Year: 1877

| l.


Let me go my way and you yours


for we could never be happy will


clond of mystery between us
/ Tn other words, you refuse me {?


There was a quick resentment
in Alfred Graves tone, for the re.
fusal of the woman he loved to be
his wife was blow at once to hii
heart and his vanity. He was not
a conceited man, but when he of
tered his hand to his sisters govern
efs he certainly did not expect a
refusal. There had been many
meetings before he spoke, in some
of them he had thought Hester
Stretton's face betrayed her love for
him in spite of the cold manner
that was habitual to her.


Scarcely man to measure his
own merits by the length of his
purse, Alfred Graves could not
quite forget that he was the owner
OF fine estate in the country, sew
eral houses in town, and five thous-
and year, while Hester Stretton
was his sisters governess. She had
come to Mrs. Evans from a female
seminary, with letters of introduc-
ton; had proved herself trustworthy
with the children and no one had
any desire to pry into her private
affairs during the whole of the first
two years.


Mrs. Evans considered her a
treasure and the children were much
attached to her and progressed
rapidly.


Then Alfred came back from
abroad, and his sister, offering him
tie hospitality of her house at Gull
ford, suddenly made several dis
coveries. First, she found out that
although the family had thought
and spoken Of her brother as an
old bachelor, after all, at forty, he
looked younger than some men
under thirty. Next that Hester
Strctton, though she was reserved,
was wonderfully fair, and could
converse with Alfred long after
the topic were quite beyond the
elder III ly's comprehension.


The. old, old story progressed day
after day, anu siIo ~~,.ll cI
good reason for sending Hester
away. and surely Alfred was not to
be turned from her house. Mrs.
Evans was constantly devieing
schemes for shifting Hester in the
school room, for sending her long
crrands and employing her time in
useful needle work. But if Alfred
would lounge into the school room,
and insist upon hearing his nephcws
and nieces recite long poems, while
he made sketches of ucster's pro-
file I; if he would join her just as she
started on the long crrahds, and
was seized with desire to read in
the very room where tho needle
work was in progress, what could a
prudent sister do more


1t was some comfort that the
'infatuation, as Mrs. Evans mentally
termed it, was all on one side that
the pale face flushed not at his
coming, or tl:e soft dark orbs woocd
him to her side. But Mrs. Evans
could not believe it possible for Al
fred to offer his hand and fortune
to any woman and be rejected. So
she tretted secretly, while Alfred
wooed patiently, till on the summer
morning when he found Hester i'm
the garden, for wonder, free from
the attendance Of juvenile Evans,
and made his declaration in implicit
terms.


And without one flush on her
white cheeks-if possible even
paler than usual, Miss Strctton had
told him there was a secret in her
life that kept her outside the ranks
Of happy married women. Still
he pleaded till she ownedi it was no
crime or fault of her own that sep
arated them, ard again he urged
his suit only to meet the repetition
of her declaration.


In other words, you refuse = he
said, with angry emphasis.


The color flushed then over Hes
ter's face, for there was keen pain
as we'll as resentment in Alfred's
tone. For the first time she touched
his arm, lifting her soft dark orbs
to his own. There was a thrill in
her voice as she said, steadily, but
in. low tones: Excuse me, Alfred.
If had no affection for you /
would put nay hand in yours and
share your wealth, for my life OF
jrudgery is a weary burden to me.
But l love yoa, and [ bid you go
from me, and seek to forget me in a
happier SMILE


Something in her manner and
face awed her lover from any de-
monstration of dlspleasure at hcl
frank confessions. He prisoned the
little white hand she had piacec
upon his ARE and said: