The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1903-05-14

Interview with Mary in the anteroom
of the kings bedchamber and the trag-
edy at Billingsgate he and had many
conversations about the extra ordinary
situation in which he found himself
At one time, remember, he said:
Il was safe enough before that after
noon. l believe l could have gone
away and forgotten her eventually,
but our mutual avowal seems to have
aazed me and paralyzed every power
for effort. I sometimes feel helpless,
and, although l have succeeded in
keeping away from her since then, I
often find myself wavering in my de-
termination to leave England. That
was what l feared if l allowed the
matter to go to the point of being sure
Of her love. I only wanted it before,
and very easily made myself believe it
was impossible. and not for me. But
now that know she loves me it is like
holding my breath to live without her.
l feel every instant that l can hold it
no longer. l know only too we'll that
if l but see her face once more l shall
breathe. She is the very breath of life
for me. She is mine by the gift Of
God. Curses upon those who keep us
| apart Then musingly and half in
terrogatively: "She certainly does love
me. She could not have treated me as
she did unless her love was so strong
that she could not resist it,
LET no doubt Of that trouble you," l
answered. "A woman like Mary can
not treat two men as she treated you.
Many woman may love or think she
loves many times, but there is only one
man who receives the full measure of
her best. Other women again have moth
ing to give but their best, and when
they have once given that they have
given all. Unless l have known her
in vain. Mary. with all her faults, is
such woman. Again, l say. let no
doubt of that trouble you''
Brandon answered with a sad little
smile from the midst of his reverie,
1T is really not so much the doubt as
the certainty of it that troubles me-"
Then, starting to his feet. eff thought
she had lied to me, if l thought she
could wantonly lead me on to suffer
so for her. would kill her. so help me
God"
do not think that Whatever her
faults-and she has enough-there is
no man on earth for her but you Her
love has come to her through a strug-
gle against it because it was her mas
ter. That is the strongest and best, in
fact the only love, worth all the self
made passions in the world"
eyes, l believe it. l know she has
faults; even my partially cannot blind
me to them, but she is as pure and
chaste as child and as gentle, strong
and true as-as-a woman. I can put
it no stronger. She has these, her re-
deeming virtues, along with her beau
ty, from her plebean grandmother,
Elizabeth Woodville. who with them
won Il royal husband and elevated her
self to the throne beside the chivalrous
Edward. This sweet plebeian heritage
bubbles up in the heart of Mary and
will not down, but neutralizes the roy
al poison in her veins and makes a god
dess Of her" Then with a sigh: "But
if her faults were a thousand times as
many, and if each fault were a thou
sand times as great, her beauty would
atone for all. Such beauty as hers can
afford to have faults. Look at Helen
and Cleopatra and Agnes Sorel. Did
their faults make them less attractive?
Beauty covereth more sins than char
ity and maketh more grief than pesti-
lence."