The Red Cloud chief., 1889-09-06

she - right. for il Is said that sublime 70
lationship recognizes no barrier Of circum'
stance.
Lady Percival was supremacy happy dur.
ing my visit at the hall, 1t least, but then il
was the first year Of her married life, and
every n is supposed to find She matri.
monial alliance pleasant enough for that
length Of time. But ! never had the pleas.
ure Of seeing my friend after I parted from
her at the end Of tho long emu Of elms,
where she put her jeweled arms about my
neck and babe me ''come again"
1t was this side Of that sffectiopAte leave
taking that all the beauty and sweetness
faded from Lady Percival's life and the
curses fell. I shudder Involuntary ~
call to mind the story Of the estrange-
ment, broken hearts. Grape, tears and male.
diction.
There comes q sense Of sufIocation and
dimness of vision a I 60 back across the
intervening years, calling up the memories
binding me to the dead.
Lady Percival has been dead several
years, and the proud Miriam was orphaned
. decade later by the decease Of the austere
father, and last male descendant Of the
Percival house. After his tragical end the
spiritual manifestations began, which have
been asource ofmysterious speculation ever
since to those acquainted with tho detailed
disclosures.
Tomorrow I shall set out for the Hall,
which only remember for ito elegance - Q
ft setting for the almost divine beauty Of
my dear dead friend, asI call her 70 mind.
Yes. / b q know for myself II these un-
cauny tales be true. One bright CLEAN Of
hope in regard to my visit Of commission
b that the old h~ousekecper, Peggy Clark
son and her husband, are yet occupying the
servants quarters At the Hall. remember
her odd but honest vlsage, and II she 10.
members me - kindly q lido her, I shall
be well taken care Of, at any rate. She was
once very fond Of me- as tine Leddy's guest"
and l Am In hope concerning Airiam's por-
trait.
Poor Miriam, in the far-away cottage Ut
Bayvlewl fancy she is ~promensding sor-
rowfully and alone, among the late lilies,
and thinking-of me.
lam back again in Cousin Gladys bright
little cottage home. I have been several
miles into the country since I sat In this
uncovered porch and listened to the re
cital Of countryside episodes. And I have
met with such strange experiences, and
listened to such Q ~bl0od-curdlinG story, that
I Am half persuaded I have lost my iden-
tity. Some way I feel like crying out with
the old dame who took . nap IN the Kings
highway: "Lauk . mercy, its zone Of II"
We do sometimes have adventures that
leave rs in doubt Is to our individuality,
and to say that l am just waking up from
the nightmare Of the Heatherleigh visit
would be, perhaps, the correct statement to
make.
Yes, I have been there; the fine portrait
Of Miriam hanging in the little drawing
room yonder, and which Gladys adnires
very much, il q silent but magnificent
sponsor, not to be gainsayed BY any meana
And now, - my domestic COUSIN Is elbow
deep in the brewing business this hne morn.
ing, let me sit here, where the roses have
all fallen Of and been swept away BY the
autumn winds, and tell you tho story Of
Heatherleigh. win, however, preface the
story proper BY absorption of my visit and
the appearance Of tho Hall As it now stands,
knowing, as I do, that my friends tradition,
history and experiences would be unsatis-
fsctorily given without it.
It 10 fitting that the roses have fallen, and
that tho scurry1ng breeze tosses the dry al
der leaves into my lap. 1t al murmurs with
the tone Of the legend, voicing . volume Of
bitterness. And the old housckeeper told
me, too, that was why my Borrowing friend
over the sea was called Miriam. Because
her lot WIS n Of destined WOO tho chris
tening was Miriam-bitterness. I confess
that such things rising before N bring the
question Of Hamlet out in vivid coloring, -
we watch the merciless wheel Of fortune
crush out the beauty and Joy Of life for
some, when the fault lies generations hack.
ITO IL CONTINUED