Mrs. Georgie Sheldon

“ When they reached more level ground he drew the hand he held within his arm, and they slowly wended their way back in the gloaming to the cottage, Virgie feeling strangely light-hearted and happy, and almost as if a new and beautiful life was about opening before her, while William Heath, with a twinkle of amusement in his fine eyes, wondered what his aristocratic mother and sister would say; what another brilliantly beautiful woman would think to see him thus playing the devoted cavalier to this simple and unpretending mountain maiden whom he thought so lovely. ”

“ It seemed to Brownie as if she were almost the only one living—as if all the world had died and were buried, when she returned to that great house in all its lonely splendor.
“Oh, Aspasia,” she cried, throwing herself into Miss Huntington’s arms, with her first wild burst of tears, “What shall I do? I have nobody in the world now to love me.”
“Don’t talk so, darling,” she said, her own tears flowing in sympathy. “I love you better than any one else in the world, and I will never forsake you.” ”

“ Editha, there is; I need you; my heart has never ceased to cry out for you; my life is miserable and aimless without you. Come to me and comfort me, and let me try to win back the light in your eyes, the color to your cheeks and lips, and nurse you back to health. I do not ask, I do not expect, that you can learn to love me at once as you have loved, but if you will only let me take care of you, give me the right to love you all I wish, I do believe there may be something of peace for you yet even in this world. But I cannot see you die while you are so young and bright. ”

“ Her skin was almost as fair as marble, with a flush on her round, velvet-like cheeks that came and went as in the face of a young girl. Her features were of Grecian type, her hair was a pale gold and arranged in a way to give her a regal air; her eyes were a beautiful blue, her lips a vivid scarlet, while her form was tall and slender, with perfect ease and grace in every movement.
"How lovely she is!" thought Mona. "It does not seem possible that she could have even an unkind thought in her heart. I can hardly believe that she ever knew anything of my poor mother's wrongs." ”

“ Virgie saw and heard all with the keenest pain in her heart and though a torturing jealousy filled her soul—a sense of wrong and humiliation—from the belief that another had supplanted her in the heart and home of the man she loved, yet she could but own the worth, the beauty, and the fascination of that sweet, womanly woman who seemed so unconscious of wrong, whose heart was so full of tenderness and sympathy for the sorrows of others. ”

“ Not another tear did Madame Alroyd see, not another sob did she hear. Dora’s heart might have been impregnable marble, after that first wild burst of sorrow, for any outward appearance of grief.
No queen could have borne herself more proudly and coldly at the offense of some criminal, than did Dora Dupont after she believed that she was forsaken; and her aunt being a woman of the world, exulted at the spirit she showed, while in her secret heart she wondered at her powers of endurance. ”

“ When the steamer arrived in New York, almost the first person Mona saw was Ray, who stood upon the pier searching with anxious eyes among the passengers for the face of his dear one.
A cry of glad surprise broke from her, and, snatching her handkerchief from her pocket, she shook it vigorously to attract his attention, her lovely face all aglow with joy at his unexpected appearance.
He caught sight of the fluttering signal almost immediately, and his heart leaped within him as he looked into her beaming countenance. Truth and love and purity were stamped on every expressive feature. ”

“ Away down the avenue, the young girl, looking even more fair and graceful, was just passing out of sight, while the gentleman had turned and was gazing after her, a rapt expression on his face, the misery all obliterated from it, the despair all gone from his eyes, while in their place there had dawned a look of resignation and peace, and a faint smile even seemed to hover about the previously pain-lined mouth, which told that he had just learned some lesson from his vanishing angel that had changed the whole future for him. ”

“ But Violet felt that he was her peer, if not her superior, in every respect save that of wealth; that a grand future lay before him—grand because he would climb to the top-most round in the ladder of his profession, if energy, perseverance, and unswerving rectitude could attain it.
He might be poor in purse now, but what of that? Money was of little value compared with a nature so rich and noble as his; and, more than that—she loved him!
"Yes, I do!" she exclaimed, as she pressed to her lips the precious letter that told of his love for her. ”

“ Seabrook was walking briskly towards the highway, but with a very thoughtful expression on her refined face.
It was one of those soft, balmy days of May that almost delude one into the belief that it is June; that thrill the heart with tenderness for every living thing, and quicken responsive pulses with their unfolding beauty. She had been shut up the whole week with Dorrie, while, with Miss Reynolds alarmingly ill and several of the students threatened with as many different ailments, her time had been more than full, and her mind heavily burdened with care and anxiety. ”

“ Virgie soon learned to look for Heath's coming, to listen for his footsteps and the sound of his voice, as she had never looked for or listened to anything else in the world before. She began to rely upon him, to experience a sense of restfulness and content in his care that sometimes made her wonder how she had ever been able to live without him.
There came new beauty, and light, and earnestness into her face, a tenderer smile to her red lips, a more musical cadence into her voice. ”

“ Empty hands are no disgrace if they are honest and willing hands, backed by energy and a resolute spirit, both of which I know you possess. As for the name, it is above reproach, but not more so than the manly fellow upon whom I have bestowed it, and of whom I am very proud; I know he will never dishonor it.”
“Thank you, Uncle August,” Geoffrey replied, with a suspicious tremor in his voice: “but heart, hands, name, and even life itself will not amount to much with me if I am denied the love I crave—the world would be nothing to me without Gladys.” ”

“ He has won her love away from you; it is not fair that he should have everything and you nothing.”
“There is no true love without sacrifice,” came to him as if softly wafted upon the breath of some good angel. “If you truly love Editha Dalton—if it is a pure and unselfish love, you will do right and let her be happy, no matter what the cost is to yourself. Would she respect you? Would she honor you? Would she be proud to call you friend, as she once said, if, convinced of the right, you wilfully do wrong?” ”

“ With hasty steps the squire reached the arbor, parted the branches at the entrance, and gazed within.
A woman in soiled and ragged garments slowly turned her face, scornful and defiant, full upon him!
For a moment she gazed thus upon him, then silently arose.
She must have been beautiful once; but her cheeks were hollow and livid, the large and brilliant black eyes sunken in their sockets. The mouth was distorted with the play of evil passion and suffering; while her long raven hair, streaked with silver, hung in tangled masses from beneath her soiled and misshapen hat. ”

“ The operetta was sent to Lady Randal, and the box of papers returned to their accustomed place; but all day long Brownie felt as if a mountain was crushing her heart, with that little paper lying in her bosom.
She felt she could not breathe in the same house and under the same roof which sheltered the woman who had deliberately planned to entrap a young and guileless girl into disgracing both herself and her lover, that she might separate them forever, hoping to win him for herself.
She wondered if Lady Ruxley knew of her share in the event, or if Lord Dunforth had ever found it out. ”

“ Her tone, her glance, and the emphasis which she threw into that last sentence, would have turned half the heads in that room, but they did not move him in the least.
He was constantly thinking of a fair, sweet face, framed in gold; of azure eyes, with white lids and long, curling lashes, and smiling coral lips, with the gleam of small white teeth between; of his bright, beautiful Star—the light of his life. ”

“ She had not after all built her hopes upon shifting sand; she had not reared an idol in her heart only to have to hurl it from its shrine as false and worthless. Oh, no; her lover was a man to be reverenced—to be proud of, and to be trusted under all circumstances.
She exulted in these facts almost as much as in the knowledge of his love for her, and she dropped to sleep with joy in her heart, smiles on her lips, and tears of gratitude flashing like diamonds on her long brown lashes. ”

“ Ah, Violet, I cannot tell you how much I have always wanted a daughter—one who would be a companion and a confidante. But I have had only my son until now. My dear, I know we shall love each other, and I am looking forward, with more delight than I can express, to the future when you will belong to us and brighten our home with your fresh young life. I have been drawn toward you from the first day of our meeting in London, and if Vane had asked me to select a bride for him, I could not have chosen one more to my mind. ”

“ And again she searched Edith's face and eyes as if she would read her inmost thoughts.
She met her glance clearly, unshrinkingly.
"I am sure that you never committed a willful wrong in your life," she gravely replied. "It was a sad mistake to go away from your home and parents, as you did; but there is no intent to sin to be laid to your charge—your soul shines, like a beacon light, through these dear eyes, and I am sure it is as pure and lovely as your face is beautiful." ”

“ I could not have loved him less, and it would have been such a comfort to have known of this relationship, and to have talked with him about my mother," said Mona, with tears in her beautiful eyes.
"Well, dear, we will begin our life with no concealments," said Ray, with a tender smile, "And now, when may I tell Mr. Graves that you will come to me?"
"When you will, Ray," Mona answered, flushing, but with a look of love and trust that made his heart leap with gladness.
"Then one month from to-day, dear," he said, as he bent his lips to hers. ”

“ Virgie Makes a Home for Herself.
"William," cried Lady Linton, springing excitedly to her feet, the document which had caused her so much joy but a moment before dropping unheeded on the table beside her. "What brings you home in this unceremonious manner? Are you ill? Has anything happened?"
"Am I ill? Yes, by heart is broken—dying within me. Has anything happened? My wife is lost to me forever!" he cried, in a hollow tone, as he sank weakly into a chair and groaned aloud. ”

“ You could see what a strong grip it had on me in rehearsing it to you."
"All wrong thought brings the sting—the smart of the lash; but love—right thinking—brings the 'peace of God,'" said Katherine.
"Ah! it is a case of 'as ye sow ye shall also reap,'" said Miss Reynolds, drawing a long breath. "But, Kathie, do you think it will be possible for me to so reverse my thought about that man that I can grow to love him?"
"You do love him now; only error is trying to make you think that a dear brother is not worthy of your love," said the girl, softly. ”

“ Every pane of glass in the high and lofty windows was like a star, and every door-way and arch a constellation of stars; while every room and hall was a floral temple, filling the air around with the richest perfume.
Guests, young, gay, and lovely, clad in their richest and most becoming robes, throng this modern palace to pay their compliments, congratulations, and adieus to its fair young mistress and heiress, who on the morrow is to leave her native land to travel among scenes new and strange in the olden world.
It is Dora Dupont’s eighteenth birthday. ”

“ Editha, fair and lovely as of old, no cloud to dim the blue of her sunny eyes, no care or trouble having left a line on her white brow. She is a trifle more matronly in her appearance, has a bit more of dignity, perhaps, but is otherwise unchanged. Her companion is a lady of perhaps thirty-two or three years, whose face impresses one at once with its expression of sweetness and gentleness. It is a face that we have seen before, and that once seen could never be forgotten. ”

“ That evening Josephine Richards, the most brilliant girl in the ball-room of the Howard House—the hotel where they were stopping—was made supremely happy by receiving an introduction to Lord Carrol, of Carrolton, Derbyshire, England.
One look into the frank, handsome eyes of the manly stranger, one touch of his hand, one tone of his rich, musical voice as it vibrated in her ears, and she knew that she had met the man whom she should love with the one great passion of her life. ”

“ Jennie, dear, never again say that you are a 'stray waif,' for nothing ever goes astray in God's universe. Your 'identity' is not 'lost,' for you are God's child, and that child can never be deprived of her birthright, nor of any good thing necessary to her happiness or well-being. Neither have you 'been deprived of your only friend,' nor has she been swept beyond the focus of your love, or you of hers. The bond that existed between you can never be broken, for it was, and still is, the reflection of divine Love that is omnipresent. ”

“ Do not scorn my suit, Mona; I cannot think of you as Ruth Richards any longer; do not curl your proud lips and flash your glorious eyes upon me with scorn, as you did that day at Hazeldean, for I offer you a warm and loyal heart. I know, that I am not worthy of you," he went on, flushing and speaking humbly for once, for he was terribly in earnest; "I have been guilty of a great many things which I have learned to regret, since I have known you; but I can conquer everything if you will give me your love as an incentive, and I will be a better man in the future. ”

“ Violet broke away from him, with a low, thrilling cry of anguish, and sank, pale and quivering in every nerve, into the chair from which she had just arisen.
That caress had recalled the last passionate kiss of farewell that Wallace had given her just before the steamer left its pier in New York, while it had also revealed to her the fact that he would always be more to her, even though he were dead, than Lord Cameron, with all his love, his goodness, and generosity, could ever hope to be, living. ”

“ She was not like the careless, sparkling, impulsive Editha who had so dauntlessly stood up in the crowded court-room and defended the hero of our story on that sad day when he received a felon’s doom.
She was more grave and self-contained, more thoughtful and dignified, but not a whit less sweet and attractive.
If anything, the gentle gravity of the deep blue eyes, with their steady, searching glance, possessed a greater charm than when they had been so full of mirth and laughter; the calm, self-possessed manner was more fascinating than the careless gayety of the light-hearted school-girl. ”

“ Virgie stood in wondering silence for a moment, her face flushed and drooping, while a hundred thoughts flashed through her mind.
Her lover a titled peer of England! This noble man, who might have chosen his wife from the nobility of his own country, had concealed his identity, had buried himself in the wilds of Nevada, and lived like a common miner simply to win her, an humble mountain maiden. ”

“ The face of the man disappeared, and in its place that of a young and exquisitely beautiful girl appeared.
The dark and star-like eyes had a wistful look in their depths; the ripe, full lips a tempting curve, and masses of raven hair fell upon her neck and shoulders, spotless and fair as polished marble.
The evil man smote his brow with his hand, and caught his breath convulsively at sight of this radiant creature. ”

“ In the center of this avenue—in the first picture—two figures stood facing each other; one an elderly man, proud and haughty in his bearing, richly dressed and with a certain air of the world investing him, but with a face—although possessing great natural beauty—so wretched and full of remorse, so lined and seamed with soul-anguish, that the heart of every beholder was instantly moved to deepest sympathy. ”

“ When she knelt in prayer and spoke his name, claiming Heaven’s tenderest care for the smitten one, the burning flush returned to her cheek, the thrill to her heart.
“Earle Wayne my lover!” she repeated, softly, as she laid her head upon her pillow, and her dreams were full of a manly face, with deep, dark eyes, in which shone a light tender and true, with lips that wore a smile as sweet and gentle as a woman’s, but such as no woman’s ever wore for her. ”

“ The cankerous worm, sorrow, gnawing at once happy hearts, has robbed the once rounded cheek of its bloom and beauty, leaving in their place deep lines of pain and suffering which time can never remove.
Sorrow! sorrow! The earth is full of sorrow! Yet a happy few there are who move on in the even tenor of their way, growing each year more beautiful and lovely, making the world glad, bright, and gay, dispensing sunshine and joy along the pathway of their lives, giving and receiving a full measure of earth’s choicest blessings—love, joy, happiness! ”

“ Farnum, woman of the world though she was, felt cowed and abashed before her, and when, without waiting for a reply, the wronged wife turned from her and walked, with a firm, unfaltering step, into her chamber, shutting the door after her, she slunk away to her own room, feeling like the guilty thing she was, and trembling for the future if it should ever be discovered what part she had played in the plot to ruin Virginia Heath's happiness. ”

“ It was both a pretty and a striking picture behind that closed door, if he could but have seen it—the fair girl, in her snowy robe, over which she had slipped a pretty light blue sack, reclining upon her elbow, her beautiful hair falling in graceful confusion about her shoulders; her violet eyes gleaming with a look of triumph in her advantage over the man without; her lips—into which the color was beginning to flow naturally again—parted just enough to reveal the milk-white teeth between them. ”

“ I am rising higher on the ladder of prosperity every day, and money flows in rapidly upon me from every side. If my business abroad proves as successful as it has here, I have reason to hope that great good in a worldly point of view is coming to me—just what that is I cannot explain to you now—but under the circumstances I feel that I cannot be silent any longer. I cannot go away from you without speaking the words I have so longed to utter—to tell you of the deep and mighty love I have had to chain as with iron bands for a long time. Editha, I have loved you for more than half a dozen years. ”

“ Oh, Dora, pardon me, but I can be still no longer. I brought you out here to speak my farewell, for I could not say it when others were looking coldly on; and does not your heart tell you that I had more than a formal farewell to say? Does it not tell you that I am more than a friend? It is a cold word to apply to me, who loves you as deeply as I do. Do not hide your face, my darling, but give, oh, give me the love I crave.”
He would have taken her hand, but she held it from him, while a look of pain swept over her fair face. ”