Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1905-05-12

ried that morning.
Married. l exclaimed; "wlly had
not the least idea that such a thing was
ever thought OFF,
No more had we, Master Silas,
few weeks ago." answered Martha,
blushing, land, you know, you have not
seen us since Christmas. So as you
had kindly sent me an invitation to come
down and see you,, thought l would
take the liberty to bring Josiah along
/ with me, and make it a sort of marriage
! trip
J Il am very much delighted to see you
both, and you shall stay with us for
your honeymoon | said, shaking hand
of each. "But you might as we'll have
invited lis to your wedding"
! Martha laughed and blushed: and then
my father and Mr.. Jonathan offered their
i warm congratulations to the happy bride
and bridegroom.
"And are you still at the Corinthian,
Josiah? 2" I inquired.
! NO" he answered: Martha has per-
suaded me to relinquish public life, and
her father has procured for me an ap-
polntment upon the railway as porter"
] A little time afterwards. Martha came
to me with a radiant countenance. ''Only
think" she said; that dear, good Mr..
Jonathan is going to set us mp in husi-
ness for your sake! And. Master Silas,
what did l use to say when you made
such fuss about the little 1 could do
for you-didn't I tell you you would be
rich some day, and what fine things you
| would do for me?'
"But I am not rich my good Martha"
said. smiling, land it is not who have
done this for you"
| 'Oh, but it's all the same, SIR she
said, with a very sly look.
Presently my father. Martha, and Jo-
siah went into the house. But Mr..
Jonathan remained behind, and taking
my arm, strolled with me across the
| lawn.
"Silas, my lad he safid, in kind
voice, the sight of that happy couple
has set me thinking upon a subject I
have long had in my heart! Although
have never mentioned it, l know all
| about you and Clara. Mrs. Wilson told
me what she knew. and have picked up
the rest here and there. l have waited,
however, until now. In the first place.
l wished to know you better to Judge
of your Disposition; and, in the second
place, although the ties that bound Won
to that unhappy woman were of the
| weakest, yet, after the dreadful circum-
| stances that attended her death, we were
compelled in decency to allow a certain
time to elapse before the subject of love
and marriage could be broached"
"Ah, sir" l answered mournfully.
CLARA has ceased to love me. She will
never forgive the wicked weakness of
my conduct in gaining her love while
another claimed me as her husband"
ut was very culpable," answered Mr..
Jonathan, gravely; "and in any other
person 1 could never have pardoned it:
but your life my poor boy. has been so
exceptional, that it would be hard to
judge you by the rules of everyday
lifc.''
-
"And you forgive me-. darling" I
whispered as held Clara in my arms
Il was never angry with you" she
answered, softly. Il only felt sad, and
that I wished to die
She was mine-mine at last! Nothing
could stand between us now save death!
oh, the bliss, the rapture of that mo
nient!
l am lying at her feet, with my head
resting against her, and my face upturn-
ed towards hers, as 1 used to in the old
days. The cool air of the soft summers
night, laden with the perfume of the clus-
! tering roses, steals through the open lat
tice. There iss no light save that of
the moon, that streams through the win
dow, cheQuering the floor with the shad-
ows of the overhanging leaves. One
broad beam glances over my darling's
head, making her golden hair glisten like
threads of gold, and falls full upon the
portrait of her mother that hangs behind
her. She is translating the rhapsodies
that fill the souls of both into loves own
language Oh, those wild, pas
sionate strains, how they thrill through
my soul! They tell all the story of our
love-soft, melancholy, mysterious
then broken by sobs and wails-swelling
into horror and cries of agony-then
melting into soft, dreamy harmony too
ecstatic for joy, too hopeful for sadness
and so they die away into the passion