The Black Hills union. [volume] (Rapid City, Pennington County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1889-1904, 1897-08-27

CY ness OIL all L Saw
had kept the evil
which I had imbibed in the back
ground. But now hat | was a man,
now that the glamour with which a boy
surrounds everything had faded away,
much Of Mr.. Loraine's teaching, many
of his cynical aXioms, came back, per-
haps unawares, to me. The certainty
which he had always felt as to some
selfish motive being the hidden main
spring in every action of man or
picion. l had already met with false
friends, who had, under the guise of
friendship, robbed me not only Of
money, but Of what l value more, trust
in my fellows. After a While, I began
to persuade myself that sucn popular
ity as I enjoyed was not duo TO my own
merits, but to my worldly possessions;
that I was by no means a fine fellow
merely a young man Of large property.
This feeling is a danger which o II
~tinually besets a rich and sensitive
man, especially if his companions are
poorer than himself, and his own ma
ture is not such as can accept tlattery
as is his due. Under such circum-
stances, it is easy to develop much of
the cynicism of Julian Lorraine.
Women had as yet done nothing to
lower my self-esteem. Until now, l had
not found the woman I could love. One
reason for this was, that l was still Of
a romantic nature, and was resolved
that ~Whomsoever l asked to be my wife
should love M for myself, not for my
money.
l wish, SO far as possible, to keep this
tale free from any sarcastic remarks OF
my own, but at that time | often WOn-
dered if the mothers of fair daughters
would have found me such a charming
fellow had not Julian Lorraine made that
brief will.
But at last l was in love-hopeless-
ly, unreservedly in love. My nature is,
I believe, a passionate one, and now
that it had found it's aim, l gave it full
and free scope. I loved madly, blind
ly, and, alas! jealousy.
had set my heart upon the daughter
of no wealthy or well-born family. The
girl l loved vas not one whom | met in
society; yet ! proudly thought of the
day when every eye would turn and be
dazzled by her beauty--When people
who appraised the charms Of fair
women would rank those Of my wife
high above all.
Of course l was partial-all lovers are
but now, as l glance from my paper
to the portrait which hangs On the
wall facing me, 1 tell myself that my
love did not lead me far astray.
The soft, thick fair hair growing
low down on the forehead, and swept
back over the ear to join the knotted,
silky mass at the back of the head.
The head itself, small, well-shaped,
and, above ali, well-poised. The large,
soft, dark blue eyes. The fringe Of
long, straight lashes-yes, straight,
not curved-falling, when the eyes are
closed, literally on the check. The
girlish, yet perfect figure. All! I need
AOL 1OOh d. Illc pOl LII w ASSoAA oAN
describe my love!
For the rest, her name was Viola
Keith. She was an orphan, and all but
alone.
How I met her, when 1 met her, mat
ters little. Nearly all first meetings
take place under prosaic circumstances.
Anyway, as my eyes met hers, l told
myself that I looked at The one woman
whom it was possible for me to love
with an eternal love.
I knew nothing of her family or her
surroundings. I cared to know nothing.
One question only 1 asked myself: can
I win her, and win her for my W
sake? Here, even here, in the first
flush Of my new love, suspicion of mo-
tive must be guarded against.
So when at last I was able to tell
her what name I bore, / changed It,,
and called myself Mr.. Julian Vane.
She should, if she loved me, marry
me, thinking she was marrying n in
her own station of life.
Not that her station was anything to
be ashamed of. So far as I could gath
Ter, she was one of the many whose
parents leave their children a slender
provision, yet large enough to live up
on in responsibility and comfort. Viola,
I found, lived in a small house, with a
prim old dame, the pink O. dignity and
-Lo bod form 0rpJv hOon