The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1906-06-17

! age. Hagar was profoundly moved as
/ she sat by that humble bedside, with
/ the ancient love letters on her lap.
/ Read them ALL" said Margaret, with
the tears running down her face; read
| the letters of John in which he told me
! Of his love thirty years ago. Thirty
years! All, dear GOdI when I was
young and fresh! Oh, oh, oh! Youth
and love" she wept, beating the bed
clothes with trembling hands-'1ove
and youth! GOneI gOne!and 1 lie dy-
mgr
Steadying her voice with an effort in
the presence of this sacred grief. Ha-
gar read the letters written from India
/ by the absent lover. There were ten
or twelve Of DEMONSTRATING letters.
full Of pure and undying love. From
hrst to last there was no sentiment
but what breathed devotion and trust.
The writer spoke tenderly Of his Door
blind love; he promised to make her
life happy, to strew her path with roses.
and IN every way to show himself
worthy Of honor and affection. In to
the twelfth letter there was not a hint
of parting or of a desire to break off
the engagement; only in the thfrteeAth
ietter-two curt lines, as Margaret had
sald-came the announcement, with the
swiftness and unexpectedness of q
thUnderbolt. 1T is better that our en-
gagement should end" wrote John
coldly; therefore 1 return to you the
thirteen letters you wrote me-" And
that was all This unexpected commu-
nicatiOn, coming so suddenly after the
feTvor Of the dozen letters. took away
Hagar's breath.
Excepting in the last I do not see
anything cruel or cold in these letters
MISS Snow" said Hagar, when she had
ended her reading.
Margaret put up one thin hand to her
head. mo, no. she stammered. con
fusedly; land yet 1 am sure John wrote
cruelty, but his last letters were cold
and limited at a desire that we should
part remember Jane and Lucy read
ing them to me-"
Il don't see any hint of that" re-
piled Hagar, dOubtfully; I'm fact. i'm the
last two or three he asks. as you have
heard. why you wish the marriage
postponed"
ct never wished thatT murmured
Margaret, perplexed. II wanted 10
Certainly 1 never said such a thing
when I wrote to him. Of that am
sure"
We can soon prove it." said Hagar.
taking up the other packet. Here are
your letters to John-all of them. Shall
1 read them?"
Receiving an eager assent. the girl
arranged the epistles in order Of dates
and read them slowly They were
scrawled rather than written. in the
large, childish handwriting of the blind.
and most of them We're short. but the
first six were full of love and q desire
to be near John. The seventh letter.
which was better written than the pre-
vious one, breathed colder sentiments.
it limited that the absent lover could do
better than marry a blind girl who
might be drag on him, it saiH.
Stop Stop" cried Margaret.
breathlessly. I never wrote that let
teri"
She was sitting up in the bed. with
her gray hair pushed off her thin. eager
face, and, turning her sightIess eyes to-
ward Hagar, she seemed almost to see
the astonished face of the girl in the
intensity of her desire.
1 never wrote that letter. repeated
Margaret, in a shrill voice of excite
ment; you are making some mistake"
Indeed 1 read only what is written"
said Hagar; ''let me continue When I
finish the other five letters we shall
discuss them. But I fear-I fear"
You fear what2"
That you have been deceived. Wait