The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-10-29

alliance I cannot write the thoughts that come into my mind when think William Tankeriane may never meet again. for If we meet. shall kill him.
 "As for yourssif Laura. the great ness of your sacrifice shames me Into silence. the agony of 1t burns me; am dumb and helpless in the presence of such martyrdom. If reconpense
 were in my power would give it at 1t is, cannot even thank you. should rather curse you for the burden you have laid upon my soul, if I did not realize that this Is part of my punish uent.
 Laura, we shall never meet again. This much owe you. beloved. and this much I will pay. I have ruined your life. and. when you lay at the point of death. swore to God that I would tempt you to no further sin. Things have gone very wrong for us. dearest, have been punished, and you, good, sweet and noble woman that you are. have been punished for my sake. "But there Is still a life for you, Laura. life in which you may do much good in the world. You have wealth and tender heart, and there Is much suffering which money and kind ness can alleviate. Your husband, bit- . terly though hate him for the wrong he did you, has sinned, like others, In the name of love. know he loves you dearly and will do all that he can - to make you happy, and help you in your charity But [ know also that the claims on the pocket of a great landed proprietor in these days are many and difficult to meet. have more money than I know what 10 do with--and though I may possibly do some good with 1t, yet am hindered by my in- f1rmity, I have today signed deed of gift. making over to you the sum of 100000 pounds, which desire you to use in the cause of the helpless and oppressed.
 "As for myself. Laura, shall do my best to live out my life without caus- ing further harm to others. My en- gagement to Leonore has been broken off After what has happened, the marriage would have been impossible, and, apart from 9iiat, refuse to bur den any woman with the care of a blind and helpless man.
 T am in the great darkness. beloved. and there will be no light for me on this earth, save the memory of your dear facr-
 May God bless you and keep you from all harm is the earnest prayer of one who will love you always--John Shil..
 Laura Tankerlane spelt out the ill., WEltteH W0EuS one Dy one, untll SuG reached the end of the letter. Then she raised the sheets of paper to her lips. and the hot tears blurred her sight. So this was the end of all. John Shil was to be blind. helpless. and alone. and she was to live out her life as the wife of Sir William Tankerlane. She was never again to see the man she loved, and, perhaps, he would new CT write to her again. This was to be the calm after the fierce storm which had wrecked both their lives. For her the thrusting aside of self, and the peace which can be found in the doing of good works For him the loneliness and the darkness. It was for this that she had sacrificed her happiness, for this that he had defied all the laws of God and man. This was to be the end. Her heart ached at the thought of the dreary darkness which had closed over the life of the man she loved. She pictured him friendless and alone, groping for everything he wanted, de- pendent on others for all his simplest wants. Schools, churches, charities, endowments, the sufferings of the poor, the wants of the widow and the orphan. all faded into nothingness be- fore the thought Of this one helpless man.
 Then she rose suddenly to her feet with cry of anguish. and thrust the letter into the fire
 "Oh, God" she cried. be merciful to him. Tighten his darkness. I beseech Thee, oh Lord"
 But as the words found their way to her lips, the wild thought came to her that she would leave everything and go to him. That she would give up her position, her work among the poor, her honor as wife, her hope of Gods forgiveness, and go once more to Black Hall, as she had done the day before her illness. He had broken off his en- gagement to Leonore, and was a free man. He would not think of Tanker i lane. and perhaps would be even glad to do his enemy an injury. In the pre- vious instance 1t was the thought of | Leonore that had restrained him, Now i there was nothing to separate two peo- i pie who loved each other, if they were | both willing to face the censure of the | world.
 Yes, she would go to him; she would | once more give up everything for his | sake. He would not be able to resist | her pleadings. He was weak and help | less; his heart was crying out for a l loving hand to lead him, for a loving E voice to comfort him, for loving eyes | to see for him. How could he resist | her? Already he had fallen from his | high resolve. He had. by his own con- fession, resolved never to write to her. Yet he had written. He had been un- able to keep silence. How should he | resist her, if he heard her voice, and | felt the touch of her hand? No man could be strong enough to choose a life of lonely darkness to a life of | love and happiness Long years lay 1 before both of them. They would spend | them in doing good to others. Hand | in hand they would walk through their | vale of sorrow until they reached the end of the path, and then--ah what | then?
 Her train of thought stopped at the question she could not answer. Shesl stared at the cracking ashes of the letter in the grate, as though the black ened words could speak to her of the hereafter. |
 What then?" she said aloud, "ah, what then, beloved?"
 And in the silence a few words came | back as answer to her question, words | that she had known from childhood.
 First the death-and then the judg- ment"
 She repeated them to herself A dozen times, as though trying to grasp their meaning. Then, with a low moan of pain, she sank on her knees and pray ed to God. The dream was over She | saw the reality of the thing she in- tended to do. It stood out clear in all Its hideous nakedness.
 Oh, God, forgive me-" she cried. give me strength to do Thy will. Give him strength to bear his sorrow. Let me dedicate my life to Thee Keep me from sin. from the very thought of sin. Help me. oh God, for am weak CT than a child"
 She buried her face in her hands,