Middletown transcript., 1886-02-19
FOR THE OLD LOYE'S SAKE.

lccIs mdfy3 snaiA UC JcoaOuo va
this cousin of yours. Already she
seems to occupy all your thoughts,
and when she arrives, l dare say she
will engross all your attention. But.
there. I will not scold you. Good
night, dearest" and Philip Gilbert,
my betrothed, pressed his first kiss
upon my lips.
In the fullness Of an almost perfect
happiness tears came into my eyes as
I turned into the house, and asked
myself, have 1 lived the last few mo-
ments in a dream, or is it a reality
has the love so long yearned for been
given to me at last / have known
Philip Gilbert for many years, and
looking backward then, | could not
recall 10 memorya a time when | did
not love him. Tall and fair and blue
eyed, and with symmetrical form of
Appollo, Philip Gilbert would attract
attention among a crowd Of handsome
men. l was some years older than he,
and had never been regarded 90 .
beauty. Yet be had asked me to be
his wife. And yet, and yet in the soli-
tude Of my own room that night more
than once this thought. occurred to me:
Will our union secure my future hap
piness after all? He was a man of
quick and generous impulse, but with
no stability of purpose and little
strength Of character. Those who be-
lieve that girl is blind to the faults
or weakness of her lover, know very
little Of my sex. I had formed, per-
haps, a truer estimate of Philip Gill
bert's character than any one Of his
most intimate friends. Still I loved
him with all my heart and soul, and
for no better than a woman's reason
because I could not help it.
My cousin, Gertrude Harland, ar
rived on the morrow Her father, a
lawyer Of some prominence in Boston,
had but recently died. and when we
learned of her bereavement, my own
dear father insisted that the orphan
child Of his only sister should make
her home beneath his roof. | had not
seen her since she was a child Of ten,
and she was now eighteen. As I held
her hands in mine and bade her vel
come to our country home, I thought
that never beheld a being SO radiant
ly beautiful. She was a brunette, with
an almost perfectly Greek profile, and
the pure olive complexion, with just q
touch Of color to give it warmth SO
rarely be seen by American wo.
men. The old farmhouse where I had
lived since my father, Mr.. Maxwell,
had retired from the active practice
of his profession, overlooked the Hud
son, within short distance Of Yon.
kers, town which had not reached
the Importance it has since attained.
Gertrude was delighted with her new
home, and was never weary Of dilat
ing on the scenic beauties of the noble
river she had seen for the first time
She was week with us before she and
Philip met He was away in the north
ern part Of the State, negotiating,
believe, the sale of some property
which he owned there. How we'll
remember the evening that meeting
took place. / briefly introduced them
and with marked embarrassment
Philip stammered forth the usual con
ventional phrases. But his glance wa
fastened on her face as she stood be
fore him with downcast eyes and a de
mure smile on the full red lips.
Philips whole attention was giver
| to Gertrude, and whatever powers h
possessed as a conversationalist were
exerted, it was evident, to make fav