The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1889-02-20

ASKED me Dy NIllb TIgHl 4 lnleFIeEGu.
Il will tell you, said |, IF you have
enough gentlemanly feeling to leave my
apartment, and win speak with me. in
the open air. -
He retreated, l bolted the window,
and still keeping a firm hold on the
| trembling girl, met him outside the
front door. 1t certainly was the oldest
| place for such a scene; but | did not
wish to admit him inside the house. ;
Nov, Miss Pryor, said he impera-
! lively, but still politely-.a LePoer could
not be otherwise-''will you be so kind
as to relinquish that young lady, who
has cOnfded herself to my care, and in
tends honoring me with her hand?"
rs that true, Zillah? DO you love
this man, and voluntarily intend to
marry him2" 10 /.
Yes, if you will let me, Miss Pryor.
4 lie told me you would be so pleased.t
lie promises always TO be kind to me,
and never let me work. Please don't
be angry with me, dear Miss Pryor.
Oh, do let me marry my cousjnF'
Listen to me a few minutes; Lillah,0
said !, land you shall choose.n And
then / told her in as few words as I
could, what her position was-how that
1t had been concealed from her that she
her, her cousin Augustus would be
master over all her wealth. So un-.
| worldly was she. that | think the girl
! herself hardly understood me; but the
| lieutenant was furious. ~ va
= 1t is all q lie-an infamous cheatln
| he cried Don't believe it, Zillahl
/ Don't be frightened, little fool l
! promised to marry You, and, by HeaY-i
enl marry you willr2 Il.
Lieutenant lie Poer," said | very
quietly, ''that may not be quite so easy
as you think. However, do not pre-
vent you, as indeed have no right, l
only ask my dear child Zillah here to
| grant me one favor, as for the sake of
my love to her'-there Zillah sobbed)-
II doubt not she Will: namely, that she
should do as every other young woman
of common sense and delicacy would
| do, and wait until tomorrow, to ask
! the consent of one who viii then prob
ably be here, If be is not already ar
riyed-her guardian, Mr. Andrew Suth-
erland."
Lieutenant Augustus burst out with
an oath, probably very mild in the
mess-room, but very shocking here to,
two women's ears. Zillah crept farther
from him and nearer to me. ~
''I'll not be cheated sol" stormed he,
Come, child, you'll trust your cousin2
You'll come away to-night?o -and he
tried to lift her on the car, which had
apprenticeship Irish driver evidently
much enjoying the scene. .,,
mo, cousin; not tonight said the
girl, resisting. I'D rather wait and
have Miss Pryor with me, and proper
trademarks, and wedding-dress, and
all that-that is, if marry you at all,
which i wont unless Miss Pryor thinks
you will be kind to me. So goodbye
till tomorrow, cousin. !"
He was so enraged by this time that
he tried forcibly to drag her on the car.
But wound my arms round my dear
child's waist and shrieked for help.
Faith, sir,p said the sturdy Irish
man, interfering, half in amusement,
half in indignation, ''ye'd betther lave
the women alone. I'd rather not med
die with an abduetion.3' Gs#.5aiia 81
So Zillah was set free from the lieu
tenants grasp, for, as said before, a
scoundrel is often great coward.
drew the trembling and terrified girl /
into the house--he following with q
storm of oaths and threatenings. At
last forcibly shut the door upon him, 4
and bolted him out. Whether this in
dignity was too much for the yalorous
soldier, or whether he felt sure that all
chance was over, / know not; but when
l looked out ten minutes after the coast
was clear. took my ei1'ng, WrOnged,
yet still more wronged than erring
child into my bosom, and thanked
Heaven she was saved.
The next morning Mr.. Sutherland ar
rived
After this nights events have little
to say, or rather prefer to say but lit
tie, of what passed during the remain
der of that summer. We all Travelled |
to England together, going round by |
Yorkshire In order to leave Mr.. Ie- |
Peers daughters at their own home.
This was Mr.. Sutherland's kind plan,
that the two girls might be kept in ig- |
norance of the whole affair, and espec-
tally of their fathers ill-deeds. What |
they suspected | know not; they were
merely told that il was the desire of |
Zillah's guardian to take her and her |
goVerness home with him.
So we parted at Halifax and | never |
saw any of the family again. | had no |
scruples about thus quitting them, as l. |
found out from Mr.. Sutherland that / |
mad been engaged solely as goyernesS
to his ward, and that he had himself
paid my salary in advance; the whole |
of which, in some way or other had
been intercepted by Mr.. LIE Poer. The
money of course was gone; but he had |
written to me with each remittance,
and thus | had lost his letters. That
was hardl
also found out, with great joy and
comfort, that my Zillah was truly Iii |
lah LIE Poer-her fathers legitimate
daughter and heiress. All had been
led to believe was cruel and wicked
lie, The whole history. Of her father
and mother was one OF these family
tragedies. only too frequent, which, the
actors in them being dead, are best for
gotten. shall not revive the tale.
In late autumn Mr.. Sutherland sailed
for India. Before he quilted England
he made me sole guardian in bis stead
over Zlllah lie Poer, assigning for her a
handsome maintenance. lie said he
hoped we should all live happily togeth-
er-she, my mother and I--until he
came back. He spent short time with 1
us all mt his country seat--a time
which, looking back upon, seems in its
eight days like eight separate years.
j ought to speak of Zillah, the I'M
fates. She remained still and silent as
ever--dull, grieved, Inundated. told
her gradually and gently the whole
truth, and explained from how much |
she had been saved. She seemed CRATE
full and penitent; it was clear that her
heart had never been touched by love;
she was yet a mere child. The only |
evidence of w0manly shame she gave
was in keeping entirely out of her |
guardians way; nor did he take much |
notice of her except in reproducing him |
self to me with being neglectful of his
charge; but he had so thoroughly trust
ed in the girls uncle as being her best |
protector.
The only remark he ever made on I'll |
lah's personal self was that she had |
beautiful eyes, adding, with u half sigh,
THAT he liked dark Oriental eyes"
One day his mother told me something
which explained this. She said he had
been engaged to young lady in India, |
who ON the eve of their marriage had
died. He had never cared much for
woman's society since, and his mother
thought would probably never marry.
After his departure learned the whole
story. My heart bled over every pang |
he had suffered; he was so good and
noble man. And when i knew about
his indifference to all women, felt the