The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1897-03-24
"And you are sure you will not
changer"
"Quite sure"
"Very well, then, let it be as you
sayu

toward the human race and the trials
they had brought her had been many
and hard to bear. She was very
thankful for him. He seemed so good,
so strong and SO sincere that the sense
of belonging to such a man filed her
soul with a sweet peace such as she had
not known since childhood and she
wondered if it were wrong to he so
happy.
He seldom left her for any length of
time but about two months after their
engagement he went away for several
days. It was a cold, clustering after
noon in the middle of January when
he first came home and when he estepp-
ed into the hallway she attributed his
frigidity of manner to the iciness OF
the wind outside.
| "Mercy, you freeze me. Come in
quick and thaw out" she said with a
merry little laugh, as she helped him
to remove his overcoat and muller
and drew him toward the genial
warmth of tie fire. He smiled, but it
was not the fond smile to which she
had been accustomed.
"pm not very cold" he said. "Fm
afraid can't stay very long this after
noon. Ada, my dear, there is some
thing / should like to say to you"
The happy light died out of her eyes
and her m5uth drooped pitecusly.
"Yes?" she said weakly.
"Tve been thinking, my dear girl, of
the advice you gave me before we were
engaged. Ada, you were right about
men wishing to possess something that
had clean history. If that rule holds
good i'm chattles it ought TO hold doubly
good i'm wife. / don't want TO pain
you, my dear; you acted very hOnOra-
bly, with me and deserve nothing but
the highest respect and love, but don't
you see it would place me in very
humiliating position TO become the
| husband of woman who has IA
past? | never realized it until went
away. | told my people that / was
engaged. They asked me TO whom
and you can imagine what predica-
ment was in. We have always been
proud family and it would be pain
ful, to say the least, to marry a woman
of whom / could not speak of freely
and of whom an idle remark can ever
be made, you are too high-minded to
censure me for this decision. You un-
derstand, do you not?"
Perfectly" she said, ''but before you
go for good | wish to tell you some
thing"
''Before go for good?" he repeated.
al shall not do that. We must still be
friends"
Her lips trembled with disdainful
smile.
"Oh," she said, ''what fools you
men are. Don't you know that since
you told me, three months ago, that
you cared for none but me, / have low
ed you with all my heart and soul?
And you want to change all that to
friendship. Shame on you! / have
sinned by making a sort of an idol Of
you. / thought you were better than
other men, and every day l thanked
God for giving you to me. But you
are just like all the rest. Oh, I'm so
glad am not man. You are all so
cruel. You may not not mean it, but
you are selfish, careless and ever
changing, and that is cruelty in its
worst form. / care not how honora-
ble you may be in dealing with other
men, there is not one man in ten thou
sand who knows what honor means
in connection with woman. | did
no wrong in the past, yet you are
ashamed for your family to know about
me, How would you like them to
know about yourself? L have heard
many things concerning. you which |
know are gospel truth, and you would
not dare deny them; things which |
blush to think of, yet you are ashamed
of me, whose only fault has been to be
abused by another man whorl left
because could endure the life no long
er. But am woman, and we all are
such idiots as TO forgive and keep on
loving as long as there is a trace of
manliness left to love.
Let me tell you something more.
The best man that ever lived is not
good enough for the most ordinary
woman. | used to say j didn't like
women; that l preferred to make my
friends among men. But I'll take it
all back. Pm so sorry ever said it.
One woman is worth a dozen men.
She does not desert loved one when
calumny assails; she is faithful; she is
brave; she is strong TO endure. Mr..
Zellman, | do not wonder that you
found out we were not suited to each
other. am thousand times too good
for you"
ada! Adaw he said, "have i de-
served this? | know | am not good
enough for you. l didn't mean what
/ said. III
''Of course you didn't mean il, !" she
interrupted. "You never do. Pm
glad found that out in time. I'll be
foolish enough to weep for you days
and weeks to come, but even such grief
will he sweeter than the knowledge
that had married a man who con-
sidered himself degraded by the union.
No, no, / do not blame you. l am
glad it is all over"
He went around to the club that
night and played game of billiards.
my engagement is off," he said,
lightly. ooh, what a roasting l goti
What queer creatures women are, any
way. So changeable."
"She sat by the fire, alone, and wept
bitterly.
''One more dream ended" she Sob
bed. "What q muddle life is anyway.
Heaven help us all."-Emma V. Mise,
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