People's voice. [volume] (Wellington, Sumner County, Kansas) 1890-1917, 1894-12-27

when he was called upon to pay Il,
with all arrears. OF course he could
not comply. Bare, black, utter ruin
stared him in the face. He was in
despair: there seemed to be no help.
no hope; everything must be sold, the
dear old home broken up, and
the world begun afresh-not a
very bright prospect. | could not
tell you my fathers grief. In those
few days he grew thin and pale, the
very ghost Of his old kindly. genial
self 1t was pitiful to hear him. i
am a ruined man, he would say to
me. ut Is the forces Of heaven and
not OF earth that are arrayed against
me. It is the rain from the skies. the
floods, the epidemics. !, who have
he'd every comfort during my whole
life long, am ruined now | would
have given my life to have saved him.
but | was powerless.
"lhen arumCr spread in the country
that Lord Latimer was coming TO
Hillside, and that he would be very
generous to his tenants. and would
return so much percentage of the
rents paid; but my poor father was
beyond that, he was so greatly in
arrears. The end of it was. Lord
Latimer came to Hillside Towers. and
there was grand meeting of all the
tenantry. There were plenty of
speeches and cheers: Lord Latimer
was Landed TO the skies. But nv
father came from it pale and trem-
bling; he would have tosell all that he
had in the world. and then leave Fern
hills. He said little, but he wore the
look Of heartbroken man. He told
me that on the day following, Lord
Latlmer was coming himself to look
over Fernhills.
"Audrey. what happened was this:
Lord Latimer came and fell in love
with me. He was pleased to tell my
father that | was the loveliest Girl he
had ever seen in his life, and that if I
would be his wife. nv father should
not only have Fernhills for his life.
but he would give him sufficient
capital to repair all the damage done
BY the floods. and to restock the farm.
That was the price paid for me. and
when ! come TO think of it, it was
much like selling me.
Neither my father nor aunt looked
at it in that light They thought such
a piece of fortune perfectly magical;
they never seemed to think there
could be a possibility OF my refusing.
l do not know that ! thought so my
sell. do not remember that | made
the least effort to save myself. | was
blind; one thought only filled nv
mind. and ii was that / should save
my father. You see, there is no one
to blame. My aunt thought that I
was the happiest and most fortunate
girl IN the world: my father almost
believed that the very powers of
heaven had intariered to save him
from ruin; Lord Latimer said that his
visit TO Hillside had been very for
tunate thing for him. There was no
one to save me. and ! had not the
sense to save myself. ! had been so
happy IN my simple home life that I
had never thought or troubled about
lovers or marriage; to live always at
ternhills with my father. seemed TO
me the height of human happiness. l
had not reached the knowledge then
that | have nOw-that love is the
crown of life, and that no life is COM
plete without it.
81 know that Audrey. now; ! did
not then. make no complaint, but I
think the three who were older and
wiser. who knew more of life than |
did might have warned me, might
have told me that | could not live
without love. We were married oui-
city enough in the church at Hillside
Lord Latimer would not have any
fuss-and directly the ceremony was
over we went away to the continent.
We stayed there for a year and half,
then came home here to LOTIONS Cray,
and here l am. just beginning to un-
derstand the mysteries, the wants, the
wishes and the pains ofhuman life"