Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1900-03-19
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4 Golden Heart. I
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BERTHA M. CLAY. ri
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BERTHA M. CLAY.


| OF 1Ie again. IL Was d mystery " her,
far above her comprehension, this sud-
den coming of death into the midst of
| life; this awful wrenching of a great
human tie She stood with weeping
eyes by her husbands dead body. Was
this indeed the man who had loved her
with such lavish love? Where was the
| light that had shone in his eyes for
her; where the kindly, tender smile?
The grim, terrible mystery filled her
with awe and wonder. She had never
seen death before; it had been but an
empty word to her. She bent down to
kiss THE silent lips.
Il have been true to you, my dear. in
thought, word and deed" she said.
MAY we meet again in heaven!'
The funeral of Lord Rhysworth was
an event long remembered in the
county There was not one present
! whose heart did not go out in warmest
sympathy to the beautiful young
widow.
The Squire was deeply affected by
his old friends death.
"Who would have believed that I
should out live him?" he said; and in
his heart he knew that, but for the
dead mans generosity and kindness,
he would not have been alive.
They buried him in the old family
vault, where all the Rhysworth's for
many generations had slept When his
will was read it was found that he
| left all that he could to his wife
Burbage Grange, with an income Of
| five thousand per annum, which at her
death was to revert to his daughter
Kathleen together with large sum of
ready money and several valuable in
vestments, which made her wealthy
| for life. To his beloved daughter he
had already given Deerhurst Manor,
with two thousand per annum, the
money to accumulate until she attained
the age of twenty-one.
| Deeping Hurst, with it's revenues,
went to the next of kin, Walter Irving,
now Walter, Lord Rhysworth, who
office under government. A year at
least must elapse before he could come
home; so he wrote to Lady Rhysworth,
asking her as a great favor to remain
at Deeping Hurst until he returned to
| England.
Sickness and death had somewhat
scared Lola. She did not care to go
near Deeping Hurst, for the very
! thought off death was horrible to her.
While the three months of rigorous
mourning lasted, she wrote frequently
to Lady Rhysworth, being always very
careful to mention the fact that she
had just heard from Sir Karl; but she
made no attempt to visit her. Only
when the Deeping Hurst carriage had
| Been seen in town did she venture
near the place.
Dolores was pleased to see her. She
was young, and the long isolation had
begun to tell upon her. 1t was cheer
ing to see bright face and to hear
the sound of laughing voice. Almost
her first words to Lola were an invi-
tation to the nursery to see baby
Kathleen; and Miss de Ferras's first
remark was
What a great pity, Lady Rhys-
worth, it was not boy
why a great Pity" asked the
young mother, reproachfully. could
anything be fairer or sweeter than my
| little Kathleen?"
mo; but boy would have sue
ceeded to his fathers estates, and you
need never have left Deeping Hurst.
II would rather have my daughter, !"
said Dolores, clasping the child to her
breast, and Lola laughed.
Sentiment is delightful, but a large
income is better. Dolores, do you ever
think about the future? 1t seems a
strange fate to have married so
we'll, and to have lost
your husband so soon Do you ever
think of the future? You have the
best part of your life before you
II have not thought of it," answered
Dolores, in a clear, low voice; but her
lovely face flushed and her lips
trembled. "My only thoughts have
been Of my loss and my sorrow and
my beautiful baby. I have had neither
time nor inclination for anything
else"
But Lola, looking steadfastly at her,
repeated
"The best part Of your life lies be-
fore you. You are still very young;
you are beautiful and wealthy; you
have all the prestige without the
burden of your husbands rank; and
you have only one child. [ say that
your future will lbe more brilliant, if
you choose to make it so, than even
your past has been"
CHAPTER XII.
Fourteen months had elapsed since
the master of Deeping Hurst was laid