Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1891-06-27

upon knowing what it is"
"oh, julius, don't be angry she
moaned, pitifully. perhaps may die,
and then you can marry Magdalene.
"What upon earth are you talking
about1 'Magdalenc,' Who is Mag
dalene."
'The woman you love. l am sorry.
Julius, that have stood in the way so
long. 1t would have been better to have
been frank with me and told NE the
truth before we were married"
''she is insane thought poor julius,
| bursting into a cold sweat of horror;
"she has been nursing some delusion till
it has turned her brain and made her
monomanlacr"
All anger was gone from his voice as
| he bent low over his wife
Darling, he said, ''do not think of
| such things. You cannot doubt nv love
| for you."
The blue eyes that had grown din
with excessive weeping searched his face
eagerly. Then, as if nerved to desper-
ate effort Isaura took a folded paper
| from the drawer of table beside her
bed and handed it to her husband
''Rcad that, she said. II found it in
the room upstairs that you told me was
your room while your parents lived. 1t
was in the drawer of bureau there,
with other papers. You told me might
overhaul anything l pleased, and read
that
Wonderingly, Julius opened the paper,
while Isaura scanned his face, watching
for the confusion of detected guilt. To
utter amaZement, julius, after reading
the paper, burst into a fit of laughter
clear, ringing and hearty.
ooh, Isaura," he cried, when he
could catch his breath, ''the sins of my
youth are being visited upon my head
with vengeance. Oh, it is too good -
And another paroxysm Of mirth fol-
lowed.
II don't see anything funny about it,
said 1saura, crimsoning with anger
Julius read aloud, with mock en-
phasis:
"DEAP DICK: You utterly mistake both
my heart and principle if you imagine foi
one moment that l will avail myself of th
pitiful excuse Of isaura's loss of fortune t.
break our engagement. Dearly as | low,
Magdalene, bitterly as | regret the tie thai
binds NE, | will never, never so dissrac
my manhood as to desert the fond heart tha
loves me.
''Isaura knows nothing of my mad infat-
uation for your sister Magdalene, my hope
less love for one | may never seek to win
She trusts the professions Of love | made be
fore knew the secret of my heart Sh
loves me. And l who sought her whe,
! she was a supposed heiress, consider 1t
point of honor to keep my faith with her
'Guard my secret from your too fasciu
ating sister, from my promised wife
and"
Here the paper WAS torn and the con.
fdences Of the lover brought to an ah-
rupt conclusion.
ooh, Tsaura, aid TuIics, who hat
cen interrupted by frequent spasms o
aueiter, shave you really been irett.ne
yourself sick over this balderdash." :
Then, looking into the pale, wan f.ce
julius became grave again.
"If you had only lool1ed further
dear, ne sad, "you would have dis
covered page after page of just sucf
stuff. For you must know that one o
the delusions of my youth was settled
conviction that l was great literar,
genius, Wilkie Collins and Charlie
Dickens of America, born to astonlsl
the world And this is part Of my first
last and only novel.
ssOh, julius Isaura gasped. q
T Thought was sure
7 There, don't cry, dove; don't, Neve
: doubt me again, dear. l cannot imagin
l., now how you could have taken this for
: renuine letter. I never knew a Dick 0
Nagdalene."
n '.How did know that2 And Isaura
e such very singular name. :
5 $50 it IS. Bat you see, dear, JUS
| about that time this singular name stoo'
IN ny heart for all that was charming
Y good and lovable in womankind. | wa
desperately in love with an Isaura, an
is as my heroine was to embody all fema
:, perfection, gave her the name Of II
d woman who had full possession of II
; I heart
# "And then the loss of fortuae-n
aunt, you know"
g ''Bless me, yes. I forgot all sbog
" that It does look oddly like truth, 10
et don't itl Bat If you will explore Il
,f.l drawer still further you will hno
o.,.-,fo o< b.r1 -.j ,,ae-aS exrlarata--