The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1893-10-26

tfaau. She MADE MN happy: ana Il
am afraid I am a 10 u. l feel however,
rs though !, owed it almost t. his
memory, and something tn her, too.
Yes, there is no doubt | owe her
something: in that line-and yet, good
heavens! Lam not doing it on that &C.
count. 1 love- her, 'des perately, down
to the ground.
''Dick," she said Ito me yesterday,
looking straight at me with her won
"derful blue eyes-'iDick, why do you
ask me-now?"
'"Better late than never, Unanswered.
She began, "'Five, six years ago you
- and stopped.
II know. Twas a fool, Lncile. I
never once thought >of it, though.
You see, the idea was' foreign,to me.
I never intended to marry"
''And now?'
with YOUR kind assistance, I do
intend to-
''Why?'
Her question almost bowled me
"over L gazed at'the carpet, wonder
ing how I could best put it to her.
Presently I.lookeH.up and as our eyes
met blurted out, '''because I love
,yon, of course"
1 did not mean to say that. just
then; the truth is that the idea of
preparation" had got sole possession
of my brain, and how ito express it
graveled me.
Lucille laughed lightly. THAT,
Dick is a second thought, and not q
bad one fora man offering himself as
"a husband Still, I,want your first''
IL was thinking that. love apart,
you have a moral claim upon me-"
A great wave Of color. rose and fell,
leaving her beautiful face pale as
marble. "A claim-really? "A moral
claim. Why moral? Why not ma
tcrial? WhcniI, turn :huckster, Dick,
l will traffic only,for gold.''
I saw what she meant Loves gifts,
being no itnpoverishmcnt Of love, en-
tail no indebtedness upon the recipient.
Love is paid for its gift in the giving.
This, l thought, was a counsel Of per-
lection. and better suited to angels
and angelic loves than to men and
women in an earthly, Highly conven-
tional and British society.
And that!is why you wish to marry
me?" she added
Ifelt thatI was on thin ice. mo,
dazzling, it is not. Iloveyou. There's
no harm in that, I hope?"
NO, mot bit. 1t is a very good
reason. Genuine, .Dick?"
"Quite on my honor"
The 4honor Of an English general
more, of:an English gentle
STILL of a well-tried friend-that is
good enough 'for;me. Here's my hand
on it, Dick -. :
That Was only yesterday; it seems
twenty years ago Poor ,Robethon-.
to blame. l acted. Loyalty enough by
him. 1t was like this, you see. Rob-
ethon and I were pretty close friends.
srent'rn of my time at my clubs,
and at one or other. OF them i was
always coming across Robetho Uhe
taste for chess WAS mutual, land was
the gronnd,o of our first acquaintance.
we were ;about theSsame age, heading
fast for fifty; he was short and stout,
l was long and lean. I had been all
over the world while he had never
been outside of England; :sometimes L
fancied he had never been outside of
London. If The had he was careful to
conceal the fact. We>were both bach
elors; his chambers were close to St.
James street, mine ito Piccadilly; we
never visited each other, though. He
was partner in "a >Wellil1nOWn firm OF
bankers, but had not entered their
place Of business for twenty years.
was a gentle, Sympathetic, clean
sou'ed gentleman.
l wish could say las much tputh-
fully of myself; no false modesty
should keep ane tfrom writing 1T. down
Still Robethon cared for me and L am
,deuced sure 1 cared for him. His .rat.
icence was characteristic of the man:
1t was like suit Of steel armor coy
'ering him from head to foot. Some.
times l think 1T WAS fundameut tally
shyness-not OF the ordinary kind, OF
which there WAS mot trace. about
him, but deep spiritual sshNness
On the other hand it might
have been due ito an ,austere
sselectness of SPIRIT, a sensitive, deli
cate pride Of soul. The >olu men held
him In great esteem i'm a manner,w were
proud of him, considered him an au-
thoritv on disputed Joints of ;honor
and the like, and accepted his ;iude-
ment with docility and reverence.
One day met a Lady on Pail Mall.
toll, fair, straight as daut, and With
a face that fell On nse like a vision. i
turned and watched her, and while so
doing sshe suddenly laalted, turned
i'ound. and came towards Inc. stooM
still. In passing she gave nae a mo-
mentary glance. Ha, SHE Was very
lovely!
A 1AQnth ao1 six weeks later There
was a reception at certain foreign
embassy and happened to I've pres
ent. 1t was not my kind of thing at
all, but Glanced to be an old ac~
auaintanee of dhe ain bassador in CUES
ton Theme WAS q big crowd and
dancing was in full swing Passing
by the BALLROOM, stood for moment
to watch the dancers The FIRST thing
I saw was the lady of Pail Mall. glori-
ously arrayed, wa1tzing with a Ger
man. .--- ?.
- WHO is siae9" lasl-cd of man
knew.
(Which one? oh, that divine SYM.
rhony OF color there, ch? That is
Mrs. Trenchard.
And who is Mrs, Treu chard?"
He shook his head. ''She's widow:
that's all know. She is isp the swim:
wonder you haven't met her before.
have, half q dozen times, but live up
10 my principles, of which the first is
Thou shalt not do-any thing in this