The Dickinson press., 1896-12-05
THE r0vD OF TWO WOMEN

dropping 1t again hopelessly on her
hands, and yet with the insistent lo:-'c
Of love, she had gone on deluding her
self, cajollng herself that in some way
his soul wOull-m,lst-tlctcc ami re-
spond to the love that fllett ana
throbbc,l in her breast for him-t-!:s
had done so since the time she had first
bchcld him three years bef0re, wheh
he was Just home from college. and she
the orphan child Of friend OF Mrs.
Wilson, for whose sake that lady h;ld
taken the homeless girl into her house
hold. to be her own dear daughter, as
she fon,lly told her. and had made her
feel truly ut home hy that gracious cor.
.liality which only IL truly generous anu
kindly heart could bestow.
She was just fifteen, a shy, timid' pen
sive child, and Ralph. just released
from college thralldom, full OF apouho-
ing spirits. had, as lie termed 1t "adops-
cd the little num-" and had by turns
nrt,e,, tcascd and rallied her, until he
brought n new sparkle into her penslve
rvcs. Il new color into her pale chceh'
and new life and ambition into the ue'
jcrtcd cOuntenancc.
| Hc had succeeded in waking her up
hc declared triumphantly, little reckon
from the superior altitude OF his tWeh.
ty-four wears, which made him regard
her as only a child-a pretty little pc.
and plaything. that he had awakened
hcr indeed. awakened her TO thar staEe
that is deepest joy or keenest ansu'sn il,
that had robbed her OF her chiluiios. .!,
forever. and left her IL Wonian' Witi
wom,n's fcrvent, beating heart'
wo,nan's devoted, deathless love
But with IL pride fully equal 10 'iiat
love. BERTHA would have died ere she
would have for a moment reveale! 10
him, unsolicited. the passion he had
called to life. Though they lived ut
the same house and ate ut the same IA
blr. she would be wooed as ardentiy
and Enthusiastically as though she were
a princess of the realm. ere she per-
mitteG him to know that her heart,
with its warm. fervent affection, was
his.
But rs by q strange paradox the very
ncarness Of the thing desired makes 1t
the more remote, so in his constant as
sociation with her, though Ralph came
to love her fondly, in Il petting. indui-
gent sort Of way, it never crossed his
mind that any deeper sentiment ami
mated the thousand little services with
which he was continually surrounded
the vigilance that anticipated his slight
est wish. the skillfui touches that beau
titled his room, that cncOmpassed his
life on every hand with those myriad
almost unnoticcd comforts. that are
like the air we breathe, absolutely in
atcd or realized until some interruption
dispcns:lblc and vet scarcely appreci-
reminds lis of their vital import.
Perhaps some prOpitious hour might
have brought the awakening to him,
perhaps some day he might have re-
allied how much his life was filled by
this gentle. unobtrlsive little friend,
and to realize that unless she filled it
I'LL. it would he barren and empty In
decd, had not.-:las! another hand
touched the spring that might else have
yielded to her gentle touch.
They were I'll gathered at breakfast
one morning when Mrs. Wilson, looking
| up WIN pASstSSN oluIAS 4AoA IL ACtNSA
she had been pcrllsiDg, said:
wv will have guest to spend some
months with us, childrcn''-she always
coupled them in that way. Edith
Crosby, the daughter Of another dear
friend and schoolmate is coming to
make us long visit. She has not been
in ve.y good health and the doctor has
recommended mountain air, and she il
convinced that she cannot find anything
better thar she will get here. quite
agree with her and will be delighted to
have her. We will give her the room
next to 1lalphs. Mignon."
1t was her pet name for Bertha, but
somehow the words sInote on the girls
heart with sudden jealous pang, tho
first feeling Of disquietudc she had ever
experienced beneath that peaceful roof,
Her own room was quite at the end
Of the corridor, next to her adopted
mothers, and this visitor would OF
course have the guest chamber, large
cOmmOtliOus apartment, almost immedi
ately adjoining that occupied by Ralph
Was she coming between them already
was it prophetic of deeper more
final separation?
Then she cast the feeling from her a
ungenerOus and unworthy, as Mrs VIII
son spoke again.
"We will get the room ready for hc
to-day, MignOn, and you must put som,
Of your graceful touches to it. I wan
her to know what an artist we hay,
in my dear daughter"
Bertha pressed her friends hand II
silent compliance. And when ut tiv
o'clock Ralph drove to the station Il
meet the expected guest, the rOoll
looked like Il bower Of beauty unde
the exquisite taste with which she LA,
arranged 1t.
1hey were both on the porch whel
the carriage drove up, and revealed
glimpse Of slight. graceful figure, wit
Il pale but exceedingly lovely face, sit
ting ON the back seat and looking hal
wistflllly out. Springing down, Ralp
lifted her out in his arms, drew he
tluttering little hand through his arm
: and escorted her to where his mOtllc
stood. as though she had been his bril
brought home.
That was four months ago; and si
ting there alone on the doorstep th;l
lovely summer afternoon, Bertha kne,
J that6it had been but the beginning {
the Gnd. Edith had endeared them Il
to her by her sweet. unaffected gr:
ciousness; her, for time, feeble healt
. had appealed, us well. to their warn
est sympathies. Mrs. Wilson had ho,
cred about her with constant sOlicitud,
Bertha had read to her and Wake
with her as far as her strength woul
permit, while Ralph had taken ht
riding every day; and ere long 81
seemed to have partaken Of some he
elixir of life. that rounded her chce
, gave strength and vigor to her fran
+. and rervadel her whole being with i
wondrols, vivifying power.
, Mrs. Wilson laughingly congratulate
a herself upon another patient, as a pro,
: of her restorative abilities, but to Be
! thas sllarpcnctl intuition it needed I
:, explanation of where the true renee
e cOul,l lr found. and also the cunscio,,
e ness thai its beneticent effects VIC
4 shared by 1ilm' VINO nau impaired 1t:
Il The eye Of love was quick-painfull
quick--to note the loss Of its only tre:.
|. ure which, although passed irrevocab
q into anothcr's keeping, would alwa!
d remain the object of her deepest, mo
v fervcnt, although forever hopeless lov
y When at last Bertha came into Il