River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-05-28

| ner kindly eyes hiied with tears,
she passed in, followed by her hus-
band.
Left to himself, Victor wheeled his
chair directly before the CRATE, and,
leaning farther back, surveyed the
marble mantel. A pair of Aztec vases
from the base of Popocatapetl adorned
either end; next to these, a quantity
carved owl ana a beautiful specimen
of coral, the center of the space being
occupied by large portrait of young
girl. Upon this he bent his gaze. and
as the sound of footballs died away, a
faint smile played about his moustach-
ed lips.
''Alone, entirely alone" he said,
echoing his mothers words. chow
little she knows of my solitude. | am
lonelier, more to myself, in vast as
sembIage than [ am here when none
are by. She Is always with me, her
brown eyes looking lovingly into mine;
| always near me, and yet | cannot touch
her; always looking as she does in that
picture. .
The smile fed, followed by the
| shadow, and his blue eyes con-
| centrated their gaze upon the photo
! graph. The mind mirrored the past,
| drawing back the curtain from scene
after scene, rejecting the pictures
upon the heart.
As their gaze dwelt upon the PFC
| ture, the pupils OF the eyes lost all ex-
| preston, the surroundings were lost
in the intensity of that glance, and
| the picture seemed to be encircled by
dim mist. The photographed form
grew taller, the features becoming bet
ter defined, the likeness developing,
until, as if in startlingly realistic
dream, Eleanor Duncan stood before
him, her dark eyes meeting the hard,
stony gaze of the blue, her lips tremb-
lingly murmuring the one word:
..Well "
you have come," he muttered II
| knew YOU would, when others said
that you had forgotten me. p"
Forget you? AS if it were possible
to forget
"And you have come at last" he
continued, ito look upon the wreck
you have made. | did not expect you,
until my lifeles5 clay was placed in the
little church, where my friends might
gaze upon the deal victim of wo-
man caprice, and my soul, unseen,
would stand at your side, and, in
whispers heard only by you, reproach
you.
''Oh, Victor, Victor, pity me, have
mercy
"Pity?" Mercy? Listen. Four years
ago we met, you remember the time,
in the omnibus. You had forgotten
your purse, and | paid your fare.
From that hour we were friends; from
I tbsf br,F.T | faNroH NAtVs bro
ewes captured my soul. your smiles
laid waste my heart. They said you
were a heart-breaker, but [ could not
believe it. Poor fool, how innocent L
was! | could not believe II. | can
scarcely believe it now, after what has
passed. You led me on, as YOU would
have led child. SIN ling on no one but
me, and at last YOU yielded and prom
iscd to be my wife. All, how happy |
was! Ambition, talent, everything,
were thrown to The winds, and | lived
tor YOU. | would have died for you
silence, do not speak to me now-I
was happy; YOU smiled on whom you
pleased, but were ever ready to east
sweetcr beam on me, until Darlington
came. With him came a change. He
was rakish and free; he laid siege to
your heart, and turned both heart
and head. | knew him and warned you
Of the leper's touch, but was laughed
ut. snubbed, and, in anger finally
thrown aside like a tiresome toy.
1t was the beginning of the end. l
| humbled myself before you, entreated
YOU to turn aside, and what did you do
and Sav?'
The lips of the girl moved, and her
voice came like an echo from afar;
81 laughed at you, then | was an
gered. | said the harshest and most
cruel of things, and throwing your
ring into the street, babe you go and
look for it. -
Yes he murmurcd, sadly, ''you
suurucd me like a doc -scOrned my
love as Il princess would beggars.
Well, YOU have done well. You can
look on me and say, There lies vic
tim of my caprice. See what a wreck
he is, how hollow his eyes, how pale
his lips, how wasted and feeble his
form. Learned men say it is the work
of malarial poison, absorbed in the
swamps OF Mexico. but they err. 1t
is ali my work. "
Il have repented my folly; what
more could YOU ask of me?" asked the
girl.
you rcpented II cannot be. When
YOU come to my side, and. Aneeling,
beg forgiveness, | will believe. will
forgive and give you the love of years.
Come"
As lie spoke the figure gradually re-
ceded. decreasing in size, the mist
cleared away, and the photograph re-
sumed its former appearance. Victor
struggled as though trying to awake
| himself from slumber He rubbed
/ his forehead, and, signing heavily,
/ said:
/ 'sOh, Neil, why do you not Gomez"
| 4 half-hour passed and footstep
/ sounded on the threshold. Victor
turned his head quickly and behold
/ Eleanor Duncan standing in the door
way, her face pale, her hair dishevel-
( led, her dress disoI dered, a white
shawl thrown carelessly about her
I shoulders Her eyes had that vacant
/ stare peculiar to Sumuambullsm, and
4 her step as She entered the room, was
mechanical. She did not speak, but
moved slowly until she reached his
chair
''Nelln he cried loudly.
She started at the sound of his voice;
her eyes had dazed expression; her
face was the picture of perpleXity.
"Oh, Vic!" she cried, what does
4 this mean? The last | remember | was
standing before the glass in my room,
aud now am here. | do not under
/ stand.
A thought flashed across him, and
he said, grayely;
That unseen influence which watch
/ es over us has brought You here. And
now that you are here, Nell, what have
I you to say?"
A moments pause, her eyes again
stared vacantly into space, and, kneel-
| ing at his side, she said:
/ Il have repentcd. Forgive me as
/ YOU hope for forgiveness.
Il forgive YOU, Nell, freely-freely
free" His voice was lost in a lit
/ of choking, and an internal hem
I orrhage covered his breast with his
/ life blood He threw one arm about
her neck, conyulsively, and drew her
/ toward him.
Come. Nell, let us 60 where we
may be happy together, away from the
world" he murmured.
''Whithersoever thou goest there
will 90 also"
Darlington, who had logged her
footsteps 10 the very door of the room
Z ,,I boI ,.op,atup1 autSiHa ia watch