The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1900-12-15
HER HEARTS SECRET
or, UNDER "a Spell l.,
BY JEAN W ARNE]R..
!. 4. l...~~~~,~c,~,>>~~-s :5

win you for my own, my purer, deare9t
self-my Wifew %gs %s; 4: z 5, q.
( s''Wculd you choose a wife becauAe
her face is fair and her voice is sWeet?H,
she asked, in tone which trembled,
cornfully, -timidly. 'Would
you choose a wife whose heart and soul
are sealed books to you? Of whose
past you know nothing? whose very
name is unknown to you-for Sybil
Wraye is not my name. All, you
shrink you falter, Mr. Give! It is not
for such as me to hear your words-to
listen to your VOWS to bear your hon
Ored name. It is not for me-" ~. "
'"For you, and only >you" he an
swered, eagerly, striving to grasp her
hand, as she would have turned away
from him. ''You are only trying me,
Sybil. Darling that sweet, snow-white
face Of yours is pledge sufficient to me
of your innocent past, OF your beautiful
future. Only trust me, Sybil, as I trust
you! I ask no more. There can be no
darkness, beloved, beneath the pure
sunshine of love 1t reaches, it glad.
dens, it beauties all things" s".
AYE, but the sun SETS" she an
swered, dreamily-'sthe sun sets, and
then the night must come. No, Mr..
Give, you have forgotten wisdom in
speaking-I have forgotten prudence III
listening to you. Let us treat this con-
versaticn as though it had never been.
will 90 away tomorrow, and you
must forget me-"
Forget you?' he echoed, bitterly
forget you, Sybil? Can one go out
into darkness forever, and forget he
has seen the light? Forget you?-for
get these two brief weeks of paradise
and go calmly into the frozen regions
of utter despair? Oh, Sybil, Sybil! But
why should I reproach you, my poor
little darling? The fault was not yours.
I was too blinded to see the folly Of
my own hopes, the madness OF my own
love. | was too hasty, too rash, in
speaking to you. But I can wait, dar-
ling-1 can wait! Only give nc a word
Of cheer of~hope, to live on, then try
my patience as you willw
The sunset hues had faded from the
western sky, and the roseate flush from
SYPHILIS check. There was no music in
the dry, hard voice that answered Her.
bert's ardent appeal.
II can give you no word of cheer, no
word of hope The gulf between us is
too wide, too deep, too dark. for any
link, however slight to cross. We must
part tom Mr.. Give, and heaven
grant we may never meet again!"
There was a thrill of pain in her last
words that stirred the dying hope in
Herbert's breast. E,s- -. -.
-'Sybil, Sybil! you do pity, me. Your
heart is not Eli cold-it:is too sweet, too
womanly, not to feel both sorrow and
sympathy for such great grief as
mine!"
II have no heart" was her agitated
reply. Il have no right to a woman's
heart, to WonlAn's sympathies. I am,
for must be, all stone-all stone!'
"You?" he repeated, in sad surprise
''you, so young, so gentle, so beautiful,
so gifted with all that can make Wo-
man happy and man blessed"'
''You are mistaken" she answered,
colGly. 'There is curse that will fol-
low me everywhere-thatI I will take to
upon me that no happiness can dis
solve. 1 must live, 1 must suffer, /
must die alone! But" her voice grew
softer: "you will believe me when I tell
you, Mr.. Give, that I have felt your
sisters kindness and your own far
more deeply than the happier woman
would have done. I did not seek it; l
did not claim it; I did not deserve it;
yet-yet'-she bowed her face in her
hands, and convulsive shudder
set med to pass through her frame-"I
should have fed from it, My shadow
should never have darkened your
threshold-my hand should never have
broken bread at your beard. It was
Weakness-nay, it was folly, madness.
that brought me to Give Towers!" ~
"Say, rather, it was fate,' replied
Herbert, imprisoning in his strong hand
the little fingers that We're claspeI so
despairingly. Darling, there but one
answer l will take as final. Look up
into my face with those beautiful, true
eyes, and say: Herbert, I do not love
YOU All else is naught to me. Love
like mine banishes all suspicion, deties
all distrust. d. will not grieve you with
another. sigh, another prayer, j if you
will look frankly into my face and say
you do not love me- &.5ss-...@. -.-.,-,s,
But she only bowed her head still
lower upon her breast. ,.*..5 Z a. .,s..
''Spare me!' she murmured. "Life is
hard enough without this -withou,
this!' .s..". ~ e E :,.& &i.. r. g.. !.
You cannot say it!"' repeated the
young man, triumphantly. /. '''Sybil,
Sybil! your own Ee1lt is my ally. You
do love me a little a little, Sybil?'
Love you! Love you! No, no! II
cannot, dare not!" she cried, desper-
ately. Love, love! The word is mock,
cry between you and me. Seer she
added, pointing with a wild gesture to-
ward the west. The light was but for
q moment, the darkness, the chill, the
shadow Of night have come upon US al
ready. It is our doom-our doom =
s# Ny darling!'' cried Herbert, sooth-
ingly. "It is only the gathering twi-
light. There, there! be calm! will
say no more to you now, Sybil. Do not
tremble so, darling no danger is near
us. Look up far above the shadow,
darling. See the star Of love trembling
in the purple sky. the star Of hope that
lights the evening shadows and heraMs
the golden morn. It is the only Oman
see, the only omen / will take! The
5vesper-star, Sybil. shines above us, and
will light our athWay yet. +
e1IAP,rEl ".
# s5S5 Nightfall.