Year: 1864

SOFA, and seating himself beside her, said,


IL owe you an apology, Caroline. l do
not know that you care to hear it. but for
my own sake must make it. Ten wears
ago, Caroline, l loved you, fondly and de-
v3edly, as man should love the woman
whom he hopes to make his wife. Loved
you with an ardor which man who has
lived to the age of thirty without forming
even passing attachment can lavish upon
the object of bis first love. Thought that
you understood me; thought forgive
mel thought that You loved me. You
were so young and innocent, that thought
you did not care to hide your affection from
one who you knew had first loved you, had
tried to win your love And 1 only awaited
favorable opportunity to declare myself.
had seen Mr.. Ellwood's affection for you,
but had fancied that you discouraged it,
when upon the day on which l parted
from you-ten years ago-I met him on
his way to the cars. He stopped the cab
in which he was driving apd called to me
to ride with him as he wanted to talk with
me. Joined him, and he told me, Caro-
line, falsely, I now think) that you were
betrothed to him-that he had loved you
since his first meeting with you in the
previous summer, and that he had that
morning won you to promise him your
hand, and he asked me, begged me not to
interfere with him. / would give no
promise, something in the fellows man
ner made me doubt him, and determined
to see you Immediately. called npsn
you that afternoon, your bushes upon the
mention OF his name, your. interested
manner when you spoke of his illness
caused me to think that you did love him.
And as for any preference which had
fancied you felt for myself, concluded
that in the little knowledge had of wo-
man, had mistaken a merely friendly
feeling for warmer sentiment. I can
see it all now, understand it all. You had
refused him on that morning, instead Of
accepting him, and his detected manner
instead OF being caused by the separation
from his betrothed wife, was the result of
that refusal. Your bushes, too, and 'ex-
pressions of interest were caused by the
grief which your kind heart felt at having
been forced to give pain. Fool! and
blind that was not to understand it then!


For one month struggled to forget
you,-strove to drown in steady atten-
ton to business all memory of the happy
hours had passed in your society. But
it was useless. And finding that life in
Philadelphia would be undendurable from
the constant associations connected with
your presence, I.gave up my business and
went abroad. One year later read in an
as / supposed" And he took from his
l. r.. 4 4 LII I e., l.
of paper. 1t read


"MARRIED-At Bertram on the 25th INST,
II. c. Ellwood to Miss Fenton, eldest daugh-
ter of Hon. j. c. Fenton of Bertram."


"To me there was but one Miss Fenton,
never dreamed of its being your sister
who had married Ellwood. And with this
paper resting against my side l started off
for a solitary tour of Switzerland.


"To my great disgust met with party
of friends who laid lain to me, and whom
l could not shake off, and who at length
induced me to travel with them. For three
years We travelled necessarily then set
tied down in Paris and devoted myself to
the compilation of a lawbook, which had
long had in mind That finished and had
published. | have since then written a
great deal, and have read and studied
much; so that these ten years have not
been wasted; bnl, oh Caroline, they have
been so lonely have never for amoment
forgotten you. 1 loved you then-I love
you now. have loved for for ten years,
Caroline. Must it go for naught? Will
you send me from you again into exile?"


There was a passionate entreaty in his
voice not to be withstoOd. Miss Fenton
did not speak, but she lifted her hand
slowly and laid it in one of his. He un-
derstood her meaning, bent down to look
into her face, read his answer in her eyes,
passed his arm fondly around her. drew
her to his side, and pressing his first kiss
upon her pure lips whispered, God make
me worthy of the trust"