Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1897-07-09

yesterday; | don't care what hap
pens tomorrow; to day Is all L
trouble myself about and he
carried this system of existence to
such an extent that arrangements
were often upsent. No doubt there
was secret in his past life, but |
found him an interesting cOmpan.
ion, and his secret did not con
cern me.
After dinner that night we sat
aud smoked.
sIt does me good to see you
again. be said. The fact of the
matter is, that l want to tell you a
story. Were you never curious
about me in the old daysF
Yes, ofteD.'
'Wel., I want to tell you my bis.
tory. l was a disappointed man
then: | am a brokendown one
now, without fIiends, almost with
out money. You remember when
left YOU and returned to EnglapdF
81 do, and you promised to look
me up in London, which promise
you never kept
No: but you received a letter
from me telling you that ] was
going abroadP
Yes
that letter was lie. L have
not been out of the country since.
| know | was not going when l
wrote that letter.
lie spoke as if the statement
was the keynote to bis whole his
tory. His manner quite startled
me.
You wonder why | took the
trouble to tell you lief Well, l
wanted to be forgotten; l did not
want you to try to find me-
'And yet you have spent the last
two months looking for me- /
said.
lie was silent tor a moment and
rellt his pipe.
There were two of u.s. he said;
twin boys. l was the elder by ten
minutes. and we were born three
months after cur fathers death.
We grew up great friends, as twins
often are, ald yet we were very |
different. developed intO a quiet,
studious, graved-faced yonngster.
[ was slow at learning, slow OF
speech. and nobady's fdvOrite. Hq
brother, Richard, on the contrary,
was bright, clever; even az boy
his conversation was accounted |
brilliant. He could do anything |
and everything, was full of fun and
laughter, and generous aud
thoughtless to a fault. Richard
Denmyre was petted 10y every body.
When We were about sixteen my |
mother died. l remember the night
before her death as if it were
yesterday only.
''Yon are my eldest boy, Robert,
she SAID, taking my strong hand in
her feeble one. You are perhaps,
not so clever, naturally, as Rich
ard, but you have got balance,
which he has not. Richard troubles
me often.'
Everybody likes him, MOTHER
answered.
That makes all the more dan
ger; and 1 want you, Robert, to
look after Richard?
"I shall always love him.
"And you will help him p
eyes, always
IMore than once that night she
made me repeat the promise, and
took an oath, little knowing
what the oath meant.
'Tlre passed, and we both got
on well. had, perhaps the most
money, but then did not 60 out
as much as Richard did, and he
gave away more than l did, too.
'The humdrum round of my
daily lie was suddenly disturbed
pleasantly so Alice Eyersham
came into it, and from the first
moment saw her loved her. j
had never even cared about a W.
man before; had never even, as
boy, had a preference for one OF
the pupils at the seminary for
young ladies we passed every
morning on our way to school.
For a long time ! Ioysd iu silence.
| feared to put my fate to the test,
and when l pucked up my cour-
age to ask Alice to be my wife |
was too late. She was kind aud
gentle, but her mo- was final.
''But, Alice, l will wait. You
will change-you must ch ange,' |
said, In my my despair.
tI oholI havar phanOQ1