Year: 1878

to give you comfortable, peaceful home, II
take you away from all these trials and hu
miliations and place you above the reach o
those whose continual employment and de
light has been to make you suffer. No." sh'
continued, excitedly, ''you can never know
how feel. No one can who has not occupied
the same position. As we'll place a cup O
water before parched, thirsting, faintinl
man, and expect him not to drink it, as t.
offer me q means of escape from this prison
house, and expect me to refuse itp


II know you have suffered here," sale
Helen, gently. .


Suffered! No mortal can tell how much,
exclaimed Myra. "Oh Helen, am not thu
sort of person I might have been if hao
been kindly and properly cared for. AL
that is worst in my nature has been brought
to light and cultivated into strong growth
All the bad passions Of hatred and Jealousy
and anger, and everything else that is horri
BILE and unchristian and the little good thai
was born in me has been trampled and stiaed
out of existence. My heart is like garden
overrun with noxious weeds, where the pool
little flowers that might have grown, are deao
or dying from evil surroundings and neglect
I have wished-oh how often-that l hac
died when my mother did. 1t would have
been far better for me. I feel, now, as if my
only chance of ever becoming good for any
thing is to b. taken away from the people
hate-the person, rather. l don't hate tnt
others-and have some counteracting IN
Auence exercised over me. I may turn ou
fit for something, perhaps, as the wife of
good, kind man like Mr.. Lacy, even though
he may not be the sort of person 1 would
have chosen as my ideal of a partner for life
The wonder to me is, by the way, how he
ever came to think of choosing me ! As te
my not being in love with him, l really don1
think it will affect either his happiness OF
mine Icertainly respect him from the bot
tom of my heart, and it is possible-thougt
1 don't know much about such things-that
love may come after I know him better. Al
all events, I am most grateful to him, and
that alone will make me endeavor to fulfill
my duty"


Myra was quite breathless with this long
speech, the longest Helen had ever heard bel
make. She was very much in earnest, too
and showed more evidence of true feeling in
her concluding words than she was in the
habit of displaying. Helen kissed her cheek
with new feeling Of sympathy, for she now
saw her in better light than before. "Only
you must not say you hate any one, Myra,
she whispered. "You will try and get over
that feeling, now, won't you"


"Perhaps, may be able to, when I am out
of the way" said Myra, a little doubtfully'
Helen did not urge the point, neither did she
say anything more in regard 10 Myra's love
for her betrothed husband. She felt that the
canning change in her Life must neNAAAa ri!Y
be benefit to her, and that with its new in
Auences to soften the sharp edges of her dis
position, and develop its latent good qualities
there was fair prospect of her becoming q
better and happier woman.


In the meantime, as Myra had noticed, q
difference in Allan's behavior had become
perceptible. He was certainly more assidu
Gus in his attentions to Helen, than he had
ever been since her arrival in New Orleans
To his mothers great satisfaction, he now
appeared generally ready and willing to be
her escort in rides, walks, and to places Of
public amusement. And, as he very well
knew how to make himself exceedingly agree
able when he chose, Helen began to find him
quite entertaining, and her liking for him in
creased in proportion to the growth of the in
timacy between them. She did not question
his motives, or puzzle herself TO account for
his altered conduct, not being sufficiently in
terested to give herself much concern on the
subject. But as he certainly had it in his
power to make her time pass more pleasantly
than before, and succeeded in 80 doing, she
was naturally quite willing to profit by bis
new eagerness to please her. Allan, on his
part, was not insensible to her attractions
He thought her very pretty, very amiable
and quite intellectual enough 10 be compan.
ionable. Still, for all this he was not at all
in love with her, for it is not by any rule OF
reason or expediency that the blind god ar
ranges such affairs. To Mrs. Dashwood, ii
seemed piece of wonderful folly that he was
not eager and anxious to secure Helen's hand
as a prize we'll worth the possession of any
man. Though, whether this prize would have
appeared so valuable without the appendage
of her large fortune, Cat least, in her eyes, is
matter of rather more than doubt. Allan,
to do him justice, was not mercenary. Not
that he objected to wealth, but he would
scarcely have put himself out of bis way in
order to obtain it. But he was rather lazy
and disliked the effort of continuously oppo.
sing himself to an attacking force. And after
maintaining, for some time, sort Of phleg'
matte obstinacy, against which Mrs. Dash
woods battery of argument, persuasion and
reproach seemed to be vainly brought into
play, he suddenly appeared to change his tac'
tics, and to allow himself to be persuaded, or
at least, overcome. But hs was very far, yet
from bringing himself to make formal pro.
posal of marriage, or even from definitely
contemplating such step.


In his mothers satisfaction at this new line
of conduct, she was ready to be far more gra
cious to Myra than she would otherwise have
shown herzelf, and sort of truce was estab'
lished between them, which continued, un
broken, until after the time of the wedding
This affair, according to the wish of both
parties concerned, took place very quietly