The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1886-07-17

| friends-with an emphasis upon the word
as of old. But there is such thing as
wilful blindness, even where the blindness
really shuts out all objects but one.
CHAPTER II.
Mr.. and Mrs Mill were very well salts
fed with their niece s match, when Beatrice
had told her aunt, in breathless hurry,
that Mr.. Dalzell had really-and then
paused for words. 1t was not bad mar
riage for girl with Beatrice's small for
tune, and, besides, Leonard was sure to
make his way in the world. As for the
girl herself, she had never thought of his
worldly position or his wealth; she only
knew that he was great writer, and one
of the best and noblest men that ever lived.
"Do you think that yop can love me
Beatrice?" he asked gently, with tender
look on his expressive face; and his angry,
bitter spirit had found consolation in her
answer.
He did not pretend to himself that he
loved her, but he meant to love her, this
quiet, gentle, pretty creature, whose un-
failing tenderness was a contrast to the
varying moods of the woman who had jill
ted him, and upon whom he had sworn to
revenge himself
His motives do not seem admirable when
set down in black and white, but we may
be sure that they were of very different
complexion when seen through the atmos-
phere of his own mind. Beatrice loved
him, and he meant to marry her and make
her happy. She should never have wish
ungratifed that he could fulfil; it would be
an easy task to satisfy the claims of so
simple and unexacting nature. During
his brief engagement to Sydonie she had
claimed, if not every hour of his time, at
all events an account of how every hour
was spent. She had been jealous of his
friends, his pursuits, his very work, while
Beatrice, in her northern home, was salts
fed with short weekly letter and the out
line of his doings. He realized the vast
difference between the passionate love of a
woman of genius and the girlish attach
ment of commonplace nature, and con-
graduated himself on the fact that Beatrice
could neither give nor claim the deeper
feelings of an intense emotion. From all
of which it may be concluded that Mr..
Dalzell, although man of considerable
literary power and increasing literary rep
utation, was not deeply skilled in the Sc
crets of the human heart, or fully capable
of discriminating between the closely allied
effects of love and vanity.
The inevitable result which follows all
selfish acts dogged Leonard's married life.
He was disappointed in its effects upon
his happiness and peace of mind, and as
these were all that he considered in the
step he had taken, it is obvious that the
matter was failure He was too gener-
GUS to accuse his wife of anything but a
passive share in the disaster, and he was
genuinely glad that she showed herself so
contented and comfortable in circumstances
which became every day more wearisome
to him.
sDoes not Mrs. Dalzell find the time at
Hendon hang very heavily on her hands?''
asked Sydonie of him one day, as he was
lounging on divan in her studio, watching
her painting
He had fallen back into his old friendly
habit of looking in at all hours of the day,
to criticise her work and advise her as to
its progress.
"Mrs. Dalzell," /" he replied with cheerful
carelessness, f'is occupied with her house
hold affairs. There is not single duty that
she leaves undone, and these occupy her
from morning till evening.
Sydonie was satisfied with his reply. 1t
reduced her rival to dimensions of COM
fortably commonplace sort, while seeming
to acknowledge her merits.
Beatrice and she had interchanged calls,
but there was little to produce intimacy or
even friendship between them; as Sydonie
put it, there was no reapproachment; diff
until you feel that you can look upon me
erent tastes, different interests, differ
ent habits, formed vide gulf, which
there was no keen desire on either side
to bridge over, nor was Leonard desir-
GUS of promoting friendship which might
involve painful complications both for him
and for his wife, who could only suffer at
any explanation of the former relations be-
tween him and Miss Marvel Meantime he
saw Sydonie often; he came to London every
day to his club or to the British Museum,
as Beatrice quite understood, and as was
the case-only his club was within half
hours walk of Sydonie's studio, and many
of the hours he spent in the reading room
Of the Museum were employed in looking