Little Falls transcript., 1886-07-23


at rest, ana that Il ss.,se 81 daty and
not of piieastrs prom ted the ample
details. heir e,IIaIity wac
painful; II seeined al itt the writer Was
anxious toS act Jul, tte the letter Of his
nhderst standing. She knew that the
letters were often written when Ne was
tired out. Why did he not put Of
writing, and taking advantage of her,
love, let her exercise her trust ia him?
Eagerly she scanned the pages TO find
the name OF her rival, and having
found it, would thoughtfully weigh ev-
cry word Of description, Of blame or
praise. .... gg5 s.-,. y. Z. =s55as= .S a..
When the lovers met, she question
ed him r1,ore closely than she had ever
done before. He was seemingly as fond
as ever; no endearine name, no accus-
toned caress, was forgotten. spoke
OF himself and his friends as freely as
usual, and all her questions were an
swered without q show Of reserve, Yet
the answers were slower, and his man
ner absent and thoughtful. -. For a
time she put it down to the absorbing
nature OF his pursuits; but little by
little a. belief that she was no longer
dearest crept into her heart, and would
not be dislodged, try, as she might.
She thought she was Jealous, and
struggled night and day against a fault
She dreaded above all others; then in
. paroxysm Of despair, she allowed
herself to be convinced OF what she
feared, and ,lovinghim deeply, prepared
to make the greatest sacrifice an un.
selfish woman can offer. He no longer
loved her; it was best he should be free.
When he had been with her last, he
had told her that his ensuing absence
must perforce be longer than usual,
and this she thought would be the
best time for her purpose.
"Dear Frank" :" she wrote at the end OF a
pitiiul little letter, II am going to ask you
not to come here next week This willsur
prise you, for in all my other letters have
told you that what most looked forward
to in life ~ your visits. But have been
thinking, dear that it will be best Tor us to
part forever L often ask myself five love one
another as much as we did, and am afraid
we do not. A loveless married life would
be too dreadful to live through. and dare
not risk it. It 10 better that the parting
should come through me. Do not fancy
that am reproaching you; I cannot, for
to me you are above reproach, above
blame. All feel is that your affection is
colder, 80 we had better part. God bless
you, Frank; can never tell how deeply I
have loved you. ELSIE"
Frank was almost stunned by the
receipt of this letter. He read it and
re-read it till every word seemed burnt
into his brain. That the girls love
for him was less, he did not believe;
he could read undiminished affection
IN the vague phraseology, in the stud
led carefulness to take equal blame on
herself. That she should be jealous,
was out OF the question; long years of
experience had taught him that this
was totally foreign to her trustful ma
ture. There was but one conclusion
to come to-. She had given him up be-
cause she thought his happiness in
volved. Yet she wished him to be
free: might it not be ungracious to re-
fuse to accept her gift?
Free! There was q terrible fascina.
tion in the sound. Be the bondage
ever so pleasant, bs it ever preferable
to liberty itself, the idea of freedom is
irresistibly alluring. If the same
bondage will bechosen again, there is
delight in the consciousness that it
wlllbe your own untrammelled choice.
Frank was aware OF wild exultation
when he realized the fact that he WAS
once more a. free agent. In the first
flush OF liberty, poor Elsie's imagef fed-
ed out OF sight, and that OF the siren
took it's place. Now, without wrong,
he MIGHT follow his inclinations. He
determined to write to Elsie, butknew
not what to say, and put it off till
the morrow.
There could be no harm in going to
the house OF his fascinator; it was
pleasant to think that he might now
speak, think, look, without any men,
tai reservation; there would be no
longer any need to watch his actions,
or to force back the words which
would tell her that she exercised g.
deadly power over him. The girl re-
ceived HIM with winning smile, yet,
when he touched her hand he did not
feel his brain throb or his blood rush
madly through his veins as he had ex-
pected. He bore his part through the
evening quietly, and owned that it was
pleasant one; still the flavor was not
what he had expected. He called to
mind that when he was abroad for the
first time, he had been served with a
peculiar dish, which he remembered,
and often lOnged for when unattaina-
BILE. After several years he had visit
ed the same cafe and ordered the same
dish. The same cook prepared it and
the same waiter served, it, but the
taste was not the same; expectation
had heightened the flavor, and the real
was interior to the ideal.
So it was with Frank. Before, when
the siren had seemed unattainable, he
had luxuriated il her beauty, admired
her grace and genius, and reyelled in
her wit; now, when he felt he might
call these his own, his eye began to de-
|tect deficiencies. The girl noted his
critical attitude. and tchafed at the
calmness Of his keen, watchful glance.
Where was the open admir- alton she
used to read in his eyes? yPiqued at
his indifference, she grew silent and ir-
ritable; and when he bade her farewell,
both We're conscious that an ideal had
bean shattered. II 'Nzzs
He buttoned his overcast and pre-
pared for long walk tO#the lonely
chambers where he lived the usual
careless, comfortless life Of q bachelor
whose purse is limited. All the way
home he submitted himself to a deep
and critical examination. He felt as
i he was sitting by the ashes of a fall.
ing fire which he had no means of re-
plenishing; the night was coming, and
he must sit in the cold. II passion
died out whore was he to look for the:
sympathy. the respect, thetrue friend
Illness which alone can supply it's place
10. married lifei Then he thought Of