighbors, the
dream departed. He told himself that
under no circumstances should the
dream be allowed to become reality.
The dream had been of this wise. With
all the best intentions in his power he
would offer the girl to John Gordon,
and then, not doubling Gordon's ac-
ceptance Of her, would make the same
offer to the girl herself. But what if
the girl refused to accept the olferP
What If the girl should stubbornly adj
here 10 her original promise? Was he
to refuse to marry her when she should
insist that such was her rightp Was he
to decline to enter in upon the joys of
paradise when paradise should be thus
opened to himp He would do his best,
Loyalty and sincerely, with his whole
heart. But he could not force her to
make him a wretch, miserable for the
rest of his life!
In fact, 1t was she who might choose
to make the sacrifice, and thus save
him from the unhappiness in store for
him. Such had been the nature Of his
dream. AS he was eating his beefsteak
and potatoes, he told himself that it
could not be so, and that the dream
must be flung to the winds. A certain
amount of strength was now demanded
Of him, and he thought that he would
be able to use it. mo, my dear, not
me; it may not be that you should be-
come my wife, though all the promises
under Heaven had been given. Though
you say that you wish 1t, it is lie
which may not be ratified. Though you
implore it Of me, 1t can not be granted.
1t Is he that is your love, and it is he
that must have you. / love you, too,
God in his wisdom knows, but it can
not be So Go and he his wife, for mine
vou shall never become. have meant
won, but have been unfortunate. Now
you know the state Of my mind, than
which nothing is more fixed on this
earth" It was thus that he would
speak to her, and then he would turn
away: and the term Of his misery would
have commenced.
On the next morning he got up and
prepared for his interview with John
Gordon. He walked up and down the
sward of the Green Park, thinking to
himself of the language which he would
use. If he could only tell the man that
he hated him, while he surrendered to
him the girl whom he loved so dearly,
Il would be well. For In truth there
was nothing OF Christian charity in his
heart towards John Gordon.
lTo BE CONTINUED