The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1889-02-23

our intimacy had ripened at fine pace
during the three weeks of my holiday, ant
that we understood each other very thor
oughly.
An hour later We set off-pale, tired
anxious Margaret, and her LOGGER
Her husbands words had struck me not
little:
"When | am like this =
He was, then, often like that; often in
pain, in WEAKNESS; forced to abide in the
darkness that could alone heal With
these thoughts in my heart, paced slowly
along in silence by the side of the woman
whose simple gray bonnet framed her
white, patient face, as the calyx frames the
flower; and then-I hardly know how, but
all at once-as the result, l imagine, of
some impulsive hot words of sympathy on
my part, we seemed to be all at once
plunged ''in medals res, and the story of
two lives was unfolded before me as book
might open.
"when 1 first knew him years ago he
was such a beautiful, bright creature, 1.-THE
and active, full of life and hope and fervor.
1t seemed to him so easy and so certain to
do great things in the world. He was just
called to the bar. Singularly without near
relatives; but the very happiest, sunniest,
brightest-hearted creature you can well
think of. We soon became great friends,
and he used to chatter to me of all his
hopes, his castle building, his noble, chiv-
alrous ideas-somewhat Utopian fear me
of how he should be ever the defender
of the weak, the wronged, the oppressed.
was so much the elder, that it seemed
natural and quite possible to be-friends,
and nothing more"
So far, Margaret gotin her history, when
| broke in
"And then-he fell in love with you p
She shook her head.
mo, that expression won't fit is too
rash, too unadyised, too sudden. Say he
grew to love me- that suits the case better.
He did not mean it; | am sure then
after a pause, neither did l."
aHe could not help it." spoke with a
conviction that defied contradiction.
So she let me have my way.
4 faint flush like the delicate pink that
lines the sea-shell rose To her cheeks, SEEM
ing to smooth out the lines of care and
thought, and to give her back the gift of
youth for the moment.
eIsuppose not; neither could |; but, for
all that, when he told me-when he asked
me to be his wife, | said it could not be.
.sYou trsmpled on your own heart-and
his ?"
AYES" she said, quietly. Three times
overland then--he went Then came a
heavy, long-drawn sigh.
expect thai had been a bad time to live
through
II told him that the difference was too
great; that time would bring it out That
for him to marry me would be mistake.
sHe did not believe you.
"No, not a. the time; but he might have
come to do 50. | was right to decide as |
did
Perhaps sou were.
I had to make this admission because
she was 20 true herself you could not even
eauivocate TO her, but | made it unwill-
iugly.
But then, you see, things changed. Mr..
AIlardyse, you have been so good to us;
YOU have grown 50 dear TO both Of US; you
seem so ike an old, old friend that should
ike to tell you the rest; but it is so hard to
tell.
kept silence; knew that, just then,
any words would hurt her more than none.
"Some time after, when he and | seemed
to have drited quite apart, | met man
who knew him and he told me-what you
have seen.
That Ruthyen was blind ?"
AYES; that no one quite understood the
case-they don't now, you knOw-he had
these terrible attacks of pain, and grad
ually his sight went; first it grew misty
then more dim, then dark. Ii was terri
bic to me to hear it. 1t seemed too piteoui
70 be borne. But none of US can do Othe
than lie down under the inevitable-hght
ing is no use. Thought over it all, prayed
wrestled with myself, and then-l-wen
to him
Once more the warm color rose to tn
very ripples of her hair. Deeper this tim
was that rosy food of beautiful shame thai
before. We were both silent a while
1 The river, glinting in the evening sunshine
was smooth as glass in the still air; the Ia
spears of the purple loosestrife, mirrored i
the water, scarcely stirred-the current wa
so still. Now and then handy coot sli'
ont from the osiers aud darted across to tn
reeds on the opposite bank, or red-brow
water rat set sail from his hole on one banl
to that of friend on the other. \ thrus
laughed in the trees, and nimble httl
cole tit ran twittering up the boie OF
willow.
How fair. how beautiful it all was--i
such strange contrast to the blighted
broken life of the man whose story l ha
Just heard 1t was my companion VIII
broke the long silence
$50. after all, ours was what We call her
an Ann Hathaway courtship. You see
in the Midlands, where every flower an
old custom seems eulled from Shakespeare
pages-which is another way of sayin
that his hand gathered and set them Their
every one is familiar with his life an
savings. so | may say that, like him, m