Capital journal. (Salem, Or.) 1893-1895, 1893-09-22

!; me to say that. But had to make
some shift to get her eyes off me
while l stumbled into the drawing
room and groped my way to an arm
chair
Now for it, thought.
Very likely sou don't enter into
my state of mind-how should your
l knew perfectly that Lucy took this
man for Bedford, who was one of my
best friends. Indeed she had seen
me, so to say, parade my affection
by walking arm in arm-she could
not have been Nther than gracious to
him. Yet, you see, l was concen-
trated on my one idea She must
spare me the pain and humiliation of
telling her that was blind. Good
heavensl l thought, surely she might
have apprehended from my voice or
from my look that 1 needed her con-
ISOLATION.
was raging against her slowness
to observe (she tells me now that j
had looked so distracted in the morn
ing that there was not much change
apparently. And there was the devil
in me prompting me to think that
but for this mans good looks she
would have been forced to notice my
distress. / was determined not to
ask her pity. All wish to spare her
a shock had gone clean from me,
She came in and threw herself
down on the sofa, exhausted with
the heat.
"Well, " she said, II must say you
never prepared me for such fine
young me:s. Perfectly my ideal. But
isn't he surprisingly shy2"
Certainly, replied, ''he left you
to make the running"
said it with laugh, know, but
it was not pleasantly said. She looked
at me then, suppose, for the first
time.
"Why, what is the matter9 You
are as white as sheet"
"Oh, it's nothing" / said. THAT
place was overpowering."
Lucy asked me to open the win
dow. l had not reckoned on that.
But knew there was an open space
from the chair l sat in across the
room, so rose and walked forward
as confidently as could. Unluckily,
there was one of these little toy ta-
bles in the way. l tripped over it
and nearly fell.
"Bless the boyp Lucy cried out.
why, what is the mattera You
nearly carried away lamppost on
the way home, and now you are
breaking the furniture"
turned round and said with all the
, sting 1 could put into my voice;
my dear child, if I am suffering
for having accompanied you to your
devotions, is that reason you should
snap at mel"
was only sorry could not think
, of something memorably savage to
say. But the tone was enough.
heard her turn ON the sofa and begin
to sob. Then a great remorse seized
+ me. l forgot myself and made to 60
to her But in the stumble l had
lost my bearings, so I walked crash
, into the table and instinctively put
, out my hand to feel my way,
Lucy saw me- She sprang up and
screamed and caught me in her arms
, "Oh, what is it2 What is it2"
She drew me to the sofa and held
, me there. Say it isn't that-not
. that" she was sobbing out.
The hardness in my heart was
melting like ice, and there was {
a great lump in my throat. But the
devil In me made one last effort. ''SC
you have found me out at last
! Really handsome young man is
capital screenp
= | felt her finch, but she drew my
/, head closer to her, for all could say
"Oh, my poor boy, my poor boy, an(
y | never guessed"
! struggled to get free, butin a mo
ment / broke down, and then wa
crying like a child, sobbing agains
, her throbbing breast.
1t was she who recovered first
/, Then learned what it was to have 1
wife who cared for you. ] had nevel
a been nursed or taken care of since
was a boy, and of US two / had beer
!. always the self reliant one. But tina
. night / slept while she watched be
side me. She read my heart to m'
q as if it had been a book-all the olC
! quarrels, the old fancied grievances
1 and the shutting up OF my hear
against her-apd blamed herself
poor soul, for dullness because sh'
: had not sooner understood it. wa
/ almost happy before slept tina
r night.
Z Next day we saw the doctor. HI
. tried some severe tests on my eye
that hurt me, but there was come
thing in the tone Of his question:
, that could not understand. WheI
+ he told me that there was hope
might recover from the shock, wa
=. perfectly certain he did not meaI
a lust what he said, and told him b