New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-01-10

relative, is the only real friend have III tho
Not quite You promised you would look
'PoiI BEG YOUR pardon so | did. But Mr.. Bur
ton is very old friend, while You are
| A comparatively young one, SAID, gathering
courage from her hesitation.
d" | was not going to say quite thaI she IT,
| piled =" was thinking not so much oil age a.
of length of acquaintance have known MI
! burton n much longer time than | have y0n
| This beating about the bush seemed TO be re.
! moving me further aud further from the poln'
! which ! wanted to reach. The minutes were
| passng and the old lawyer might he back before
could unburden my heart of the load which OPP
pressed it. SO made up my mind to take more
Miss Lee I said, II am an awkward
blunderer and cannot get out what really want
! to say | hope you won't he offended If l tell
you that ! have yenturcd TO aspire to more than
| your frendship-that in short ! continued hur,
redlv and nervously should esteem myself
the happiest of men if you would consent to be
my wife )"
Was she mortally offended? | could not tell
She remained silent and gave no sign
Forgive me, | said, and end my suspense
Then she looked up. Her eyes gstened with
moisture. -.
she said | feel that yOu have done me an honor
and thank you. But was not at all prepared
for this, and do not know how, 10 answer you.
| hope you Will believe me Whcn assure you thao
| would not willingly give you pam.
My heart sank at those words
know YOU would not | replied: but do
let me know the worst. Perhaps your hand is
already engaged ?'
No" she said, il is not
" Nor your affections
Neither. The thought Of marriage-at least
as a possibility In my own case-never occurred
10 me The stain and mystery hanging over my
parentage | always looked upon a. an lnsuperabe
bar. The stain is now removed and the mystery
rnI hut thn faaltn M
and without which no woman should givr her
hand in marriage. are. | am afraid dead through
long repression. If | thought II right 10 marry,
there is no man know TO whom | would more
willingly entrust my happiness than 10 yourself;
butt pains me 10 say tit cannot be-
She held out her hand 10 me. while the tears
which had been long gathering In her eyes, rolled
down her cheeks.
What remains will relate very briefly. Miss
Lee upon that OCCASION refused me-very gently
and feelngly, but still decidedly. She was firm
upon another point also she would not accept a
penny more than the amount which she considered
her share of the money left by the man who had
passed himself of az her father.
Mr. BurtOns arguments upon thr point had no
more effect upon her than mine The d"ceased's
wishes little as he deserved it. werS carried QUO
10 the letter. / that hs was dlfy cremated,
and pocketcd the 1000 recommends for this
which he had bcqucatlcd 20 me Tho mystery at
taching TO his identity did not make public.
To have done 50 would have answered no useful
purpose aud might have done harm in more ways
than one.
Nothing moro was heard Of the paragraph in the
Australian paper which had so alarmed the
wretched mans guilty conscience
To end nv story, have only to add that Miss
Lees rrfusar was not final By degrees her reso-
luton never 10 marry was overcome by my per-
severance. The esteem and friendship which she
always entertained for me gradually developed
into q warmer feeling, and i'm about a years time
she accepted me rs her hisband.-liIugh MacCol,
in Murray's Magazine.