The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898, 1891-01-09
NO ]
40 relief. They only serve to q


untii-one day comes the end. We.
of her gloom and tears he speakst
sharp reproaehes, and they part
bitter anger. He goes of to the ei
and she sits nursing her dull hea
ache all day long.
Evening comes, but he does not
turn. She watches and listens, but
does not come. She will not zJks
her fast or qneneh ner thiras
does not come. She hears
come laundering in and
his footstep. but she hears
Qu;eter and quieter it gr
waits for the midnight trl
watches at the gate, watches
as far as she can see in the clo
mosphere.
She whispers his name over
over, s.Francis. Francistn and pI
with him to come to her once m
Il will never speak impatientiy ag
never weary you, if you viii o.
come, she SAYS Only come, Franc
my love. my allt'
There is great agony in he< err
but he does not come The last trail
is in. There are no mcxG trains I'll
morning. Why does not the m0rnine
come? Oh. why? She filings herseL
upon the earth and groFels in her
terror and suspense. Francis, my
love, my loyes Only come back 10 7
nei''
And dawn breaks and the sun is<
risen. and happy day smiles upon the
earth. But he has not returned.
The servant goes about the house
singing careless song. Does the SER
want know the mistress agony?
Toward noon the servant goes down Z
to the village postoffice and presently
returns with letter.
s.Give it TO me, the mistress SAYS,
her face whittier than the white sails on
the distant water.
She is cold and dead at heart She
knows his handwriting. She must
read and-live or die.
The words must burn through her
eyes and fire her brain. Yet she does
not cry out or fall swooning. She
only reads and reads again his cold
farewell
Better for rs to part at oIlcezzz.-s-
We have made a mistake Before
reading this you viii have heard OF
your husbands suicide. You drove
you and you deceived him. We might
live on together even now, when love
is dead. but you could hardly expect
me to respect you, knowing your crime
towards him. For my part / am
heartily sorry
The servant had gone away, and the
woman who read this fell down on her
| face upon the floor.
..Godr' she cried husIflv. ssnly crimei
He told me what to do. He urged me
he implored. 1t was for his sake
that sinned. and now he turns to
| taunt mel"
She had cried her last strength of
| passion out with these few husky
words. Now she lay silent for q
time. It was the end. She saw that
his love was dead and he could not re-
/ spect her. She would not have him
come back to her now, not f04. all
| wealth of the universe. She
not have him back But how
| without him? How TO live, Z
| to breathe? How to keep fron
/ ing TO heaven to let her die?
| Francis loved her no fougEr.s
| end had come. It was Nemesis -
had wronged her husbands; that hIls
bands death avenged the wrong. All
was over. and welcome death at any
| hour.
The afternoon had dragged to its
| close: the sun had set, and soft breeze
| stirred me glorious trees IN the road
| Twilight deepened-
A slender form went out of the house,
| and down the path. and through the
| gate She did not look back, though
| she knew she was going out for ever.
| She did not turn her white pinched
face upward for any starlight TO bless.
She walked with head bent down, sold
as if half dead already.
Sometimes she said over to herself
her name. sIrene," and his name,
.sFrancis.n
Dusk was fully come as she left the
road and went slowly down the rail-
road track towards the dark shadow
of the deep cut.
Into the shadow she passed slowly,
resolutely. untremblingly.
The train sped swiftly along. One
man sat with head thrown baek and
eyes fixed upon the ear-Iamps.
1T is quite dark by this tinse.lls lse
said. 81 wonder if she -is lonely. i.
wonder If she has cried much, ard Il
she is wishing fer re to come new
| shouldn't have wristen that letter.
Bat she'll forgive me. Nos was
brute. | suppose. Still she
made me so mad And that inferna
suicide. She loved me ver
much; she must have loved me to
with me. Well, its all over no
He's dead. Wen marry and she'll
over shedding tears and mopif
She'll get over it when her health
better. =. | wish hadn't wrif
that letter. I'll not do it again.
must have loved me very much.
don't suppose. in her place, I'd hs
madeleine sacrifice. And she's
very true and good to me.
There was queer Vibration
car. He stopped thinking and
The train was coming to an
STOP This was not a station.
were not yet at Westfeld. Has
thing happened-any accident?
The train had come to full
1t was backing up now quite sioS
He thought he would go out
platform and see what the trout
. or had been.
He shivered little atwhat he
Someone walking upon the tr
been struck and killed.
By-and-by. after consideralA
he saw them lifting white
carrying it upon a stretcher.
They took it into the gu&s
He hurried forward from his
as the train began slowly To
/ ward.
And now he Shuddered