The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1892-04-29

hess of an old man"
His. head fell forward on his arms.
and Harriet waited only long enough
To rcvercntly press her lips to the
snowy hair. Then she ~lidcd swiftly
out with her hands pressed tightly to
her throbbing temples, murmuring:
Il once thought that it was Il WON
ans hour of triumph when man told
her Of his love
SO Harriet wcpt over her second love
and turncd from him.
However, no one dreamed how her
heart arhcd aS she was saying good-bv
To group Of schoolmates. whca the
handsome young Grant Conway took
her hand, with the same ease and pur.
fricndlircss - nothing moe, nothing
lcSS-aS the rest \ travelling veil hid
Il very pale. tcar-Staincd fac, "a ih,
train drew away from the little collcrc
town, but twcnty-four Is an agc al
which woman IS strong. and none of
them guessed.
They marvclcd. though, A. two.
three years stole 10y, and still she h..d
all men Lack. II was her fault entire
~ that she was not married for her
quiet sweetness had a certain air oI
guarding about il which barred them
from the critical point.
Twcntv-scvcn, Her birthday to-mor-
row, and twcnty-sevcu. She tried to
smile a she leaned toward her mirror
and noted the gray hairs bcginningto bc
limited over her temples. but some way
she found instead that the whole
image was suddenly blurred. Turning,
she cropped ON hcT knees and buricl her
head IL her pillows. There il va, all
thought ovcr-thc boy and the old man
and the others. noble and true Ileu.
too. VINO might have loved her II she
had let thgm. She did not choDae
lonely cNi>teHcg: on the contrary. ans
shuldcrvd At the harrow, onc-sidcd iitc
that she was l'ving. I;ut still thcr.
ro-e before her that handsome, proud
face which ~E. loved bCtt.r p than all
the world. and she could not forget II.
She had seen him twice since they had
left school. and he had been gracefully
pleasant with her. but then he vT;., ju 4
as cordial with some Of his other old
time friends. and Lis cIon, frank at
tcntion made poor l!arrirt'> heart bleed
more than cold Indifference would have
done.
Why did she cherish such an empty
longing? Why could she not forget as
did the boy. whose three rompin- sons
she had fondlcd the other dag? Why.
rs. why could not she even bc h--.
dear DIR. Palmer, whose grave had
grown all sweet with fresh grasses
and white pau.iss that very spring?
And as she murmurcd over again the
little prayer whose pure simplicity she
had never outgrown. her Now | lay
me down to sleep became almost
pleading for the sleep which blcs>cs us
forever and forever.
The next day passed unevcntfully:
the usual amount Of presents and well
wishes. but still its sadness filled her
heart to ovcrfiowing. Life had become
Sorely serious 10 hcr-would II ever be
come >orcly useless?
1t was after nine. and fortunately
the last caller had left early, when
Nora appeared at the door and NUT
tered. as was her custom, an unintclli-
giblc name. Harriet turned mcchan-
ically. for she was weary. but the form
advancing from the hall made her
catch her breath. How handsome he
was, But she quickly recovered her
self, and tried 20 smile as she held ont
her hand.
Il am glad to see you, Mr. Conway"
YES, thank you, Harriet"
Harriet, His air of confidence startled
her and yet ovcrpowercd her. 50,
when he went on. calmly holding her
hand with a gentle, though not passion
ate pressure. she could only wait
Harriet. have come for you at last.
Has the waiting been long
Come for her? She could only trcm-
BILE. at which he smiled quietly and
calmly continued:
i could not speak to you sooner. for
had not my life settled. Now / am
certain as to my future and | have come
for you."
Not 4 word about love, not ques-
tion. not a sign of fear on his part,
And this was the way that she was 10
be woocd-she whom all the entrcaties
and avowals of youth and age could
not affect. Yet she wavered- She was
angry with her pride because it aid not
come To her aid, and yet she could not
even withdraw her hand. lie saw he
evidently understood for he quietly
took her other hand, hanging passiyely
at her side. and smilingly repeated:
Il have come for You, Harriet
What should she DO? Or better,
what could she do? Nothing, but
stand there till her lips began to quiyer
and the tears wclled up in her search
vorld-this man who knew 80 well his
powcr-bent down and kissed once her
upturncd face, and laughed:
There, Harriet, don't cry. II iS only
a man who has come for his vile.
Even the careSS, though, like all his
actions. the quintcsSence Of graceful
ness. only half fed the starved heart
The long, lonely years of loving and
longing won at last, and she bowed her
head and sobbed.
Don't you-love me-even lit
tle?"
Then he gathered her mp in his arms
and said in a low. hurt tone:
Did you think that / could ever mar
~ woman whom did not love more
than all else of this life?''
Thus the last lover had come, the
least passionate. the one who had
caused the most sorrow, and the one
who had filled her past years with bit
ter longing. And this was the one Of
them all that she chose. But, then,
women are mysteries, and maybe TO
no one so much as to therselves.-Chi-
cago News.
FACTS FOR THE RAiLROADER.
y LOCOMOTIVES strength equals nine
hundred horses.
II England locomotives have neither
bells. hcaGli-. -.htS nor ''cow-c:ttchcrs.'
The longest railway bridge span in
America is that at Poughllecpsic. y. y,
which is 5+S feet.