Year: 1877

:, JA.NUA AIRY 4,
her life, and it was new experience to her
to have part to play, especially such a try
ing one as this. But one thing upheld her,
and that was the strong, clinging love, which
had sprung up, secretly, in her heart, ripen.
ing, almost at its birth, into maturity, and
surrounding its object with halo OF perfec-
ton which seemed to warrant almost any sac
rifce which shssmight be called upon to offer
at its shrine. She had had admirers enough;
but though her vanity bad been asttered' her
affection had never yet been touched in the
slightest degree. Bot when this English gen.
tleman, 80 far her superior in rank, in educa-
ton; so handsome, Cat least in her eyes) so
manly, and yet SO gentle and refined, had
whispered to her how fair he thought her, and
how happy it would make him if she could
learn to care for him just little, poor Kate
felt wondrous emotion stirring in her breast,
whose influence she had no power to resist.
And 80 in spite of inward tremors and self
reproach, she yielded to his solicitations to
meet him, now in this place, now in that, when
no one was near; and in these stolen interviews
her fetters became more and more closely
wound about her. For every word OF love, ev-
ery cares be bestowed upon her, deepened and
strengthened his influence and made her the
more willing to yield to his wishes. He con-
fessed to her that bis parents had other views
for him; that it was necessary for scme time
to elapse before be could openly make her his
wife, but urged her to consent to secret mar
riaee, after which he promised to get every
thing satisfactorily arranged. Of course, she
was at first greatly startled by this proposal,
which seemed to her to involve untold difficult
ties and dangers; but her lovers arguments
gradually brought her mind around, if not
exactly to his way Of thinking, still, more in
accordance, than at first, with his views, and
those magnetic words, "for his sake" wrought
charm to which she must, perforce, submit.
Yes, for his sake, what would she not do?
Anything, certainly, that was not positively
wicked, positively criminal; and it could not
be that he, so noble, so good, would wish her
to commit any real wrong. And Mortimer
truly loved her; his professions were not insln-
cere. He thought her the prettiest, the most
charming little specimen of simplicity he had
ever met, and there was depth enough in his
nature to enable him to appreciate her innate
goodness and sterling worth. Yet, after all,
that love is and must be selfish, which seeks its
own qualification at the expense Of others
happiness and welfare, and asks from its OBJ
iect so great sacrifice. He knew it would
half break Kate's heart to steal away secret
" from her home, and to think Of the sorrow
Of those she left behind. But he thought her
affection for him ought to outweigh every
other consideration, cancel every claim Of
duty which had hitherto bound her, and make
her ready to endure anything rather than give
him up.


Six weeks passed away, and one morning
Kate was gone from the little cottage, no one
knew whittier. Search was made for her in
vain but at last in her room was found, where
in the first hurry of agitation and terror it
had been overlooked, a tear.stained note, has
tily written and indiEerently spelled, confess
ing that she had gone away with some one
who loved her very dearly, who was very
good, very noble, and would be as kind to
her as kind could be, but whose name she
could not yet reveal. Very soon, she hoped,
she would be able to tell them everything,
and they must not grieve about her, for she
was sure to be happy in all respects save one,
and that was her separation from them and
the concealment she was obliged, for the pres
ent, to practice. And oh! would her dear
mother, and all of them, forgive her? For
she knew she was doing wrong to leave them
in this way, but she hoped and believed it was
all for the best and she sent them all her
best love, and many kisses-and here there
was great blur on the page, where the tears
had dropped, half eHacing the concluding
words, and the hurriedly scrawled signature,
"Your own Katie" on the line beneath.


Wonder and anger and grief and longing,
nil were vain to remedy the disaster. Kate
wss gone, and weeks and months passed BY,
and no farther tidings Of her ever reached her
home.