The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-11-09

oested earnestly. II may devise some
n cans BIZ which you may escape.
"If you did you would only hate me.
she answered, her lips tremohng In blank
is hut one course / can pursue.
lyon int nd marrying hiIn?" he OBJ
served hu, kily. .4; ;,
ssHaye Won 9 er refe cited how utterly
wretched our lie must necessarily ne
under such circumstances ne asAeu'
gazing seriously into her eyes.
Yes she answered, endeavouring
yainly to restfain the sob which esoapen
her. 81 know full veil the life wnicn
must now be mine. Without you snail
not care to live''
''Then why not allow me to assist
your he urged. "Whaiever may be the
nature of your secret, tell me and let me
advise you. Together we will frustrate
Zertho's plans, whatever they may be.
ANY such attempt would only place
me in greater peril she pointed out.
"But surely you can rely on my
secrecy" he said. 'sDo not love your
"Yes. but you would hate me if you
knew the truth, " she whispered, hoarsely
stTheretore l cannot tell you. I"
Your secret cannot be OF such nature
as to cause that, Liane," he said. quietly.
ssIt is Eyen if told you everything
your help Wonld not avail me Indeed.
it would only bring me greater pain and
unhappiness, she answ cred, quickly.
.fOur days of bliss have passed and gone
and with them all hope has vanished.
They were full of perfect peaoeiuI nap
piness, because you loved me with the
whole of your soul, and ] idolised you in
return. Hour by hour the RENE mbrance
of those never-to. be-forgotten hours spent
by your side comes back to me. re-
member how quiet and peaceful the ring
lIsh village seemed after the noise rattle.
and incessant chatter of a gay Co tinental
town, how from the first moment we met
I, already worli-weary, comment ed a new
life. But it is all past-aH gone, and l
have now only before me world OF bit
terness and despair" And she turned her
pale face from his, to hide the tears
which welled in her eyes.
You say you were wOrld-weary, he
observed, in low tone. II do not WON
der at it, now hat I know OF your past.
My past!" she gasped, quickly. "What
do you know of my pastY
ST know that your father was gam
bler,' he answered. "Ah what life of
worry and privation yours must have
been, dearest. Yet you told me nothing
of IT'LL
She looked at him, but her gaze wav
cred beneath his.
81 told you nothing. because I feared
that you would not choose the daughter
of an adventurer for wife, she fall
tered.
1T would have made no difference, he
assured her 81 loved you. 2
Eyes" she sighed but there is a
natural prejudice against women who
have lived in the undesirable set that
have. -
ssQuits so,'' he admitted. "Neverthe-
less, knowing how pure and noble you
are. dearest, this fact does not trouble me
fh<, I cfi nav
ious, to make You my wife.
she shook her head gravely. Her hand
holding her sunshade treInbled a s she re-
traced the semicircle in the dust.
No. she exclaimed at last. If you
would be generous, George, leave ME and
return to London. In future l must bear
my burden myself; therefore, it Is best
that should begin now. To remain here
is useless for each time see you only in
creases my sadness; each time we meet
brings back to me all the memories | am
striving SO hard to forget =
But / cannot leave you. Lame" he
declared uecisively. You shall not throw
interruptions man without make some
effort to save you.
s.It is beyond your power-entirely be-
You'd your power" She cried, dejectedly.
II would rather kill myself than marry
him; yet / am compelled TO obey his will,
for II took my life in order to escape.
others must bear the penalty which l
feared to face. No, If you love me you
will depart, and leave me to bear my sor-
row alone. I"
81 refuse to obey you" he answered.
firmly. "Already you know that because
| loved you so we'll have borne without
regret my fathers action in leaving me
almost penniless. Since that day have
worked and striven with you AWAY as my
h<~ac ,x-osr = n mil o6 RI 10
mine Your photograph looked down at
me always from the mantel-shelf of my
dull, smoke begrimed room. 1t smiled
when l smiled, and was melancholy
when was sad. And the roses and vio-
let's you have sent from here made my
ro0rl look SO gay, and their perfume was
so fresh that they seemed to breathe the
same sweet odoor that your chiffons al
ways exhale. Your letters were little
cold, it is true but / attributed that to
the fact that in Nice the distractions are
so many that correspondence is alway
sadly neglected. Picture to yourself what
a blow il was to me when on the terrace
at Monte Carlo you told me that yon had
another lover, and that you intended to
marry him. I felt"
.sAhp she cried, putting up her little
hand to arrest the flow of his words,
know. l know. But | cannot help it. l
love you still shall love you always. 1
But our marriage is not to be-.
He paused in deep reflection. There
was one matter upon which he had peyer
spoken to her., and he was wondering
whether he should mention it, or let it
remain a secret within him. In few
moments, no ever, he decided.
81 have already told you the cause
which led my father to treat me SO un-
Justly, Lame. - he said, looking at her
seriously, 'sbut there is one other fact OF
which I have never spoken. My father
left me considerable sum Of money on
condition that / married woman whom
| had never seen. -
"a woman you had never seenf'' she
exclaimed, at first surprised, then laugh
ing at tne absurdity of such an idea
fsYes 1t was his revenge. / would not
promise to renounce all thought of you,
therefore, in addition to leaving me prac
tically pauper, he made a tantalising
provision that il chose to marry this
mysterious woman, of whom none of my
family knew anything. l was to receive
a certain sum. This woman must, ac-
cordiug to the will, be offered a large sum
as bribe to accept me as husband, there
g.. -