Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1893-06-22

but that the sound of her voice
brought him TO her side before the
first stanza was finished. III tried
] to steal few moments alone with
her at any hour of the day or even
ing, we were certain to be Interrupt
ted by the fellow. whose easy man.
ner and yivacious conversation
would Immediately monopolize my
girls attention.
At last this became perfectly in
tolerable to me, and one day / up
braided Gretel for encouraging the
man, and told her. fatty that be-
'icved thsseiatcrrapt;oas ware pre-
arranged BY her in concert with
Hartman. / shall never forget the
look that came into her beautiful
eyes as she turned toward me and
gave me an answer, every word of
which was like the thrust of a sword.
81 have promised to marry you"
she said, "and l will try to make
you a good wife, but / cannot love
you. | will never love any one but
Conrad"
"Then why, in heavens name,
did you accept me % l exclaimed.
cit would have been less cruel to
have refused me at once
Because" she said, "you are
rich. My father is in need of mon
ey, and it is for his sake that pro
missed to be your wife. He wishes
it. ! should have told You this
long ago, but | could not bring my
self to do it. Despise me il you
will, but it is the truth"
The bitterness TO me of hearing
this confession no words can des-
cribe. But my infaturation was
too great to be rebuffed. l would
not give her up. would yet teach
her to love me. She had not asked
for a release, and | could not offer
it to her.
The preparations for the wedding
went on, but my mind was filled
with perplexity and doubts. | be-
came melancholy and respondent.
| fell into the habit of taking long
walks alone, and Gretel and Hart
man were left more than ever to-
| gether.
My wedding eve arrived. The
day had been clear and glorious,
and the sunset that night was one
which l shall never forget, for it
came near being the last that | was
destined to look upon. | had seen
little of Gretel all day. Hartman,
too, had been absent on one of his
sketching exhibitions. The we'd
ding was fixed for nine o'clock; the
guests would not arrive before half
past eight, and Gretel would pro-
badly be invisible until then. AL
lowing myself an hour to dress, l
would have time for a final stroll
up to the Wandersleben Gleichen
before dark.
When | reached the summit of
the hill, the sun was throwing his
level bar of gold across tho beauti-
full landscape below. The outlying
hills were clothed in royal purple,
and the intervening vineyards and
fields were glorified in the evening
glow. / looked up at the ruin,
standing in picturesque stateliness
against the crimson sky, and saw,
growing high up in the interstices
of the cornice, little blue-fowered
plant. / recognized it at once as
one of those which the Roman guides
assure us are only to be found amid
the scenes of the Coliseum. Yet
here in this northern land it appear
ed, hourished, and as beautiful as
there. An immediate desire to pos
sess this specimen seized me. Why
could not | obtain it And why
should not Gretel wear it in her bo-
som at the altar?
/ examined the steep wall care
fully for some means of reaching
the cornice, but the stones were so
closely fitted together as to afford
no foothold. / made the circuit of
the castle, in hope that at some
point j might be able to climb to
the coping of the tower, whence |
could make my way to the coveted
prize, but my search was in vain.
The high walls rose sheer from the
moat, with no ledge or projection
that would give me any assistance.
i Thus baffied, / became more de-
termined than ever to effect my pur-
pose. crossed the rickety draw
| hr;doa and aotarad the fawar The