The Bottineau pioneer. (Bottineau, N.D.) 1885-1895, 1895-02-23
NON-SUITED.

NON-O ILL.,
1T is no use Edith, we ran never
be more to each other than we are
now. We r both penniless, and, in
addition, I am up to the collar-bone
in debt" .
"But-but you love met" she asked
timidly.
"Love! Bah! What is love? A
nonsensical caprice. Born to-day,
dead tomorrow. Perhaps I did love
you once; but-well, one can't live on
sentiment. One day our feelings lead
us astray; next, stern circumstances
conpels us to be more philosophical.
We have both been wrong; you for
loving me, and 1 for being foolish
enough to encourage it. But, Edith,
our clandestine courtship must cease
from tonight. You are but the gov
erress, you know, whilst I-well, So
ciety expects great things from me
You must see how absurd a thought
of marriage is for u.s."
~ bsl rd!" she murJnured, scarcely
realizing that such levity and cruelty
were possible from the man whom
she had confided her trust some
months before.
BILE. Look at the matter in a reason
able light. / don't want to hurt your
feelings, you know, but you are aware
that your position in my uncle's house
would of itself ridicule the idea of
marriage between US. OF course, you
will always have a friend in me. l
shall always be glad to advise, and"
"Frark" she interrupted.
Don't be hysterical, Edith. There's
really no need for any fuss, you know.
You are poor; so am I. But I have a
position to maintain. You haven't.
Come, let us put an end to our fool
ishness. There's George Markham.
the curate, you know. He's head over
ears in love with you, and-and you
wouldn't have any difficulty with him.
He'd make a good husband, and-and
all that sort Of thing"
The poor, deluded girl hung her
head in silence. Her breast heaved
tumultuously as she endeavored to
suppress her emotion. She trembled
in every limb, and for a brief moment
the tears stood in her fair blue eyes.
But Edith Malvern, the poor, friend
less little governess, had more phil
oscphy in her nature than the heart
less n an walking by her side In his
uncle's grounds gave her credit for.
This was a staggering blow to her.
To have her hopes dashed to the
ground and her heart stabbed with
one sudden, unexpected 1unge, was
torture in the extreme. But there was
that within her which enabled her to
hold her feelings In check. Such
words were concentrated cruelty and
bitterness. But they had unlocked
and opered a capacity within her
heart which she had previously been
unaware existed there. 1t was the
power to feel and to be thankful for
what she had escaped from. A man
whose opinions of love and Of mar
riage-the most sacred passion and
bond in the universe-were SO ALSO
lutely debased, must be worthless. To
have been compelled to call such a
man husband" would have been to
one of her nature more fearful than
this sudden SCATTERING Of her hopes.
Had she discovered his hateful, true
inwardness after she had been irrc-
vocably yoked to him, her life would
have been one prolonged misery.
Calmly she Withdrew her hand from
his arm. Her grief seemed suddenly
assuaged. She paused by his side,
and, looking steadily into his face,
said: -
ut shall be as you wish. Yes, I have
been foolish. I am, as you have said,
poor, and of no account in the world.
I am parentless as well as penniless.
Tit would be-absurd to think OF
marriage. Let us forget the past
be as though we had never met. Your
words have forever obliterated the
past in my mind. I conl0 not, I would
not, b. your wife, though all the world
urged me to 1t. But your debts, your
position! How are You going to extri-
cate Yourself from the one and main
tain the othery" F.
"How unsophisticated you are.
Edith"
"But you do not surely intend to
make marriage your emancipator"
she asked.
He smiled at her earnest, plying,
semi-credulous look, and then replied:
"Well, perhaps such q proposal
seems-a-peculiar to you; but, my
dear girl, look at things sensibly.
There's Mary, for instance, my cousin.
She's an heiress. I believe she-well,
thinks a great deal about me. You
must have seen 1t, Edith. Now"
"But, for PHYS sake, think Of what
you are going to do. DO not deceive
and betray Miss Mary. Pause before
you attempt to win her love for such
sordid ends. Is 1t not enough that
you should chill me heart, without de.
liberately breaking another? She II
of such a disposition that when she
discovered-as she undoubtedly would
some day-that you had more regard
for her wealth than for herself, It
would kill her. / entreat you, consid-
er. For myself, I care not; I can bear
the revelation. But Mary-no, she
shall not be thus deceived. Oh, Ion-
sider"
There was q great deal Of considers
ton in Frank Vaughn's nature. he
was full Of It. But, unfortunately, 1t
was all for himself. He did consider
Mary, truly, but not In the manner en-
joyed by the feeling girl he had de-
ceived. He considered his cousin q
iheaven-sent blessing. She was a good
match. With plenty Of money in her
own right from her deceased mother,
and as heiress to her fathers great ac-
cumulations, she was just the wife for
him. Truly, she was a trife slow, but,
then, that would not matter. She could
follow the bent of her own i~nclinafinna.