Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1903-06-25
A Broken Wedding Ring
81
By Bertha II. Clay.

IF 1t be death, welcome death ;
she said as the shadows closed arounG
her.
CHAPTER Ii.
1t was not death that came to Leah
Hatton, only merciful insensibility
tingling with pain, to find the crushed
pages of her fathers letter in hel
hand, the freight shining on her, and
the face Of the picture looking down
upon her in its calm, grand despair
She woke with pain worse than the
thrust OF sharp dagger, with low
moan on her lips.
A faint glimpse Of hope came to
her. The story might not be true
Her father did not like her, and he
had perhaps taken this method OF
Furnishing her. The very hope, faint
startle her into sudden brightness.
The story might not be true. Let her
think, let her go back in mind to the
past, and see If anything in it bore
out or contradicted her. She thought
Of Dene Abbey first, and she re-
! mombered the great green hill that
rose between the estate and the town
Of SouthwoOd. 1t was on the other
side Of the nllI that her father and
sister had lived. She could not find
that the faintest notion Of being near
them had ever daWned upon her. No
bu 4 lan In, hAr Np a
WORKOUT political agitator who had
come to SOuthwC0d to rest and die:
but she remembered that Sir Basil had
been very strange when at Dene.
She thought of the long rambles,
when, without seeming reason, he had
left her alone. They had puzzled her
ut the time; she understood them now
He had spent those hours at the cot
tage with Hettle or with Martin Ray
She remembered his abstraction his
gloom, ana her anxiety about him.
. 1t seemed to her as though her
brain were Keeling. Strange words
rang through 1t, strange sounds came
to her. and voice deeper and sweeter
than any she had known sang
i Sweet Is all the land about, and all
/ the flowers that blow,
And sweeter far Is death than life
to me that long to GO"
! There would be no sweet release Of
death for her She would have to
suffer through the long years alone
The freight played on the beautiful
face Of Oenone, whose sorrows she
had sympathlzei with only yesterday
Now whole age seemed to part her
from that time She tried to rise
from the chair that she had drawn
near the picture, but there was no
strength in her limbs, She could not
stand; she must wait until the first
shock of her pain had passed 1t
seemed to her almost as though
Ocnone were living ana was the only
one who understood her trouble.
Great Heaven, how hard 1t was to
bear!
So through all this time. Basil had
never loved her, Why had he asked
her to marry him? He had probably
mistaken fancy for love- and only
when ho met llettie knew what love
was. She leah had worshipped
him; had made no secret of 1t; she
had told him often, with kisses and
tears, that life held nothing for her
but his love! oh, bitter sorrow, bitter
shame He had kissed her, listened
to her loving words. spoken to her of
the future they should pass together,
Ho had prepared his house to be her
home; he had given her wedding
ring; he had discussed his future with
her; she had thought Of herself as
his Wife, He had allowed her to tell
MIN the deepest secrets of her heart;
to mako her life one with his he had
let her believe in his truth and his
afrection-and all this time he had no
love for herself!
Hottie had won him Hottie. with
her fair face and wealth of golden
hair, Hottie, whom years ago she had
4 forsallen 1t was Hottie whom he had
! loved, and not herself,
Il will Judge him my self, she said;
/ and then slowly in her own mind she
went over the past beginning with thu
first hour that she had met him and
ending with the previous evening,
when ne had parted from her with u
pale, worn face, rs though life had
llttlo brightness for him Not ono
circumstance escaped her memory.
She recalled the little incident at tho
Royal academy, when, referring To
the face that she had thought like
lIoUte's lie had said, 1T has the
tenderness that yours lacks" Time
went by UNDECIDED she forgot every.
thuI in the world hut Che task She
had set herself, ana each fact, each
memory, ms ii camc homo to her
brought With II confirmation Of the
truth
At last With white, fearless face
aud with cinched hands, She tell upon
her knees With a bitter cry
1T Is all true" she moaued every
word is true"
How long She knelt in the GLOW 81
the aroleht she never knew; lut i
I was tho sound Of the dressing bel