The Opelousas courier., 1897-09-25

~ws~ these ouestio,
over and over, wearying of the repet
ton, and yet never able to end it
saying heartily that he was glad an
triumphant, OF bitterly that he w;
sorry and ashamed. The plain ia,
stared him ever in the face, that Hele
Raymond did not love him, and thu
Mrs. Raymond had urged his suit, an
exerted her maternal influence an
eloquence until Helen had consente
to be his wife, telling him very frankl
that her heart was in the grave of he
lover, George Vanhorn, who had bee:
killed in a railway collision nearly on
year before.
Mother was never willing I shout,
marry George" Helen said, sadly
because he was poor, and we hay
suffered all that poverty can inAict
He was on his way to Colorado, wher,
his brother had been successful, whe1
he was killed"
Will Spencer WINGED, for he wa:
rich, very rich, but then he put to thu
wound that soothing salve, Il will wiz
her love when she is my wife," tina;
has wrecked SO many lives. It ma,
come, this love that will not be hid.
den, to a mar and wife after they are
bound together for life, but the risk is
great, and Will Spencer knew it.
Yet he cherished the delusion that
love in the end would win q return,
and he knew his own love to be strong
and enduring. He had stepped back
when George Vanhorn was met with
such a smile as he could never win,
had kept from pressing his suit
when the name Of Helen's lover ap-
peared on the list of the killed in the
account Of the railway collision, but
after the lapse of several months he
had won Mrs. Raymond to his side,
and so, by proxy, wooed Helen and
won-what? a cold, reluctant consent
to be his wife.
Yet she was not cold, this girl Of
twenty, whose heart had seemed
eyer since the day when
Vanhorn's name was recorded
IS dead. He could have told how her
Eyes could soften with loves tender
less, her cheeks burn with loves
her low, sweet, voice tremble
With loves whispered words. He had
von what all the Spencer gold, the
iches of long generations, could not
'uy.
In the "long ago" the Raymonds
ad held wealth.. too, but Helea's
to use the expression of his
had "muddled away two for
ines, somehow" and had died a pau
Helen was but a child then, and
er mother was sufficiently wise to 'sft
er for a teacher" by a course of iu-
lcious education, for which her uncle
And Helen, nervous, sensitive,
uick in feeling, impulsive in speech,
about as unfit for a teacher as O
I'll could be. Still she trudged about
all weather to instruct such pupils |.
music and French as she could pro-
Ire, and helped her mother shoulder
le thousand and one cares Of board
g-heuse when she was at home.
Before that fatal railway collision
70 was a bright, beautiful girl, with
rye, expressive, brown eyes, a voice
music, the step Of fairy, singing as
bird sings, from sheer joyousness of
art, bringing a jest to all the house
ia worries, laughing merrily over
own blunders in the culinary de- j
rtment, turning old dresses, renov-
ing old bonnets without a complaint,
ing on love and hope. s
After that day she moved about {
'wly, her eyes dull and weary, her ]
ties met with rigid mechanical pre- i
ion, her lips compressed, her cheeks
10, q shadow of her joyous self,
And it made Will Spencer furious t
could not break this icy calm. ALI S
vain he brought her costly gifts,
her to every place of amusement
ere he could coax her to go, was c
openly devoted slave. The few i,
rds of thanks she spoke were dull. |.
: smile was on her lips only, and
| her eyes did not brighten. By $,
device could he call up one flash Of Il
old loyousness. She sang for him, "
difficult overtures that proved is
proficiency, displayed a charming N
&c, nothing more. Never did she il
. the old ballads that George Van
n had loved, when she threw her Il
'rt into every line, and made her v,
8 misty with her thrilling tones. h,
she was grateful, and spoke 50
N OF her own regret that she so it
rly repaid all Wills tenderness. 10
tried not to shrink from his hi
ssses, to give back something Of pa
warmth of his love, and then. in ed
privacy Of her own room. wept
ding tears over her own faithless- tr
[rs. Raymond was often afraid that To-
would yet miss the golden prize in
had partly won, and heartily sec hi
ed Will in his preparations for a ga
'dy wedding. It was Mrs. Ray oil
g who went with him to open the
that he had bought to adorn for I'm
bride, who aided him in the selec-
Ct carpets, curtains, furniture, and th'
him instructions regarding the lo1
len department, of whose needs he Oh
Ignorant AZ most young bach Iif,
J.. It was Mrs. Raymond who re-
ID an anonymous letter containing let
eral sum, which she quietly ap- to
rated for a trousseau and q suita- oh
lrers for the brides mother. pa,
y Was Q Woman OF rare tact. Eav- wa
Helen's consent to be VIII /;
GERS wife, she never bothered tw,
~ complaints about her l~istless in thu
renee TO her lover or her future lee,