The Houma courier. (Houma, La.) 1878-1939, 1897-04-10
HER ATONEMENT.


SA~PO Nph anu ouWeu nedu OF the young |
widow concealed her grief from every
eye. Yet, could she have exposed her
face, there would have been e onlv a
strange pallor, only dry eyes lowered
to the ground, only her pale lips form
ing one word which kept ringing in her
heart until it seemed as though she
must shout it aloud-"Free! Freel"
Yet the man to whom the sad fare
well duties were being rendered had
given her his last glance of love and
trust. What that trust had been, how
entire and complete, was proven when
his will was opened and his whole inn
fortune left therein to her free
viii and disposal. No conditions marred
his noble confidence. To the woman
with whom he had lived two short
years Of unalloyed happiness, he gave
all he had to give freely, generously,
asking nothing at her hands in return,
only that she might provide a home and
support for his orphan niece, and even
this request was made under the seal
of a private letter.
Maude Harrison had played well her
pert. When she gave her hand to the
man now dead her heart was another's,
but no suspicion of the truth ever
crossed his mind. That she, who stood
with him at the altar, whose eyes shone
with the fire of love, who lay clasped
to his heart, who pressed her lips to
his, had perjured herself by her very
VOW, was false as she was fair, would
have been beyond his widest dreams of
fancy; and so, happy in his blindness,
he closed his eyes for the last time, feel
ing that the only bitterness in death lay
in the fact that he must cross the dark
river alone, leaving her sad and desolate
upon the shore.
When Kate Leonard first came home
from school where she had spent foul
years and met the young and beautiful
woman whom her uncle had called wife,
and, CHANGING at her own somber
mourning, recalled the fact hat they
both shared the same deep grief, a
Pitying love sprang up in her heart as
she clasped her in her embrace.
Her welcome was all that she could ask,
and while she went to her own room
and laid her head upon her pillow with
out a thought, the older woman sat for
hours opposite her mirror, studying the
face reflected there.
"She is young and lovely, while I am
growing old. All, conceal it as I may,
my 25 years are leaving their mark. I
have no longer the freshness of IS.
Will your eye detect it, Max? All, my
love, my one only Lowell"
'"This is my niece, Mr.. Creighton.
Mr.. Harrison used to speak of her as a
little girl, and you may imagine my
surprise when this tall, stately young
ledy was ushered in upon me-"
"a very charming surprise, I should
imagine" was the response, spoken in
rich, musical tones, "as she will prove
SO much more companionab1e for You.
How very pretty she is" he added,
turning to his companion, Is the young
girl, after standing a moment beside
them, crossed the lawn and stopped to
gather some flowers.
"Do you think 50? Rather too child
ish a type of beauty to suit my taste.
However, I am somewhat critical"
Sat which no one can wonder, when
your mirror reflects so high a stand
ard"
l. 1t was summer, and Mrs. Harrison
was in her beautiful home upon the
Hudson, where was enacted this little
scene. Three years had passed since he
who had amassed for her all this wealth
had beeen stricken down, and delicate
lavenders and creamy laccs relieve the
somber hue of her Widows dress. Her
house is filled with guests, but he, the
latest to arrive, to whom she had eX-
tended but IN hour ago the hand OF
welcome, is honored beyond them all,
That he would ever stand beneath her
roof, accept her hospitality, had been a
prayer she never dreamed would meet
with fulfillment. Yet here he is. Her
hand was laid in his; his voice, with
none of its old sweetness gone, assured
her that not yet has he found forget
fulness. And down deep in her very
soul the ~smoldering embers are famed
into a flame, which burns all the more
fercely because so long suppressed.
Weeks passed, the June roses fade
the July sun beams upon the soil, but
each day brings new youth and fresl
beauty to the fair hostess.
tits evening, and Max Creighton PAGES
the rose-bordered walk alone. A cigal
IS in his mouth, and thick clouds o.
heecy smoke rise and encircle the hand
some head. His thoughts seem to b,
happy ones, for in his eyes CLEANS
deep light, and a smile is on his lips. {
smile which deepens as he catches sigh
of a girlish form on the terrace beyond
and he quickens his steps until another
moment brings himto her side.
"What happy chance has brought yol
here alone. Miss Kate? l was jus
thinking of you. Do you know that dur
ing this last month 1 have been ~learniul
a secret?-a secret which L was thi
moment longing to unburden to som,
one-which soon I should have had t.
whisper to the flowers and trees, if
had not spied you out; and now will yol
listen? p
A scarlet flush swept over the girl
fair cheek; q flush the mans eye failet
not to note as she answered:
4GT- - 49, go o-1 a..