The Lancaster ledger. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1852-1905, 1893-11-01

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sho was spoiled.
He was very young, and certain h.
est boyish look in his face made him 10
younger than he was As you probnh
know yourself, he was better built {,
books and works than for the ways q
society, but his pleasant manner and h
sincerity / suppose must have made hi.
hosts of friends.
And so they met. remember il wa,
during an interval between the dance
They were standing close TO our corne
when mutual friend went through tha
curious formality that is necessary in
civilized society before any two of Gods
creatures may even recognize the fact O
each others existence. They stayed e..
gcthor tor an hour and it was eviden,
they liked each other very well. Th
was but the first Of many meetings. D..
was evidently fascinated and hn neve
lost an opportunity of being with her
I do not think she was p,yeT IN earnest;
perhaps she did not ,aiize how IA,
along they were drifng y with tho tide
At auy rate it was not long until 10 mus,
have been clear to the dullest onlooker
that he bad lest his besrt to her; and he
was the sort Of man TO win or lose every.
thing. 1t may all be true enough that the
world loves a lover, but it's equally true
that it has but little sympathy and feel
ing for q man who has given his all in
love and has received nothing in return.
No man dies of love nowadays. they say,
aud perhaps they did not die when I was
young; they Just livet on aud tried to
forget it.
One night late in the same winter I
saw them together a. n great ball that
was quite the event u the year. She
was the gayest Of the gay, aud no one
else was half SO fair as she, with a great
red rose almost buried in the wealth Of
her dark hair, and another on the breast
of her white gown. I watched them
with q closer attention than usual tha,
night, but later on | missed them from
the throng of dancers They were gone
some time, and then, saw them coming
in from the great { observatory beyond.
She had his arm, bot they were not
speaking, and there was hard, strained
look about his eyes that was infinitely
sadder to me than toars. He slipped
away later without L.ing observed, and
l saw him no more f5. many q day.
So time passed on aud they had well
nigh gone from my :uoughts, until one
night, couple Of years later, this old
church was brilliantly lighted and filled
with all the wealth and fashion of the
town. 1t was with a iull heart, however
that sat up here aud played the we'd.
ding march. Yes, you arc right. It
was her wedding night, aud people
called it wonderfully tine match. She
had come home TO many foreigner Of
rank and title she had mt and won In
some European capital. 1t was bril-.
liant affair, and many young girl no
doubt that night envisd her success.
As played the pIl familiar strains Of
the march, old, y:Ss- new for two
young hearts IL they But beat in unison,
turned part way round and watched
them coming down the aisle They
made a handsome pair, he in his gor.
geous uniform with the jeweled decora-
tions of his many orders pinned upon his
breast, and she--well, she WAS radiant,
and she had that night proud and sat.
isficd smile that added to her grace aud
beauty, If not TO her womanly sweetness.
Once l thought she gave n hssty glance
up into the organ lott, and as she did so
| saw her face grow strangely white and
look of pain come into her eyes. II
was for moment. however, and then
it passed away as suddenly as it had
come.
l turned once more TO my Keyboard,
and as l glanced around caught a
hasty glimpse Of young mans figure
and a sad, white face almost hidden
away among the palms that filed the or
gan loft. i knew then, aud understood
Il all.
Two years later she came back alone.
! saw her one bright spring morning rid.
ing in the park. She was not in mourn.
ing, but she looked tired and worried
and anything but a happy woman.
imagine she had not found life much TO
her liking. Perhaps she had but herself
to blame for 1t, but was she any the less
to be pitied for that' She had done as
many another young girl has done, and
as they will continue TO do through all
time. She had but lived up to the teach
ings of her little world, and had made
about as much out Of her life as she had
been taught to do. A butterfly would
do but poorly in harness, you know.
saw him, too, not long sgo-no, not
her husband, but the other one. heard
that he had been off 10 the mountains in
the far west, working hard in that open,
free life that Is so close to the heart of
Mother Nature, and striving, l suppose,
to forget But there are some gh. sts
that will not be laid. To me the
fact that he had nursed a poor sheen
herder through lopg illness. and then
had fallen Ill himself and had been vainly
Knocking at deaths door for weekp, did
not altogether account for his pitiable
coalition. IL may have done so with
the rest, butt is my opinion tha, he did
not care very much to live And so I
was not much surprised last night when
the old sexton came to me and told me
that my services would be needed at the
church to-day.
She, too, was here, aud / saw her, of
In dark corner Of the church, whore no
one could have noticed that solitary
figure, clad ell in black and OF times
shaken by her silent emotion. Upon tho
black covering of the box above the
young mans breast, noticed two great
blood red roses
You say that played with unusual
feeling today Ah, bat was trying In
my own poor way 10 bring comfort to
one saddened heart and to tell to the two
that knew and had pity. When she
came down the aisle just now, after all
the rest had left, saw that she wore two
red roses on her breast. / think pes.