Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1898-12-22
HER ONLY SIN
= BY =
BERTHA M. CLAY.
BERTHA M. CLAY.

leit that that girls race was
the star of his life. 1t was
only girls face, with hair OF
light gold and eyes of darkest hue, a
face with beautiful mouth-a face
that, once seen, could never be torsJ,
ten. The girl looked slowly up and
down the broad waters; then her eyes
fell on the face appraised to hers, and
she disappeared.
BY dint of perseyering inquiry he
found out who she was; and learning
her history, he resolved that he would
marry her. Her name was Giulia di
Cynthia, and she lived alone in duh
gloomy, half-ruined old palace with
her eldest sister, Assunta They We're
the last descendants OF a noble but
ruined race.
In the life of the elder sister, AS
sunta, there had been tragedy. She
"had been beautiful in her youth, with
the dark picturesque beauty of Vene-
tan women; and her lover, who held
an appointment under the Venetian
government as it existed then, had
gone to England on political business.
and there had been foully and treach
erously murdered For this, Assunta
hated the English and England with
deadly hatred. She prayed morning
and night for vengeance upon the
perfidious and aecursed country; she
would have seen an Englishman die
of hunger at her feet rather than have
rali Ia i'm wit 81 OF
bread She was twenty years older
than Giulia, and every year, grew
bitterer Their parents had died wher
she was twenty-siy and the little
goden-haire Giulia only six. They
had but little money; the gloomy Old
palace with its faded hangings, It's
worm-eaten furniture, its air of decay
was theirs, but the income left them
was but scanty. Assunta brought up
her little sister to hate England
Pray, child" she would say, that
heaven may Sless every land except
England. Pray that the sun may shine
and the dew fall on every land ex
cept that. 1t is aecursed, for innocent
blood was shed there
But Giulia could not learn to hate;
when she had finished her prayers,
she would say in low voice that
Assunta could not hear;
Heaven bless England too"
Assunta watched the little Giulia
grow until she became one of the
loveliest maidens in Venice; but when
Jasper Brandon came from the land
which she held accused and asked
for her treasure she would not give
her to him. She drove him away with
stern, cruel words; she told him she
would rather that her beautiful Giulia
lay drowned and dead in the waters
of the canal than that she became his
wife.
He had met her only five or six
times when he asked her to be his
wife-he had not written home about
her. His whole life had been abb
sorbed in his love. He had forgot
ten his country, parents, friends; the
swift, keen, sudden passion had taken
possession of him; he had no life out
side Of it, and he came from a race
tered in war When Assunta drove
him from the threshold with bitter
words, he made up his mind what to
do Looking into the face of the
girl he loved, he said:
Il cannot live without you. Send me
away If you will will not live.
Come with me and ! will make this
world heaven for us both
She assented He married her I'M
known TO every one, and took her
away to little place on the Mediter-
ranean.
Assunta redoubled her prayers. Evil
should, evil must, come to the country
which called such monsters sons. She
vowed solemnly never in life to see or
speak to Giulia again-and she kept
her word.
On those sweet southern shores Jas
per and Giulia dwelt for one year.
They lived on love one entire happy
year. There were times when Jasper
reused himself TO wonder what his
parents would say when he took his
young bride home. He had no time
to ask for their consent TO his mar
riage, and when he was married he
had many misgivings.
He knew that they had great hopes
as to his marriage, that they wished
him to marry Lady Marie Valdoralne;
so he felt that perhaps 1t would be
better If he said nothing about 1t I'M
til he took his young wife home, Then,
when they saw her, when their eyes
dwelt on the beauty of her most fair
face. they would forgive him and
love her.
SO for this one happy year they
lived on beauty and love. on sunshine
and flowers. And they were SO unut-
terably happy that ii seemed as though
the ordinary doom OF man was not to
fall on them.
There has never been a love so
strong, so beautiful as ours" eI
would say 10 her.
SO amid the olives and the vines,
amid the gorgeous flowers and the
starry blossoms, o., he shores OF the
sapphire sea, under the light Of the