Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Herald, 1904-03-11, Page 5I have thought so for some time, my dear," was the quiet rept.y. "Your engagement was folly ; your marri- age wpuld be madness." Then Violet went up to her moth- er and puts one arm round her neck. "Mamma," eine said, "you• will save me all trouble ?" "Yes," replied Mrs. I%aye, "you may Safely leave it all to me." And so wealth won a soul not moble enough to live for love. CHAPTER XX. A cruel day dawned for Felix Lons- •da1c-a day when the sun shone so !brightly, and with such heat that the grass, flowers, ane , leaves witit- erd beneath his fervent rays, when a ;golden haze seemed to lie over the lance, and the brooks ran slow'( ly over the pebbles -'a clay when the wind erns ghee., rind not the faintest whisper of a (breeze stirred the leaves aaa benesoms-n. cruel day. He ea - membered it all through his life, for the warm smutted e. emed suddenly to change into a fire that burned him; everything bright and fair ap- peared to wittier before his eyes. It VOWS a day which brought him a pain that never quite left [tam while life lasted.. He wets in 'fir office in the High Street -thee office that had once borne each segue of prosperity - where the great iron safes had been filled with deade, ancl huge bill -files bad horn loaded with documents. - 'when the tablets bad been strewn with (papers and letters -where 'busy clerks had passed the day, all too short for eche work they had to do -where people were always: going and com- ing with the air of having important business on hand. St was all eo different now. One by one the plerks' haul, gone. There was nothing to do. One by one the neighboring :squires and farmers had withdrawn their 'business from the old office. There 'wars so little to treatsaet now. 'that Felix could man- age witb one clerk. Still he had hope„ : Elie felt eure that in time this state al things must improve. When peo- pl,e began to think calmly they( i ..:euld know that his father was in- socent of that which had been im- puted to him. Felix was seated in his office. It Wako too warm for business -no one amine in. There were no messages, no intervlow,s-lie had nothing pro- lossion& to do. The clerk was busy copying a. deed, and Felix was making the most of hey time by writ- ing an massy upon the "Inequalities of Battle}' Law." Suddenly tne postulan's knock was board in the quiet street, where on • that ecorchiug day oven the very houses seemed to sleep. The sound did not Interest Fe:ix ; he expected no letter. Violet seldom' sent him a Tittle note; when she ,did so it Gulls like the Iinest cordial to him -he , erkecl the better for it -ho was happier and - brighter. Per - baps if she had known how happy those letters made him she would have written oftener. Presently, to his surprise, came the a5harp, sudden knock of the post - amen at his otvn door. The clerk auiekly disappeared, and then re- ltu.rnod and pieced a letter in his.. thsends-a lady's letter, with a faint odor of violets. He opened it and looked at the signature-" Martha Elianee „ Rt was frown Viole't's mother. What samba she have to say to him ? It were an invitation, probably. Ho put asci ie his essay and began to resod Ike note. "My Dear Felix, -That which I leave to say will pain you, I know, fat I Caxnnot help it, it meet be said. ate engagement between your and my aa�uglrter must come to an end. The r+eametancee under which I gave .easy consent were, quite different from Moos existing at present. Your pros - poets hsere quite altered. If you �Ory my daughter no(vr you cannot eep her in anything like the position foss which ache lives even at present, ,atm, I as not willing to see her be- eria.'sse a mere domestic drudge. Mr. illfaye and myteelf wale tb,e engage- aat to end at once, ars under no a.ir- a•ncee oonid we consent to the •n arrih,ge. Violet sends her love, and deetreos me to nay that all this is written by her 'Visile, and that she hopes always to be your friend. She de going away on a long visit to etas of her relatives. Hoping you will see tbe neves1ty torr this step, I am mare very aneerely, Martha Bale." Ike read it through, at first with the feeling and conviction thhat it piquet be a practical joke, then with e, deadly assurance that they were g�ging to take Violet from hint. 'the handsome worn face grew deadly pale ; a dazed, dim look came :tmto his eyes; a great, tearless, eeciceless sob rose to his lips; the enn}ight seemed to change to a hjood-red mist, and a sound like the roar of distant waters filled his ears. He sat with( the letter open in his h'ancl, dazed as a man Who had received a terrrible blow. Haw long he sat he never knew. ".t seemed to hien that years of torture rolled over his head. He • was literally stunned. Ho had borne all his sorrrows with a brave, strong heart because he had a true hope -a beautiful warm love. To take that from hits was to leave him with no ground to stand on. Slowly tilt/light and reason came back to him. He rose, still with the open letter in his hands, with a white set look on his handsot•ae, ha,ggar'd young face, which might have touched a heart of stone. Ho took his hat from the stand, and • the clerk looked after him with a terrified gaze, wondering what could have happened to him. ' There was bad news in the let- ( ter," he said ; "but where has he gone with it open in his hand like • that ?" More than one person whom Felix onsdale met asked themselves the same thing, more than one spoke to hien ; but he did not hear -he walked on, looking straight before him, bis eyes fixed on vacancy, his white set face without change or expression until he reached The Limes. What he suffered as he passed the old land- marks, the trees, the stiles, the lilac bushes at the gate, was known only I to Heaven. He went straight into the house, and Mrs. Haye herself was the first person that lie met. She was hall frigntened when her eyes fell upon his face ; so unlike was It to any face she had ever seen, so changed by his great woe, she could hardly recognize it. She held out her hand to him with some com- monplace words of welcome. He did not hear them. "Come in here," he said; and, tak- ing her arm, he led her into the near- est room. 'Tell me," ho asked, "did you write this?" There was x o.thing to be said but the truth, yet in all her life Airs, 'Haye had never been more frightened. She had to deal with a desperate nxan. "Yes, I wrote it, Felix; it was wisest, kindest, best." "And you say that Violet is wil- ling -that Violet knows about It ?" "I wrote it with tier express sanction," she replied. "It is false! I would not believe you if you swore it 1 I will not believe a! Heaven Is not so cruel." "There is no cruelty in it," said Mrs. Haye; "it is what must be done." "Must be done! Do you know. that sire is my life itself -that I have no life apart from her, no hope that does not begin and end with her ? If 'you take her from mo you leave a dead body -she is my soul itself !" He paused, for the passion of his words overcame hint. How was he to tell this woman what Violet, his beautiful love, was to him ? How weak and impotent words were 1" "I know that you are very fond of her," Mrs. Haye said, gently; "still it can not be -it can not, in- deed." "Will you tell me why you'have done this cruel deed ? What is your motive?" " Because you cannot afford to marry ; you must not burden your- self with a. wife." Surely I know best. I can work -I do work. I would work night and day with that one hope before me of making my darling my wife. She Loves me ; elm knows what trouble has come to us ; she is willing to wait a few months longer, and then to share my lot. It will be brighter in time ; everything will come right for us yet. I have no fear." " I am not 'willing, her father Is not willing -we see no use, no sense in the best and brightest years of her life being wasted in waiting for a marriage that, when it comes, will be the worst thing that could happen to her. We are not witting; aid I tell you frankly that Violet sees matters as we do. She wished me to say all this." De you know what you are doing to m& -what you are taking trona me ? Do you understand," be erred, hoarsely, 'that you are killing we ?" "I am parry, of course -it is very hard, I know -but such a life es you offer Violet would kill her." " I do not believe 3t 1" he cried. "'You changed to me when my for- tune changed. You were willing • enough to ,give mo say darling when you thought that I was the son of e rlclr man. I shall l r rich again In time. I have seen the ebange in •you ; you have given my cold looks for kind ones -you have been barely civil where you have been warmly cordial. II understand it -you love Mammon. Wealth, rank, luxury, are snore to you than the heart of an honest man. But my darling Is not like you, and I will receive the state- ment you have made from no lips but firers." " My daughter is not at Borne, and yon will gain nothing from seeing her." • ' But you cannot do as you pro- pose ;she Is engaged to me -she is my promised wife -no man or woman living has the power to break such a. bond. !She could not break it ]ler•. self." " You will find yes. are mistaken there," said Mrs. lays'. And then Felix saw plaint' that it was use- less to say more to her -there was something of animosity in her tone, He left her, still holding the open Letter in his hand. " I am sorry for him," said Air's. Haye, when describing the scene to her husband. " But what can we do ? There is ono thing 1 am really thankful for -he bas not the least idea about • Sir Owen, I am not nervous, but I clo believe that If he 'sus'pected what has hap- pened he would Id!! hila." As Felix left the house to 'return home, Jennie, a ,smart housemaid, who lied often opened the door for and who thought him a. noble - looking gentleman, ran after him, "Do forgive rn•e, sir," she said ; "but you. have aiw.t'ys been so good to me, and I know all about it. 1 am so sorry for yeu, sir, that I eanot sleep for thinking c,f It." lie tried to look indifferent, to smile, bat he couad not ; his pride and self-control broke down at theise pitying word% "Tell me what you. know, Jennie," he :mid. "They have ,sent her away, sir, so . that you •should not ,see her and per- suade her. They have kept It quite ra sieret where elle is gone -no one knows -=but I stoles Into her room, and saw her trunk addressed to North Alton, and I know that Mrs. Heye has a cousin living at North Alton. She is gone there, sir, and no- where else." Thank you, Jennie," he said ,"you have proved yourself a friend." Jennie would not take the sovereign he offered her, and the sympathy he read in her face cheered him. " It will be all right when I see Mies Have," he said. "They have overpersiraded her. She loves me - and I trust her." p CHAPTER XSI. i Felix sent his clerk to Vale House with, a note saying that ,the family were net to be alarmed if he did not return that evening, as he had some important business to trans- act in a town some miles distant, and Darcy Lonedale, who was too ill then to feel an interest in any- thing professional, feebly blessed ham as he Listened. " He works hard," said Kate, as She read the note ; then she sighed, thinking how different matters would have been had Felix loved Evelyn instead of Violet. The Hayes had stood aloof from them in their troubles; they had expressed but little sympathy, and Mrs. Lonsdale felt it keenly. Violet had not been to see them, as Eve Lester had been ; and Kate sighed again as she thought of the differ- ence between the two girls. North Alton ways quito forty miles from Liitord. Felix knew that the name of Mrs. Ilaye's cousin was Miss R'estern. He had often heard Violet laugh about her mother's cousin, who was an old maid. lie said to himself that he would go to North Alton by the night train ; then he . could bee Violet in the morning, and be at home again in the evening. He little dreamed that people look CEI at him earnestly as he went to the station. Ills handsome young face bore the impress- of unutterable 601' - raw, his (yes were dila and shallow ed, with grant, c'at.rk circle; round them ; his Bps wore pale and 'trembling. He had never thought of taking food - the had not even driwk a glass of water to cool his parched lips. So }ll, sa eerrow-stricken, iso unlike the handsome, gallaut, noble helix of the day before was lt,e that Mt's, Lonsdale woule hardly h.a,va .known him had she seen trim ; he looked like the ghost of Himself. When he stood before Violet be ut- tered a cry of sorrow. and dismay. Ile hall left the hotel to go to her aunt's house, and met her just as. dressed for a walk, she was leaving tate little front garden. One of Miss Western's manias was early wa!kin•g. He waited until Violet had gone some little distance down the road, and then he followed her. She gave a little cry, and stood e11- ent and shame -stricken before him. Ho sa.w the sorrow, bat not the shame, and the sorrow misled him. The dreadful livid pallor, the stony mask fell from his face as a enow- wreath melts in the warm light of the alma "My da,rtieg," he creed. ".I knew' It was false -I knew that you had not ®aid it ! Oh, thank heaven, thank heaven !" leane.l, pale and breath - Less, against the trunk of an elm tree. "I believe in you, my darling,' he said. "I knew that yoe had not sanctioned it; you could not -you hold my life le your hands. And yet why ootid you come here ? Why did your not write to me ? Speak to ate, Violet, for by the heaven above me, I swear that I an:' going mad !" She was frightened, scared, at the will eyes, the hoarse voice, the face coo full of pain. She dared not have sale to hire : "I have made my ch0130, Felix, between love and gold; I have chosen gold." And, wretched as she was, thong ii the hn.d •Gi'•en h.m ata, and never meant to mar- ry hint' her whole heart went out to hent with: greater warmth and greater love than it had ever gone before. She held otrt her hands' to him, but started at the touch of hda-they burned her ilke fire. "Yon are making yourself ill., helix; ' elm said. Ill 1" he repeatecl-and his laugh wets more terrib'e to her than any words. "flow would you feel, Vio- let, ineci an; -one. tried, to tear the living'. beating heart, from your body ? Oh, my dsarling, tell mo It is not true --tell me so, for Heaven's' sake! Say that it is fa!eet-that they persuaded you, urged yon, Wrote It !e the fence that ban stood the tweet of thnai--eelattl s the heavleat armies -never ede saga --Cha stcuzde,rd. the world over. ©rise t�•+bwou h mar loon] agent or dlnat from us. • CBl? wii irfefi'resan ZJi, fiti$'li?l5'sie laza waai.�isry6iaa. ewe, Imaairrar,1. awe. et. vote. Af.Yl. lei nataeay , Kew without your knowledge! Speak. to me quickly, four I am going read.'' She was only a woman ---at the very beet a weak one -and sho loved even after the weak fashion in which some women love. She could not She the sight of Itis pain. She dared not tell ladnt the truth ; She did what weak women ea often do - she temporized. "I thought it best, Felix, 'to -to give you some years free that you might work the better. I should not like to' he, a burden to you." Ho drew a deep breath, like one r- lievcad from an intolerable load, from an unbearable pain. "Is that all ? Ola, my darling, my I will not reproach you. But w'hy have you given me this fright ? I have bcere almost dead. I am fifty years older with these hours of lior'riblo paen'. Why did you. not tell me, sweet, what yon dreaded ? There is nothing to fear; Violet. I am so strong when. I think of you that I coukl work by night and by day yet never feel. fatigued. Such love as mine puts nerve into a. man's right Land. Olt, Violet, sweet, you need not Gear ! You shall leave a home as beau- tiful as love cans make it. You shall have' a life so easy and so free from care that alien it ends you will look back in wonder to see how it has passed. You shall never know earn or fatigue. that I can, save you from+. Yoa shall be served and waited upon and attended to unceasingly." She made him no answer, bat ner hands touched his gently. " A burden 1" he repeated. "You were afraid of being a burden to me ! Olt, Violet, 'life of my lite, I ought to laugh at you! Sweet burden., that I would fain carry until death claims me ! Would to heaven that the Lime were near when I could make the dear burden all mine !" Still she had not the courage to look at him and say, "I love you, but I love ;jellies better -I have chosen the instead of you." She was frightened even to remember it. "Yon will never feel this fear again, Violet, will you?'' he saki, speak- ing more like himself than he had yet. "It is so absurd -yet perhaps It le natural to a sensitive mind like yoart3. I azo sane now, but I have been maid. Does my face alarm you? You need only laugh at it, sweet. I have forgotten to eat and drink since your mother's letter came. The Sun was shining brightly and tvarmiy, but it seemed to change all at once into a scorching fire -ball, and I ;vent maxi. Yet I did not lose my faith in you, Violet. I knew that you would never have spoken as your another did, never have writ- ten aril she did. I can forgive her ; It Is only natural that she should think so much" of you. I am not good enough, but I love you so dearly that my great love stands in the place of great riches or great rank." Still she . uttered no word - she dared not tell him the truth. 'Y'ou are strangely, silent, Violet," hes aid, "Have I frightened you?" "No," she replied ; `but you have startled me. You look so 111, Felix, and so unlike your own self." "No wonder, my darling," ho re- turned. "But I will not startle you again -I willl remember how sen- sitive you are." Sho looked up at him with a smile so sirens smile at wren they lure to destruction. "Felix," olte said, "you should not love me so much, dear. You know what I have alway;a told you about idols of clay." "I cannot help it ; my' mission in life is to Love you." "I cannot ask you to come in and see mc'," she said, "Miss Western does not like gentlemen ; ,she nevem ye - eaves visitors." (Tp be Continued.) Keep the Children Healthy. If the children's digesti're or - gens are all right. They will be hearty, rosy, happy and hungry. They will sleep well, and grow well. You can got your childrenright, and keep them right by the use of Baby's Owe Tablets, which cure all stom- ach and bowel troubles, nervous- nees, irritation while teething, break up colds and fever, prevent croup and deetroy wprnis. And you have a positive 'guarantee that there is no Opiate or harmful drug in this xuedi- clne. Ocie. Joseph Herbert, Killarney, Ont., rayu-"I am glad to say that L'taby's Owa Tablets have done nay little Gee a, great deal of good. I I have also given some of the Tab - late to friends who ha,ve found them equally satisfactory. "All medicine dealers sell the Tablets or they well be emit by mail at 25. cents a by w,ritlsag' The Dr. W11Iiazse' Tailecti- elne Co., Brockville, Ont. THE JAPANESE as UF.NRO." Non -Partisan Wise Men Who Advise the Mikado. ,• There is something very fascinating and feudal, mot to say patriarchal, in that small knot of Japanese statesmen known as the "Genre." They are, as it were, the very cream of talented and enlightened patriotism, the top straw- berries in the basket of Japan, who in their abnegation of self, their freedom from passion and political bias, their faithful endeavors for the good of their country and their compatriots, bring forcibly to one's mind the famous lines in which Lord Alaca flay speaks of the good old days: When none were for a party, And all were for the State. The members of the "Genre" are men who have done the State some services in the army, navy or other public pur- suit, who on admission among the elders, es they are called, completely separate themselves from all party excitement and strife; and when summoned by the Mikado to give him the benefit of their Advice, do so dispassionately, Wad solely on the merits of the question before thein. OMAEES DANGERS THE LIVES OF ALL WOMEN BESET By SECRREi' TROUBLE'S. A Simple and Certain Method by Which the Ills of Girlhood, and Womanhood May Overcome. Every woman's health depends np• on her blood -its richness and its re-, gularity. Sometimes it is hard te(, believe that nearly ail common dise eases spring from the blood, no mat' ter how different they may seem. It" is hard, for [stance, to realize that' rheumatism and indigestion aro bot the cause of bad blood, and both cured by good blood. But there can bo no doubt in the case of the secret" troubles of a, woman's- life, from fife teen to fifty. The blood is plainly, the cause 01 all her irregularities la health. Then comes the signs of sec- ret illness, the headaches, back- aches and sideaches ; the pale cheeks and dull eyes; the failing appetite. and irritable nerves; the hysteria and billiousness ; the weakness and langour• the distress and despond- ency and all the weary wretched feelings that attack women in theirs times of ill -health. And the blood is to blame for in all. 'When( the blood is rich veld "cd amid regular, there is little trouble In the life of maid or; mother. That is why De Williams' Pink Pills for Pale People are wor'tis their weight in gold[ to every; woman - They actually make new blood. Every dose sends galloping through' the veins pure, strong, rich red blood. that strikes at the cause of the sec- ret ill -health. The new blood re-, stores regularity and braces all the :pedal organs for their special tasks. In this way Dr. 'Williams' Pink Pills banish the backaches and headaches, sharpen tiro appetite and the ener- fies, soothe the nerves .and bring back tbe rosy g ow of health to fad- ed cheek. Tlilie is the special missions of Dr. Williams' Pink Pills and thorn is no other medicine in the world can do it so sueeessfuIly. Mrs. Geo. Danby, of Tilbury, Ont., has proved' the truth of these statements. and says so for the benefit her exper- ience may bring to otber suffering women. Mrs. Danby says ; "I thinly Dr. Williams' .Pink Pills a blessing to suffering woman. For a long time; I was a groat sufferer from the tsil- mente that afflict so many of myi sex. I was extremely nervous at all times, suffered a groat deal with! headaches and indigestion. In fact >r was in a most miserable condition, when I began the use of Dr. 'Wile liams' Pink Pills, but after taking, them a short time I began to im• prove, and through their further use I am altogether like a now woman-. I am sure IS ruore womant would take Dr. Williams' Pink Pills they woulit bo convinced of the great good they; can do." O . (What Dr. Williams' Pink Pills have done for :'ir. s. Danby they can do fog every growing girl and ailing woe man in Canada, if they are given It fair and reasonable use. But you must make sure you got the genuine with the full name, "Dr. 'Wil- liams' Pink Pills for Pale people," on! the wrapper around teary box. To he land from all dealers ire medicine or by mail at 50 cent, a box or six boxes for $2.50 by writing the Dr. Williams' hfedicine Co., Brockville, Ont. The Destroyer. A dwarfish thing of steel and fire; My iron nerves obey The bidding of my crafty sire, Who drew me out of clay, And sent nae forth, on paths mired, To slay his puny clan; A slave of hell, a scourge of God, For I was made by Man. When foul fog curtains droop and meet Athwart an oily sea; My rhythmic pulse begins to beat; 'Tis hunting time for me. A breathing swell is hardly seen, To stir the emerald deep, .As through that ocean jungle great I, velvet -footed, creep. And lo! my prey, a palace reared Above an arsenal, By lightning's viewless finger stemma, Comes on majestical. The mists before her bows disport .And 'neath that Traitors' Gate The royal vessel, high of heart, Sweeps queenlike to ter fate. Too confident of strength to Tweed The menacing faint sound, ,Ae front their leash, like bloodiao.e its freed. The snub torpedoes bound; She aloes not note them quartering ease Nor guess what lip is this Where tossed on turbid waters nee Its biting Judas kiss. Till with a roar that frights the Ara% Her cracking •timbers rend, And lurid smoke and flaming spars In one red storm ascend; 'Whose booming thunder drom ss ffe cries Of myriad souls in pain; That press on her stately side My quarry, torn in twain. -Edward Sydney Pylee. INCREASED ITS ADVERTISING. In a little town in New Jersey is .a cigar -making concern, which began a few years ago, to advertise in the lead- ing newspapers of dr8'ercnt cities. To. it is said, this establishment sells more cigars than does any other manu- factory of its kind in the country. Res- eently its advertising was largely in- creased as a result of its exparriesat its to the benefits ec! aewspapet pisrlbkl v