Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1885-10-29
9 NV holiday has been exacting al

MY holiday has been eXactlng all
my timep" Lorraine's lip curled with
something like contempt, of herself
and of Rex, too. SLOW great must
Rex's regard for me bel" she said; and
then the memory of the June evening
which now seemed so very far away
rushed upon her, and the tears fell
over her face like rain.
At Christmas she saw Rex again. He
came and went in the same day.
Lorraine" he whispered as he bade
her good-by-"Lorraine, do not forget
mel" and he was gone; while she stood
trembling, with his kiss warm upon her
lips.
For awhile Lorraine was happy. No
word had Rex spoken, but the language
of lip, and hand, and eye was unmis-
taxable. Every gesture, every glance,
every intonation said to Lorraine's heart,
"You belong to me, and / belong to
YOU" And Lorraine's heart responded.
iFhut WINS enough.
But week after week went by; Easter
came and passed; Lorraine had many
letters, but the one so constantly looked
for never came.
Lorraine sought distraction in study.
Far oftener than not, her light burned
late into the night. Foolish, was it
Yes, very foolish. Young and eager
spirits are so apt to be foolish until
life's stern discipline has taught them
how best to be wise.
BY June, Lorraine was very ill. Dur
ing the first days of her illness came
the letter which had tarried so long.
Il hear that you have been i'll, it said ;
Il am sorry for that. You have been
working too hard. If life is short, there
is no need to deprive ones friends of
ones presence any earlier than is abso-
lutely necessary.
He was sorry that he had kept her
letter waiting an answer so long; he
was always sorry for that. He spoke
pleasantly of an anticipated holiday in
Madeira. Between friends of no extra
ordinary degree, the letter would have
passed muster; from Rex to Lorraine,
at the hour of Lorraine's extremity, it
was heartless.
Lorraine crushed it under her pillow,
and turned her face to the wall. She
knew the truth at last.
It was not so much the loss of Rex
that she grieved over. She could have
borne that. She would have thought
scorn of love that placed its own hap
piness before that of its object. 1t was
the loss of her faith that she mourned !;
the loss of her faith in Rex; and
through him of her faith in all things
human. She almost lost her faith In
God. Ay, she did lose it for awhile.
She CROPPED in the darkness that
shrouded her for hand to hold by, and
she found none. 1t was O bitter time
for Lorraine.
And, meanwhile, what of Rex? He
meant no harm. He had the best of
intentions. He was not wicked; only
weak
The idol and darling of half the
women he knew, perhaps he was lit
tie careless of the mischief worked by
his beautiful face, his bewildering
smile, and rare charm of manner.
Easy, luxurious, selfappreciative, it
suited him to be worshiped by women.
He liked change; it was necessity of
his nature. Change OF scene, change of
friends-these things eased life of It's
monotony. 1t pleased him to see fair
faces flush and fair eyes droop at his
elo1uent glances and exquisitely modu-
lated words-such study of human ma
ture interested him.
He possessed the faculty of attaching
himself to people easily; but the large,
long suffering, high-souled love of a
heart such as Lorraine's was beyond
his comprehension. When he was with
Lorraine he was honestly ain love"
with her-for the time. When he left
her, his passion cooled. In his normal
condition of mind, such an idea as that
of allowing himself to be entirely APP
propriated by one woman seemed pre-
posterous.
Ten years later, Rex and Lorraine
met again. 1t was again June; Rex
was waiting for Lorraine in her own
summer parlor. It was O pretty room
made beautiful by all the graces
which a woman of refined nature and
delicate tastes gathers about her in
stinctively.
The years had brought Lorraine their
success. The seed sown in sorrow and
tears so long ago had brought forth an
abundant harvest--as the world counts
abundance Lorraine had walked one
morning to find herself famous; the
finger of material want could never
touch her while she had power to use
her pen.
To Rex, as he paced restlessly back
ward and forward in the pretty room,
it seemed long time that he waited.
At last he heard light, slow step,
and the rustic of woman's dress. The
culver that ran through his strong
frame told him that Lorraine was COM
ing. The mans very hands trembled.
Halfway across the room she stop
ped. He rose; and they stood and
looked at each other.
She held out her hand. Rex bent
low over it, and touched it reverently
with his lips.
For little they talked Of old times,
and of old friends whom they both had
known. Then Rex said:
Lorraine, / have come with the
hope that it is not yet too late for us to
live the old days over again" She
read his meaning in his eyes. "Lor-
raine, we used to be happy together
let use be happy again. You think !
have been long in coming; but tell me
il is not too late. Let me claim what
is mine-mine by the right of love-"
He stopped nervously. She looked
so pale, so cold, as she sat there. But
she did not speak.
Lorraine" he continued, gathering
courage from her silence, "you love
your work, but it does not satisfy you.
You are contented, but you are moi
happy. Your face tells me that. Do