Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1885-10-30

| beyond 1t was q we rd kind Of Il morn
| ing, moreover; for the confused and wan
/ sunlight kept struggling through the
| ever changing mist, sometimes throwing
n coppery radiance on the late autumn
! foliage. or again shining pale and silver
| like as the fantastic cloud wreathS slowly
| tloated onward. The view before them
was mysterious and vast because of its
very vaguencss and even the new uni
| versity buildings, over there on tn o
| heights above the river looked quite inn
| posing and picturesque, for they doomed
! large and dusty aud remote through the
| bewldering sun-lit haze.
Now Ronald" she said, 81 want you
| to tell me how 1t was you came to lose
heart 50, and to give up what you under
| took to do when you left lnver Mudal.
! Why, when You left you were full of
| such high hopes, and every one was sure
OF success, and you were all anxiety to be-
| gin"
That's true, Miss Douglas" he an
swered, rather abScutlv. 81 think my
head must have been in a kind of whirl at
that time. 1t seemed so fine and easy
thing to strive for, and did not stop to
ask what use it would be to me, supposing
| / got it.
"The use ?" she said. "A better posi-
ton for youself-isn't it natural to strive
for that ? And perhaps, if you did not
/ care much to have more money for your
/ self-for you have very strange notions,
! Ronald, about some thiugs-you must see
| how much Kindness can be done TO others
by people who are well OF. don't under
/ stand you at all"
"Well, them" said he, shifting his
ground, " grew sick and tired of the
| town life. ! was never meant for that.
Every day"
but Ronald she said. intcrrupting
him in very definite tone of remonstrance
you knew that your town life was only
matter of months. And the harder you
. worked, the sooner it would be over.
W nat reason was that Y'
"There may have been other reasons"
"What are they p
g ! can moi tell YOU"
"Ronald she said, and the touch of
wounded pride in her voice thrilled HIM
! strangely, IL have come all the way from
the Highlands. and--and done what few
| girls would have done, for your sake
and yet you will not he frank with me,
when all that want is to see You going
straight toward a happier future
" dare not tell you-you would be
angry"
Il am not given to ANGER" she an
swered, calmly, and yet with Il littlc sur
| prlsed resentment: for she could but mn
imagine that this was some cnt Indictment
of debt, or something OF the k,nd Of
! which he was ashamed to speak. And
yet, unless she knew clearly the reasons
that had induced him to abandon the
project that he had undertaken so eager
| IN, how was she to argue with him and
| urGe MIN to resume it?
Well. then, we'll put it this way"
said he Hitcra second or two of h estatiOn:
and his face WAS little pale and his eyes
were liked on her with an anxious ner
Nousnrss, so that at the first sign of dis
| pleasure he could instantly stop. There
| was Il young lass that knew there, in
| the highlands, and she Was-Oh yes, she
was ont OF my station altogether, and
| away from me; and word now and
again, was pleasure to me, greater may
/ be than ! confessed to mySrlt-thc gteat-
est that had in life, indeed
She made no sim, and he continued,
slowly aud watchfuly, and still with that
pale earnrstncs~ in his face
And then | wrote things about her
| and amused myself with tances-well.
what harm could that do to her. so long
as she knew nothing about IT. And |
thought | was doing no harm to myself
either, for | knew it was impossible
there could be anything be- wcen us, and
that she would be going away sooner or
later, and too Yes. and did 30 away,
and in high feather. to be sure, and every
thing was to be for the best, and ! was
to have fight for money Ike the rest of
them. God help me, lasse, before was
| a fortnight in the town my heart was
| like to break
She sat quite still and silent, trembling
a little, perhaps, her eyes downcast her
/ fingers working ncrvously with the dge
of the small shawl she wore
had cut myself away from the only
thing craved for in the worId-iust the
seeing and speaking TO her from time to
time, for had no right to think of more
than that; and | was alone and down.
hearted. and began to ask MYSELF what
was the use of mis- slavery. Az there
might have been a use in it'll could
| have said to myself vol now frbt no
hard as ye can, and if We win, who knows
but that We might 20 ba * to the north
| and claim her ms the DriZey But thnt was
not to be thought Of She had never
limited ANYTHING of the kind to me. nor
to her: but when found myselfcut away
from her like that. the DAYS wrr, trrrihle
and NV heart was like lend and knew
that had cast away inst ryerytIinr That
cared to live for. Then tell in with
some companions-a woman cousin O.
mine and some friend, of hers and they
helped to make me forget what diIua
wish TO think of. ana so the time passed
Well, now, that is the trrtI: and We can
understand. Miss pourlns tn,t have NO
heart to begin aroin and the solIierinn
seemed the hest thing for me and n rifle'