Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1893-08-16

I
himself at tho last hour. l went home
nv meeting with Arthur, but he was
sutl absent, and L was indignant.
'.Very we'll, said 1 to myself, ''if he
will not let me see hrm except in the
pr sence of servants, shall Keep
stale to tax about. 1t is strange thai
business should keep him out 50 late.
There must be some other attraction
l met Arthur Spencer often after
that, and In time began to seek
his society land 1 felt sure
lie sought mine), by going where
1 knew l should meet HIM. 1 did not
stop to analyze all this. 1 did not
think or care why it was that life had a
new zest for me, or why it was that
now looked forward to a reception
with pleasure, when 1 had 30 lately
considered everything of the kind as a
necessary evil. 1 only knew that
enjoyed this mans society. 1 was
proud when ne came to my side in
preference to others, and disappointed
when failed to see him. II l had
known then, as he told me afterward,
that l had never been forgotten, !
should have been more careful. II /
had known that since our parting he
had SO dallied with sin that he had no
scruples of conscience, l would have
shunned him from tho first. But my
worldly knowledge was not sufficient
to enable me to read tho motives OF
ono moro skilled in the arts and wiles
OF deception, and walked blindly on
in paths thst cunning hands had made
so pleasant, 1 knew not they led to de-
| struction.
One evening when Arthur's devo-
| tion to me had attracted the attention
| OF the whole company, had left the
room to don my wraps and found him
waiting in the hall to speak to me. As
we stood there laughing and chatting
over some trivial affair, the drawing
room door was ajar, and my attention
was attracted by the remark, 81
wonder that Mrs. Warren can seem SO
happy, when her husband is going to
ruin"
"What does she care," was tho sneer-
ing reply, "whon she can have SO
handsome cavalier as Spencer?"
L heard no more. The words 1 was
about to speak froze on my lips, and
my heart stool still with q nameless
fcnr. "Oh, leave mel leave mel" I
cried. "ani let me go home"
'My poor girl" he replied, "when
you know rs much of the world as 1
do, you will care less for its opinions. Z"
went home and passed a weary,
restless night. What had l done?
What was | doing that l should receive
this unmerCiful criticism? Was it true
-
why had | not seen i, until the knowl-
edge must by forcei upon me in this
cruel way? | felt that L was literally
going mad, and when the morning came
and received a message from Arthur
asking that he might see me once more,
L welcomed him in the hope Of receiv-
ing some comforting explanation. But
IN this L was disappointed. He told
me IN sorrowiul sympathy, as
thought, that my husband was spend
ing his evenings in gambling dens,
and places OF worse repute, while my
little fortune was fast dwindling away.
And then, in his artful manner, be told
me how he longed to help me, and
begged me to trust him Us my best
friend.
He went away only to come again
and again. Sometimes l longod to 60
to Fred, confess my lmprudence and
ask an explanation of his conduct.
But l hcsit,ted and wavered, despair
ing because in my thou9 /
had already become the object of
scorn, and too weak TO break tho
charm OF this willy serpent in human
form. And so 1t went on, until ut last
Arthur entreated me to go away with
him somewhere, anywhere, If only we
might always be together.
You Who have never been tempted
and tried, shrink with disdain from
faithless woman, and do not ask YOUR
pity for | aru not worthy of it. There
was time when l, too, had q supreme
for such weakness; but we
never know our strength until it has
been tested.
II Fred is false to me, / reasoned,
why should be true to him? At last
after | had worked myself into fever
OF excitement, l went to my husband
and told him what | had heard and de-
manded him to tell me If it were false
or true. He grew white to the lips but
he answered quietly, ut is true, in
pa l."
With the merciless words, "That is
sufficient, l want no explanation,
turned away. Burning with
indignation, and blind to every
thing else save the ono all ab-
5orbing thought that 1 had been cruel
ly TTonged, / went to my room and |
refused nimjttanee to every one.
Once, thrice, there was 'timid knock
ut the door, and 1 knew who was wait |
ing without but L would, not relent. |
That evening unler cover of darkness |
l went out from my beautiful home,
never to rourn. / passed the night |
With friend, who had contributed her |
share toward alternating my affections,
expecting to leave the city as soon as |
our arrangements could DO completed. |
shall never forget the horrors OF |
that night. 1t seemed so like terri
ble nightmare from which / almost /
hoped to awake to my old time happl. |
ness. At last | fell into q troubled |
sleep from which l was aroused at the |
first gray dawn of morning, by the |
alarm OF fire. After | was assured that |
The fire was not in the neighborhood |
and L was in no danger, l lay still and |
really enjoyed the clang of bells and |
voices, ecause it served to keep me !
from thinking. A few hours later | |
gazed on the smoking ruins of my own
home, and fell on my knees by the |
bed. side of my husband who had given
his life for mine.
When l left my room that evening, l |
eft..a light, that my absence might not
be discovered SO soon, and L think The |
ire must have originated there. Every
one supposed that L was in the build
ng, but no one was brave enough to
,ry to rescue me until Fred cams. He
'prang up the stairway amid tho still
ng smoke, only to fall with the clash
ng timbers. He vas rescued from the
lanes, but his sufferings were only |
prolonged. Guilty and debased as l |
was, | prayed that God would spare
nv Darling, but after few days, it
was all over with my poor Fred.