Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1912-09-26

Gu away, UT WHICH may 10 eApISSoco
from the soft petals by the hard cir.
cumstances of pain and sorrow until
there is left nothing but the lingering
perfume of the flower.
His body trembled II she laid
hand upon him, his soul thirsted for
her; present or absent he conJured
before his tortured brain the sweet
ness that inhabited her breast. He
had been clearsighted enough in an
alyzing the past, he was neither clear
sighted nor coherent In thinking Of
the present. He w%orshiped her, he
could have thrown himself upon his
knees to her; II it would have added
to her happiness, she could have
killed him. smiling at her. Rode she
in the Juggernaut a Of the ancient
idol, with his body, would he have I'M
hesitatingly paved the way and have
been glad Of the privilege. He longed
to compass her with sweet obser-
servances. The world revenged itself
upon him for his long neglect, it had
summed up in this one woman all its
charm, its beauty, its romance, and
had thrust her into his very arms.
His was one of those great passions
which illuminate the records Of the
past. Paolo had not loved Francesca
more.
Oh, yes, the woman knew he loved
her. 1t was not in the power of NOR
tai man no matter how iron his re-
s%traint, how absolute the imposition
of his will, to keep his heart hidden,
his passion undisclosed. No one could
keep such things secret, his love for
her cried aloud in a thousand ways,
ever his look when he dared to turn
his eyes upon her was eloquent of his
feeling. He never said a word, how
ever, he held his lips at least fettered
and bound for he believed that honor
and its obligations weighed down the
balance upon the contrary side to
which his inclinations lay.
He was not worthy of this woman.
In the first place all he had to Of
fer her was a blood stained hand.
That might have been overcome in
his mind; but pride in his self pun
ishment, his resolution to withdraw
himself from man and woman until
such time as God completed his ex.
piation and signifed his acceptance OF
the penitent by taking away his life,
held him in%exorably.
The dark face of his wife rose be-
fore him. He forced himself to think
upon her, she had loved him, she had
given him all that she could. He re-
membered how she had pleaded with
him that he take her on that last and
most dangerous of journeys, her devo-
ton to him had been so great she
could not let him go out of her sight
a moment, he thought fatuouslyl And
he killed her. In the queer turmoil of
his brain he blessed himself for every
thing. He could not be false to his
| purpose, false to her memory, I'm.
worthy of the passion in which he be-
lieved she had held him and which
he believed he had inspired.
II he had gone out in the world,
after her death he might have forgot
ten most Of these things, he might
have lived them down. Saner clear
er views would have come to him.
His morbid self reproach and self con
seriousness would have been changed.
But he had lived with them alone for
five years and now there was no put
ting them aside. Honor and pride,
the only things that may successfully
fight against love, overcome him. He
could not give way. He wanted to,
every time he was in her presence he
longed to sweep her to his heart and
crush her in his arms and bend her
head back and press lips of fire on
her lips.
But honor and pride, held him back.
How long would they continue to ex.
ercise dominion over him? Would
the time come when his passion ris.
ing like a sea would thunder upon
! these artificial entertainments of his
| soul, beat them down and sweep them
away?
At first the disparity between their
situations, not SO much upon account
of family Or of property-the treas
ures Of the mountains, hidden since
creation he had discovered and let lie
but because of the youth and posi-
ton of the woman combared to his
own maturer years. his desperate ex
~perience, and his social withdrawal
had reinforced his determination tc
live and love without a sign. But he
had long since got beyond this. Had
he been free he would have taken heI
like a viking of old, IL he had to plucf
her from amid a thousand swords and
carry her to a beggar's hut which love
would have turned to a palace, And
she would have come with him on the
same conditions.
CTo BE CoNTINUED.3