Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1885-10-16

year hence at the brit of q son and
heir. No good will come of it. Con-
science will crush you, unciean heart,
periured tongue! You will trembie1
when Death stands near you, beckon-s
ing as he now beckons me, and tremble.
| in vain - = 3 tst Y. , IS
White as the dying woman, the hus-
band leaned forward with a word Of
exculpation, an entreaty for pard
On his trembling lips. But it was too
| late. The force Of tebbing life had al.
ready spent itself. Mrs Harden fell:
| back unconscious on the pillow, and as
he caught her in his arms, he saw that
| the end had come. The faithful Anna
hearing his cry for help, FASTENED. to
| the bedside to find her mistress dead.
| So enticing the warmth of that, lux
urious fur-lined cloak, so soft and easy
the arm chair in which her patron had
settled her, that Constance Emery telt
ready to browse. But her brain was
too busy with the future to indulge in
sleep She must, would keep awake,
in order to think out the future as it
opened itself to her enlarging gaze.
Perhaps the girl was not deserving OF
! wholesome condemnation after ALL
Vulgarity may indeed be a piece OF i'll
fortune, as much as q wry nose or mis-
4 shapen foot; only to the rarely en-
dowed ones is it possible to burst the
chains OF custom, bringing up and her
edity. ~ I'll" H
In the midst of foolishly bewildering
dreams of silks and trinkets, carriages
and lacqueys, boudoirs and fashion
able receptions, she was aroused by
the abruptest intrusion. Rising toher
feet, for she we'll knew who the intrud-
en- must be, she was fain to clasp his
hand, to whisper an endearing word,
to greet him fondly as she had done
surreptitiously scores of times before.
| But at a glance toward her patron,
her heart stood still. Clever she was
not, feminine tact she possessed in a
moderate degree, yet she realized in a
moment, without knowing the cause,
the nature OF the transformation that
! had come over him. Shestood aghast,
not venturing q step forward, lacking
| courage even so much as to utter his
name.
He came close up to the table by
which she stood, holding in his hand a
! strip OF paper barred with pink.
constance he said in that brief,
hard, unanswerable voice she knew so
we'll, though now used for the first
time to her-"Constance cannot
| marry you. I shall never marry
again. Here is compensation for a
broken promise"
| He turned up the lamp in order that
she might see what he had given her
There, it was plain enough, nothing
could be palmer, a check for five thous-
and pounds.
The astounded girl was dumb, and
! he hardly knew whether as yet she
fully understood the meaning OF the
words. Something else he had to say,
however, Enthusiastically clear to the
| purpose also.
ut will be better for you not to
stay here any longer. have ordered
coffee to be ready by six o'clock, and
the brougham at half-past in time to
| catch the early express. William will
| drive you to the station, and give YOU Il
! first class ticket. Mind and be ready"
Still not word from the scarlet
checked, mortified, trembling girl.
Had any one half an hour before as
sured Constance Emery that she
should thus staAd silent and abashed
in the presence Of this man, she would
have laughed the representation to
ScOrn.
But with that quick, unerring in
stinct OF the dull, the instinct born OF
fear and self-preservation shenow rec
ognized the fact for herself: There
Was nothing she could say to soften
him even were she mistress of herself,
Establishments, exhortation, tears,
would all prove Intellectual as children's
dams to Keep ut the tides.
Something had happened-she
vaguely guessed the truth-to shut
him from her, to harden him toward
her forever.
Whilst she stood thus, shrinking, IT.
resolute, unable to get out a syllable,
yet feeling that she ought to say
something on her own behalf, another
significant act told her clearly enough,
were proofs still wanting of what was
in Mr.. Hardcn's mind. The rich fur
lined cloak in which he had SO tenderly
erveloped her just an hour ago, lay on
the ground. In her startled surprise,
it had fallen from her shoulders. She
now saw him pick it up, and, with a
gesture not to be mistaken, lay it care
fully folded ON his wife's favorite chair
at the extreme end OF the room. That
cloak she was not to touch again. Then
he left her, in a moment more to return.
Constance Emery looked up, and
once more her heart stood still. He
had repented Of this cruel abruptness,
| this undeserved GOODNESS, and was
come to whisper a tender word ip her
ear, to console her for what he had
perhaps been forced into by a death
scene. He came back to the table,
leaving the door ajar. &c..
'"fake good care Of that piece of
paper was all he said as he pointed
to the check.
he was indeed gone. She heard him 60
to his closet on the same floor and
lock himself in; that was a sign also
she had learned to understand. Moth
ing remained but to do as she was
bid. After all he was master in his
own house She might weep, ren1on-
strate, .implore, she could not stay
against his will, ~. IT, - ~ '.zs*.@
Humiliation, mortified vanity and
dismay were succeeded by other feel
mgs. On the whole, perhaps, her sud
den departure would not create much
talk in the neighborhood and in the
kitchen. She was young and no re-
lation: Would it not be quite natur-.
al for Mr.: Harden, in the eyes Of the
world her benefactor only,t send her
away? And certainly, as far as her
| own feelings and inclinations were con.