The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1888-03-29

| II do not ask your answer now, ne s6lu
| gravely. God forbid Perhaps I shouiC
not have spoken SO soon You know com
paratiYely nothing of me save that have
been in business and met with heavy losses
But let me say this. Tomorrow 1 go bacl
to the world Six months hence 1 will asl
your answer II you say, come-that i
enough. Shall it be so!''
There was silence in the room for a mo
ment Ethring fanc;ed he could her tn,
quickened beating of the young girls hear
as she stood motionless before him in tn,
half darkness
sIt shall be as you wish,n she said Ant
softly Withdrawing her hands from his clasI
she glided away
Lii was not one to wear her heart upoI
her sleeve She took up her burden of duty
as Of yore, but as the days went by after
! EEhring had gone. Lii was vaguely con
scious that something was missing out o.
her life Yet at the same time it was al
though life itself was taking on new bright
ness and beauty. As she sat at the old piano
in the twilight, sometimes her lips would
shape into the tender smile which is the re-
| fiex of happy thoughts And then from the
white keys came improvisations of wonder.
| full sweetness and beauty.
Before leaving her Ethring had spoker
briefly OF Rose, the orig nal of the photo.
| graph she had seen. His deceased fathel
had been anxious that Ethring should
marry her To unite the two estates and
| drawn from him half promise that he woulG
think of it" But the more he thought
OF it, the more distasteful the idea To Rose
| herself it did not seem TO matter much
| either way. A rich marriage was the desire
of her heart-love quite a secondary con-
| sideration
Z am entirely alone in the world now,
with no one to please but myself l have
| written Miss Anstrath to consider herself
| free to marry the man of her choice" he
said That was all
April and Hay with bud and promise
gave way TO their sister months of blossoms
and fulfillment One more month and-heI
letter would come?
| It was Mrs Merrich, the rector's wife
! who handed her the New YORK paper con-
| tanning a rather extended notice of the
marriage of Robert T. Ethring, the young
millionaire broker, whose successful recouI
from his tremendous losses last winter will
| be remembered. to Mrs Rose Ansrath, the
charming society belle.
80 strange he shouldn't have sent you
cards, dear" she said, innocently. And Lii
who had summoned all her pride and cour-
age, very quietly replied that it was per
haps an oversight And having completed
her neighborly call, went home
When LII got to her room and had locked
! herself in she did not cry or faint She
came from different stock. LII only threw
off her hat and fell on her knees by the
bedside, burying her white face in he1
hands The agonizing cry which went UP
to Heaven was only intelligible to Him
whose ear is always open
little paler-a little more quiet, Lii
went about the everyday, common place
paths of life which must be taken up
whether the heart carry its direct ache per-
petually with it or not For the blow she
had received served first 10 show the
strength and depth of a love now remain
ing only to be crushed out
One pang was still to be added Six
months from the time of E5hr!ng's depart
ure came a letter-containing the delayed
cards, rs LII al knew by the size, shape
and feeling of this missive. This she at
once reinc osed to the printed address on
the corner of the envelope, adding merely
these words:
Il return your letter and contents with
out opening. Any further communication
VI w HdleNcr NATURE IEOul you, MI LGIIlL5,
will meet with like return.
LILLIAN STANFoRTH"
Now, on the evening when ElEring had
declared mis- love- Jack, who had entered
the room unobserved, heard a goodly share
of what was going on, before he had pres
ence of mind enough to beat a noiseless re-
treat.
He was an honorable, manly boy, and
kept his knowledge to himself. That Eth
ring had written Lill at the expiration of
the appointed time filed his heart with
exultation. But when he knew she had re-
turned the letter unopened, Jack felt that
something was wrong.
What, he had no conception until late in
the following winter. Bobby Merrick hap
pened in conversation TO speak OF Mr.
Ethring's marriage. And being a nasty sort
of boy, alluded in taunUing sort of way to
the fact that folks said Lii Stanforth was
bre kim her heart over it"
am happy to say that Jack administered
q .irashing then and there to young Nerrick
w-ich he remembered for many day. And