Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1895-05-30
Saint Maru's Beacon
tContinued from lirsl page.l
ulty Of rendering himself so agree


able to al with whorn he was
brought into intercourse IS at once
to WIN their favorable regard. Mr..
Benton shrewd lawyer, and ac-
customed to read character almost
unerringly-esteemed Kim very high
ly; Mr.. Winter thought ii fncom-
prehensible hoy so young q man
can have such thorough know
ledge of the financial interests of
the world; Mrs. Winter decreed
him 'just splendid referring to his
worth as society man; Miss Jones,
with the bluntness characterizing
ladies OF IAN uncertain age declar-
ed he was MT any better than other
folks, and did Mt pretend TO be.
Even the beaux of STAFFORD, who
were rivals in the contest for Cora's
hand, when they saw another than
either Of themselves was likely Is
secure the golden prize, bore him
no malice, and found 'crumb Of
consolation in the thought that it
was no disgrace to be worsted by
such an antagonist.
One lovely evening, as he1and
Cora sat on the piazza Of her home,
he abruptly remarked
Il return to New York tomorrow
morning
New York-tomorrow morning?
she repeated, in the uttermost sur
prise.
yes. / received a letter today,
notifying me Of my appointment to
q position on the editorial staff of
n journal to which / contributed
during my absence in Europe, and
requesting me, in case of my accep-
lance, to appear at the sanctum i'm
mediately. 1t is a position ! have
long coveted, and, now that it is
within my reach, | do not incline
to lose it. cannot leave here, how
ever, without telling you that, in
the few weeks Of our acquaintance,
l have come to love you dearly
taking her hand in his as he spoke,
'and asking If a like feeling has
sprung up in your heart for me-
She answered nothing; but the
hand which he had taken, and which
she made no endeavor to withdraw
from his grasp, trembled violently.
III you do not reciprocate my
love, may / not hope you will in
timer he inquired, noting her
silence.
THAT is not it, she stammered.
4 was thinking how lonely I shall
be when you are gone And, in
the moonlight, he saw her lip quiy-
or.
Then am sure you love me a
little
'And / am sure do, she return
cd frankly,--half laughing, half
crying.
He bent and kissed her; Just as
you or | would have done under the
same circumstances.
If come for you, 1T some time
not far in the future, will you re-
turn to New Yors with me as my
wife?'
Il think you have every reason to
believe will, archly.
Perhaps you will feel differently
when you know that, since ] came
to this town, l have been under
false colors; that me name is not
Lloyd, bat Wallace Gervaise.'
you! Wallace Gervaise.' she
exclaimed, springing from her seat.
The same, noble lady he laugh
ed. 'As day or two after writing
the letter to your father, in which
| stated my intention to visit him,
looking over my fathers old papers,
came across an item in one of his
diaries giving an account of that
interview between our parents in
which my marriage with you was
discussed. Confident that, in this
land of the free,' any lady would
prefer to elect her own husband
and would feel natural aversion
to any gentleman selected by others
to sustain that relation to her, and
believing you must be conversant
with the semi-arrangement which
our fathers had made, / resolved
not to inflict my presence upon you,
aud wrote your father that my visit
to him would be indefinitely post
ponod.
Thinking the matter over after
ward, | felt an extreme desire to
see you; and, knowing that Ssraf-
ford was a noted summer-resort 7