Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1892-05-13
A LITTLE IRISH GIRL.
by "T'he Duchess.o

tnluS III Hcr idCc,
tul, troubled, prevents him.
LET me tell you Something" says
she, that, though we are engaged,
Sir Ralph never once called me that"
N"Called you whatp"
Darling"
..Oh. he's fool! says Mr.. Eyre,
with conviction. but do you under
stand, darlingp If l speak to your
father with your permission, it means
that. if / succeed with him. you will
marry me-
"Does it?' says she. with a sigh.
"Well," sinking into a chair, aud
clasping her knees with her slim
fingers, ''you won't succeed; father will
never give in."
"It certainly couldn't If were Ankle
tells inferior" says the young man
Iudicially; "but my prospects are as
good as his any day"
II don't care about prospects" says
Miss McDermot; what want is to
feel free. l can't bear being ordered
to do things You said you could
Imagine a girl being told to marry
man, but that you could not imagine
girl doing it. You remember?"
against her will"
''Oh! that's the same thing" says
she. IF she wanted to marry him,
she wouldn want to be ordered to do
it.
''True," says he.
ITO be ordered to do thing is at
once to want not to do it. That is
true also. isn't it?" says she.
Nothing truer."
"Well, you tho rght me weak and
detestable when | told you L had
promised to marry Sir Ralph"
II thought 'hen''-di tinctly-'just
what l think now, that no woman
should MARI any man unless she
loved him. 1t is an ipjustics both to
him and to herse I; and you-you don
care for Ankefel."
81 have Id you that hate him."
says she, making no direct answer;
but il l were to break with him!
You" lifting her eyes to his, 'you
don't know father: he-I do It really
koow via would happen. if he
heard l did not wanG to marry Sir
Ralph."
"Why. Your marriage with me, that
is the first thing that would happen
with smile. He takes her hands
and carries en- t. his lips. II love
You. You know that. Dulcje. d.n't
you. You do know it?"
''Oh, yes! | know it." says she. with
a quick. 10 e sigh, and drop of her
pr tty head.
This ca m acknowledgment of his
pas ion for her strikes Eyr, with
SORT OF sho k. Involuntary he
glanc - at her; and an examination of
that lovely face d sarms unkind criti-
cism. The poor child is so unhappy
that she has forgotten to dissemblc.
Girls of the sort he has been accus-
toned to meet in to Vn and fashion
able country houses, would have pre-
ten ed to doubt hi. love with II view
to stronger expression Of it.; but this
poor Ii tie q is too hardly pressed
by eli; cumstances, and is too alto
gether CHI ld of nature, to hide her
honest belief. 81 much tn better.
And what a charming little head !, i,
bent like that, with the soft, sum-,
nut-brown curls wandering over the
broad forehead. and the delicate con-
tour of che k and chin laid barrel
W. at one among all these pol shed
women of the word Of whom I has
just now ought cou compare in
grace and breeiin with this sweet
perfect flower OF CO ntry yOuthp
II may speak to your father, thenP"
says he.
"Ehp" says s. e, as if rousing out of
n re ere; and then. Eyes. yesn-
feverishly -'.do. The sooner 1 can
el that he ana are separated for
ever, the better" This outburst, in
coherent as it is. has evidently some
o. do x.y;t ha INT
VIII n she had fallen.
'.You mean Anketell?" says Eyre,
watch ng her.
Yes" nod ing her head with d.
rm,na TO-: 81 have been thinking,
and it seems to me he wants me quite
as tile as want him. Let him 20.
then"
''By all mea s."
you think"- cautiously" las do
don't you9--tl re uuesn't cue r
me eitherp" II have never tn ugh
about h M. If ,oI thought of him as
lit as l do, it woul.. be bette. for
YOU"
"Ah! yes. Bat have old you how
hard it is not to the mi d dwell on
the people who rment one most"
She ,tops and looks searchingly ut
him. 'Do you KNOW" says she slowly,
II ave come 10 the conviction that
he la es M :"
"He's brute e. ough for an thing, in
M opinion.
'And that Re wou d be glad 10 know
our engagement at an end"
'Wey. if so,' says he joyously. "our
task half accomplished. Why not
let me speak to him. in casual sort
of way, you know. not mentioning
ANYTHING exactly, but
mo. / forbid you to do that" says
she, almost fercely. "Speak to father
il YOU will, but not to him"
Il see. am sorry, darling, / sug-
gested it. or course you would not
care to appeal TO him in any way.
Not that meant nything like appeal
ing; thought only OF giving him
loophole OF escape"
''Escape?"
From this foolish engagement be-
tween you and him, where love has no
part on either side"