The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-09-10

! viii so protect and cherish yous you
will believe your pathway strewn with
roses.
Dolores was silent for a moment;
then, looking shyly into the face she
loved so well, said gravely:
"You mean these words now; but
are you quite, quite sure that you love
me so steadfastly that nothing can
change youP"
Il think so. But why are you in
| such a doubling mood? 1t is some
| thing in the atmosphere, do believe;
I something that causes you to doubt,
and me to be idle and purposeless. 1
! almost feel as if l could not resist anY
! sort of temptation if exposed to it. As
you say, this is a veritable Castle of In
dolence, and you are the wicked
| wight. ="
Il shall 60 to the house."
''Why, sweetheart? And why do
/ you look so sorrowfulP''
Il ask you if you are sure you love
me, and you are not at all certain, but
| think so.
| In the library the next morning Hill
| airy was watching Dolores busy with
some dainty handicraft, and begged her
| to lay it by, saying:
| Come. Dolores, put aside that
/ make-believe work, fold your hands so,
| lean your head against-the chair back,
look dreamy and appreciative while I
read to you Sweetest Eyes Were Ever
/ Seen But Mrs. Glentworth inter-
rupted the reading, saying "See here.
\ children, as she came into the room
with an open letter in her hand, "here
is a letter from Vivien Searles, an
nouncing that she will be here the goth,
and that is to-day"
Z 1, -, 4
/ ''and so l am to meet my stepcOusin
/ again. I wonder if She is as charming
as ever, and as heartless."
Mrs. Glentworth, who was already
| arranging in her mind whom she should
ask to met her, absently replied that
she was a great belle and had the repu-
tatiOn of being heartless. But" she
continued, Il hope you will not quar-
rel with her as you used.
sIs she dark or fair?" questioned
! Dolores of Hilary.
Fair, believe; really do not re-
member her distinctly"
''Yet you asked if she were charming
as everP''
"a woman may be charming in a
mans eyes without his being able to
tell whether she is blonde or brunette. -
Il do not believe it, - said Dolores
]
''YouP o, you are the dearest little
] woman in the world"
"a pretty speech that, Cousin
| Hilary" said a soft voice, and Miss
/ Scarles stood before them with a pecu-
| liar expression of half sweetness, half
sneer upon her face.
! pray excuse my interruption, she
continued after the greetings had
passed and she had been presented to
! Dolores. Il rang and raped, and the
| carriage that brought me made noise
enough to bring the household to the
porch. Are you lotus eatersP" she
/ questioned with a smile that had a
touch of irony.
Mrs. Glentworth's entrance put an
end to further conversation; Miss
Searles was shown TO her room and
| they did not meet until dinner. She
was vision of loneliness as she glided
in with wondrOus grace; her hair was
[ brushed back in loose waves from her
low brow, and cOiled in golden mass
at the back of her perfect head; she
was slender and lissom, and clad in
some soft blue stuff that seemed part
of her, and her violet eyes had a pa
| thetically sweet expression. Dolores
! was prepared to dislike her; Hilary
thought she would be a bore; and Mrs.
Glentworth secretly decided that I'M
less she could invite an eligible party
to meet her she would be marplot.
But before many days passed all de-
cided that she was a delightful acquisi-
tion to their little party. She never at
tempted to attract Hilary's attention;
| she never intruded; Dolores and her
lover were as free to enjoy each others
society as ever. She devoted herself
to Mrs. Glentworth, and that good
lady was loud in her praises. She
charmed wisely" and they listened
to the charmer. But by and by, when
Dolores had come to have unbounded
faith in her, when Hilary regarded her
as his friend, and Mrs. Glentworth
| thought she had been cruelty mis-
Judged, the fair Vivien uncoiled. And
Destiny, having placed her there to
complete the game, looked on with
grim delight.
What a wondrous August that was!
/ What dreamy, hazy weather; what
idling under oaks, where Hilary read
impassioned love-poems, Dolores lis
tening blushfully with downoast eyes,
and Vivien thoughtfully, with now
and then keen glance at the reader!
There was much duet practicing; Do
lOTes would curl herself in the corner
of a sofa and listen delightedly to her
lover ana her friend as they rendered
soft Italian or Spanish airs. Foolish,
unsuspiciOus Dolores! She could not
see the upward languishing chances
from those bewitching eyes, or note
the white fingers accidentally touch
her lovers hands. Hilary was an
early riser, and was wont to take a
stroll along the cliffs before breakfast.
Vivien noted it, and often met him
with her hands full of flowers and
look of establishment in her face.
Then followed a half-hour's conversa-
ton, often touching upon dangerous
themes.
"How blest ami said he, 'I have
the dearest sweetheart in the world,
and the loveliest woman for q friend. -
She looked at him with her beautiful
eyes dim with tears, and replied softly:
''But you can not think what it costs
me to be your friend Then she laid
, her hand on his arm deprecatingly, and
, with bushes said:
: Forgive me, l spoke unguardedly."
After that Hilary's manner seemed
, to be changed; there was a restlessness
and thOughtfulnesS foreign to him. Per-
baps, if he could have shaken off the
enchanting wizards spell, could
: have reused to a state of activity, he
might have broken the charm being
cast over him. And it seemed as il
! Dolores eyes were stricken blind, for
in the innocence of her heart and her
; unbounded trust she saw and thought
4 of nothing but devotion to herself on
7 the part of her lover and fidelity on the
part of her friend
30, you two NAV 90 and practice
Y your new duet. / must stay with dear
d godmother, who has a headache" said
z Dolores one evening. The two went
I willingly enough, but. after singing 8