St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-01-17

still needful cares OF daily life and a
habitual taciturnity. Her most
urgent question often remained un.
answered because unheeded; his
thoughts were wandering afar.
Often did she desist from endeavors
to fix his attention on some topic in
which she also could feel and express
an interest, and retire to her cham
Der to weep the tears of bitterness
and despair. Her sky had now no
gleam-her future no hope. She had
doomed herself to bear the heavy
curse Of life devoid of sympathy,
and must reap as she had sown.
Adolph felt-at times acutely-that
he had indeed committed "a grave
mistake" and that it was now truly
too late to repent.
One evening Adolph was absent
from his home, as was not untrequent-
" the case, when rap at the door
apprised Bertha OF his supposed
return. She opened the door and
Albert stood before her! DO not
spurn me, Bertha" he implored, as
with a shrek of surprise she had
motioned to close the door; Il am
very i'll and wretched." In hurried,
broken accents, but with frmness
of purpose, he unfolded to her the
dark pictures of his blighted hopes,
his crushed affections, his sufferings
and his intense despair. Bertha
could not summon words to COM
mand him to desist and leave her
presence, for it seemed at that mo-
ment needless cruelty to torture
heart-broken and frenzied man.
Another knock what clouds OF
sophistry and self.deceit did it not
serve to dispel! Bertha felt how
criminal, how insane had been that
interview, and how deep had been
her guilt in listening passively to
avowals of love from another beside
her husband. Gladly would she have
welcomed the bolt of death-sie
would even have met Adolph's gaze
and revealed all the truth. But
Albert enfeebled by severe illness as
well as shattered in intellect by his
great despair, had less fortitude or
deeper consciousness of wrong. Il
canuot-will not meet him" he ex-
claimed with agony; "let me fly u"
She pointed to the door which led
into the little garden in the rear OF
their little cottage, and in moment
he had rushed through it. Sick at
heart and trembling in every nerve
fibre, Bertha unfastened the door at
which her husband waited she had
neither strength nor courage to open
it; and Adolph, who had fallen into
one of his habitual reveries, remained
for for some minutes without. Alas!
when he did enter, his eye had a fear
full brightness, and his voice, prefer
naturally calm, had sternness
which might we'll appall a holder
and loftier spirit than that of the
wretched being before him.
Bertha! !" and she started as the
sepulchral sound fell upon her intent
ear, "by a single act of folly you have
destroyed your future peace and
mine. | was standing idly at the
door but now, when my attention
was attracted by rushing noise in
the garden. looked and saw the
friend of your childhood, whom you
once introduced to me, fling himself
madly from the enclosure and fly as
if in terror. His flight was marked
throughout by band of reprobate
student, who saw me standing as if
in waiting at the door, and who in
stanty set up shout OF merriment
and derision. Tomorrow your name
will be the jest OF every vile heart
and scandalous tongue in Gottingen!
How could you so distrust and mis-
take me as to deem me capable OF
vulgar suspicion-as to resort to
this wretched and ruinous subterfuge
to conceal from me the visit of one
whom as your friend would"
He ceased for she had fallen heavi-
ly and senseless on the floor By
the application of every restorative
she was at length awakened to con-
seriousness, but not to the clear light
of reason. Her mind wandered-the
past and the present, the absent and
the near, were blended in inextrica-
BILE confusion-and Adolph could only
understand that his presence was
painful to her, and that she en-
treated him to retire and leave her
to compose her troubled thoughts.
He obeyed, but not without tnisgiv
ings; slumber was out of the ques-
ton, aud he proceeded to his little
study and was soon immersed, so
far as it was possible at such a time
even for him to be, in the perusal of
a favorite volume. An hour passed.
he found that he was but deceiving
himself; the words burned and
danced before his eyes, but no CORE
spending images were imprinted on
his brain; he became alarmed at the
profound silence maintained by Ber-
tina; swiftly he revisited her apart
ment, but to find it vacant he called,
but received no reply. Slowly and 10
agony wore away the remaining
hours of night; the morning dawned
but to confirm his worst forebodings.
Distracted, hopeless and burning
with shame and contrition, she had
stolen noiseless from the home which
by venial but fatal error she had
disgraced, and rushed wildly to the