The Hazel Green herald. [volume] (Hazel Green, Wolfe County, Ky.) 1885-19??, 1902-03-13
EN1~yyvrr-1E
"a SECRET SIN. Z
ZE-.EEEEEEU
BY A. NJ. BELLERBY.

Is Tor others, and so woven into our
lives that we cannot let it CO."
Even for others we must not
sin," he answered firmly; and /
cannot imagine your doing wrong
for your own sake, Mrs. Repton."
Again / bent my head over my
work, unable to meet the stead
fast gaze of the man I had so in
ured.
"You don't know anything about
it," l answered, trying to speak
lightly, and then, with a tremen-
dous effort, went on to the point 1
had been unable to reach before
But you, too, have had trouble,
Miss Hurst tells me-"
eyes; chiefly of my own max
ing. The rest is merely a money
trouble"
Merely? Most people think
that bad enough"
1T does not seem so to me. l
have enough for my needs, and not
a being in the world dependent on
me. 1t is true l am being kept
out of property that is rightly
mine"
Then why do you not put il,
your claim? Do you not hate those
who are keeping you out2"
God forbid! Ipity them from
my heart. They need it more than
l. Mrs. Repton, are you not feel
ing well?" he asked, catching sight
of my CHASTITY pallor.
at is nothing" answered faint
ly, my hand clutching at my breast,
for my heart seemed to have stop
ped beating.
He threw the window open near
me, and, laying me tenderly back
in my chair, took eau de cologne
from the mantel piece and bathed
my face gently as a woman might
have done; yet shrank from that
soothing touch as if it had stung
me.
81 am better, thank you," /
| gasped. "Please leave me alone.
"You make yourself suffer too
much" he said, in strange tones.
Seeing his presence distressed me,
he gave me one glance of unutter-
able pity and left me to suffer
alone.
In that hour 1 realized that ]
loved the man l had SO deeply in
iured, with a love of which l had
supposed myself incapable. The
hour in which l had betrothed
myself to William Repton had
seemed to poison all affection
within me.
l went to my room, leaving @
message for Miss Hurst, when she
should return, saying that I had 9
headache-which was very true
and should be glad to lie down fol
a while.
The servant to whom l gave the
message handed me letter at the
same moment.
1t was from my mother-my
poor mother, for whose sake l haC
sinned and suffered so much thai
all daughterly feeling was turneC
to gall and bitterness within me
She wrote so happily, so brightly
The boys were doing well at Elton
and the girls at Cheltenham-sh'
herself had gone to live at the lat
ter place-and the only drawback
to her happiness was that her dar
ling Margaret was not there will
her.
Then followed a piece of new
that nearly stunned me. 1t wa
. hidden in great number of words
but the meaning was clear enough
"a Colonel Hill, of whom she haC
frequently spoken, had asked he
to change her widowed state, anC
she had consented to do so.
"For you know, Margaret" sh'
went on, "Annie and Muriel ar,
away so much they are hardly
companions for me; and since yor
have deserted me 1 have been lone
Ily; and Colonel Hill is very rich
| 1 laid down the letter and trieG
to think. The fresh shock drove
away my headache quite suddenly.
! 1 had not deemed it possible that
my mother could forget my father
after less than three years of wild.
Iowhood-yet why not?