Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1901-10-28
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

| she began 81 do not want the lamps
lighted yet; this soft gloamingIis the
fairest light of all. How sweet the
air is! Oh, Angel, / am so happy.
am so happy that words fail me-" and
the bright tender smile deepened on
her face while she sat silent for few
minutes.
The girl drew a footstool near her
mother, and sat down at her feet.
81 am so happy, Angel" repeated
her ladyship, that words fail me"
Angela looked up her face bright
with smiles.
II know why, mamma" she said.
This beautiful night has made you
| think of the Abbey, and that has
brought papa to your mind. I always
think of him on these beautiful sum
mer nights"
| If she had suddenly dashed cold
water into her face, her ladyship could
not have started more violently. The
words came to her like staggering
blow. She remained silent. Her task
was rendered doubly hard now, and she
moved uneasily. She laid her white,
gemmed hands on her daughters hair.
your papas memory is sacred to
me always, Angel" said her ladyship;
and the girl looked up in wonder not
ing the constraint in her mothers
voice. "But it was not of him I was
thinking just then, but of some one l
hope you will learn to love as much as
you did him.
"That could never be, mamma" re-
turned Angela. "You are testing:
For you know could never love any
one one-hundredth part, as much as
loved papa, in life or in death"
81 am quite serious, Angel" Lady
Rooden assured her daughter; "the
whole happiness of my life is at stake
now. Listen to me patiently, dear;
have something to say to you"
Yet, in spite of her happiness and
her conviction that she was in every
way at liberty to please herself, in
spite of the certainty she felt that she
was doing no harm, her face blanched,
her lips grew white and stiff. The
words usually so fluent and ready
would not come; the hand laid caress-
ingly on the dark, ripping hair trem-
b1ed. Never had task before seemed
sc hard.
angel" she went on gently, 81
want you to try to love some one
whom I already love very much. We
have always had the same loves, the
the same tastes, the same habits we
have been one all our lives, darling;
do not let anything divide us now
now
Nothing can, mamma, now or
ever" she answered fervently. "You,
papa, and l were always one. 1t Is
just the same now as though he were
living"
And again Lady Rooden felt as
though some one had suddenly thrown
cold water on her, and for some mo-
ments she was silent. She rallied her
courage presently by telling herself
that she was doing no wrong, that she
had been a loyal and loving wife to her
husband while he lived, and that she
had perfect right to marry again if
she chose to do so. Why, after all,
need she fear anything that her
daughter would say? Yet she trem-
bled with emotion when she contin-
ued:
Nothing, | am sure, can ever come
between us, Angel. We may differ in
opinion, but we are always one in
heart. I want you to please me;
want you to make me happier than I
am by trying to love some one whom
have learned to love-"
Still no glimmer of the truth came
to the girl, who loved her mother with
the single love of loyal heart.
81 shall always love your friends,
mamma" she answered. "They are
the same to me as my own"
But the person of whom speak is
nearer and dearer than a friend. Oh,
Angela, it seems hard to tell. you; yet
cannot tell why it should be! I am
young yet, and have, l hope, long
life before me- I have the right to
please myself in all my actions
Angela took the white gemmed
hands in her own and kissed them
with passionate love.
why do you say such strange
things, mamma" she cried 81 do
not understand"
Lady Rooden's lips grew sitter and
colder as she continued.
LET me tell you in few words, An
gel. I love with all my heart, and
have promised to marry Captain Wyn-
yard"
A dead silence seemed to fall over
the room, terrible chill silence that
was broken only by a passionate cry
from Angela-a cry so full of anguish
and despair that Lady Rooden's heart
was touched by it.
1T cannot be true" the girl gasped;
cit is not true!" Oh, mother, darling,
would rather die than believe it!'