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[HAMILTON JOURNAL.
*
THE OFFICIAL-ORGAN OF HARRIS COUNTY.
VOL XIII.
THE BROKEN TOW.
will Z pnmA iLthflr tn nio-ht ” said wLS Emma
dulge m disquieture, he has pro im. • •
The word died upon e »P»
Ihe • coidneLs, the tone of ambi^uity . with ikh
which that promise had bee p
nen Theodore las J** ® ’
confused and eui a j* > thnmrli ®
much Parade of his regret andIdUs ..
with ap
pomtment, asbui e m?airemenfc
ble for him to conform t G
,nd marry her at tne tune appo n > o),«
.
at the moment, and the strange, mysterious
nresantiment that crossed her mini; that
then, for the first time, she thought how
bitter a thing must be disappointed love—
for the first time felt the force of tho r.j
nark which she had so often heard:
“Men’s tows are brittle things. ”
Still, the natural bouyancy of her spirits
y or bade her to despond. True he hid.
jroken his first engagement, but ho had
-epresented to her the imperious necessity
it the measure, and she had acquiesced in
bt. True, he had not fixed the more dis
Pant period; he had left the Anal hour in
definite, but sh8 had his promise; also had
iis oath; she would not believe him un
haithfui; she could not believe him perjur
d. At last, after an absence of a week
[rhich seemed to her a year, ha visited tht
! muse again. He once more mingled witJ
' he family circle; he seemed the same he
lad alwavs been, and she was liapp/. But
19 retired before the the family; this cost
ler a night’s rest; it was not his usual
manner, aud she wondered why, at thii
time, ho should have so much
more business than usual. Still, she en
deavored to put tho most favorable con¬
upon everything; she strove to
acquit aim in her heart,
But love has eagle eyes, and, from their
piercing vigilance, duplicity must be
coupled with most consumate art if it
would avoid detection. Emma was caressed
by a large circle of acquaintances, au l
Theodore was also a favorite; in parties
they frequently came together, an 1 there,
when the spirits are up and all reserve
thrown otf, tha heart unmasks itself.
There Theodora often forgot his caution,
and not only abated his usual display of
partiality for Emma, but lavished his fond
on another. The generous girl forgave
until forgivene s became a crime com
mitted against her own heart. She re¬
solved to lead a more secluded life, and ia
prosecuting her resolve she soon found ara
pie evidence of what she mast feared. His
visits grew less and less frequent, uut l, at
length, they were discontinued altogether,
Womanlike in the deepest of her sor
rows she retired, as it were, within herself,
and secure in the confidence that not even
her nearest relatives or friends knew any-
HAMILTON, OA.. r 2 , 1885
thing of her disappointment, she nursed
her grief in secret, and put on a smile as
sweet, if not as gay, before tha world. But
heroically as she played this new and de
ceptive part, her feelings gradually ob
gbaJow of the £ast. None knew her grief
but he who was its cause, and he ihuddei\ d
afc the ruiQ he haJ mada
Her friends perceived with concern the
rapid decay of her health, and. as tha fain
ily had some relatives in Cuba, they re
^ ^ ^ ^ Tfae voyagti bad
a salutary effect. The change of scenes an 1
circumstances, new friends aud acquaint
ances, and the kindness she experienced
in her new abode, dispelled lurfleh of the
cherished gloom that pressed upon her
heart, and added life to the almost inani
mate frame. The glow of health gradually
returned, and she shone in the maturity of
her beauty, a star of no common luster iu
the fashionable world of that delightful
island. A year had not elapsed before thi
hand of one of the wealthiest merchant*
of the island was ottered bar Ikrwas all
that theyonng warden
erous, noWe and virtuous, aud of years
suited to her own. She accepted it and
became a happy wife.
Haring left New York with the wl nteu ion
of returning, she now waited anxiously
for the opportunity, but a variety of cause#
prevented it year a/fcer year. A beautiful
family of boys aud girls grew around her.
Her husband wa ; deeply engaged in au ex
tensive and lucrative busiuess, and twelve
years passed by before the was able to ac
complish her wishes; in all which tune sho
had never made an inquiry about or heard
of her former lover. Now, Mr. Lefeie ro
tired from business and proposed accom
panying her, with their family, to Amer
ica. They reached New \ork in safety,
and drove to their family mansion, it re
inaine l unaltered; her father and her
mother, and the old servants, her former
friends, who remained, all welcomed her to
her ancient home. The shrubs she had
planted in the yard had grown up beauli
ful trees. Her name remained where she
had engraved it on the sash of her chamber
twelve years before, and she sat down by
it, called back the recollections of by past
time, and wept; yet the?* were tears of
mingled joy and sorrow.
Mr. Lefere took a tine establishment up
town, and lived in splendid style. Emma
used to ride out daily in an elegant car
riage, with her infant family; and as had
long been her practice, she carefully
sought out such objects of distress as su >
deemed it would be charitable to relieve.
One day, riding iu the suburbs of the city,
she saw a poor, half-clothed man lying on
the ground, and a tattered child crying
_ side, which . . . . he paid
bitterly by bis t to no
attention. She directed the coachman to
stop, and calling the man, inquired why he
disregarded the child, and whose it wa*.
XO. C 1 V)
“it is my own,” said he, “aud leanu out
hoping to get a place for it at yonder house,
and could not; it is almost started, aud I
hate not the means to procure food for my
sdf or it.” She gave him a small sum and
Lefero sent for them into the breakfast
room, as soon as the family had disperse 1 ,
„ d desired to know by what means he had
brought himself to poverty and want. The
man spoke out honestly. Intemperance, lie
.aid, ’ was the * great cause, but his troubles
bad driven hl that.
“I once saw better days,” he said. “I
was a partner in a mercantile concern, i
married—I was deceived—the mother of
this poor child, after involving me in
ruinous debt, ran away and left me, I
drowned my sorrows and sunk my chat
acter in habits of vice and intoxication, 1
have been t wice imprisoned for crime-I
am destitute of friends and employ
ment.”
‘‘And what is your name!” asked Emms.
“Theodore W ” be replied, after a
moment.As hesitation. The kind lady
Wrnvd pale and treat hied: she gaatei al
b f m __g bo recognized iu h.m the faithlais
Tneodoro.
“At last, then,” said she, affecting <rr o be
ca j nl ,. you bavd | earne< | to keep your
p roCadstt s—3*011 called at the time appoint m 1
j wd j p rov ij e a place for yourself and
r
cbild »
“Ah,’ he said, “you know me. When
u asbad my name j dared not tell yon
a|| u ‘ ntrutb; but 1 hoped it had been for
evor blottod f rom y Qur memorv. 1 watch
e d your fortunes; l rejoiced at your pros hai
_ r ^y. j cursed my own folly untd 1
c . xhausted all |uy po^arg. But broken
VQWg comu back to their author in the end.
ttnd min6 havo vai ned me forever.”
He €OVtral hlg ta ,.^ arld wept . Hho left
w aud having consulted Mr. Iwfere.
p roGurod him a situation iu an honest
occupation> and pi ttCtS d the child at
Bc .jjool.
Tbug was the ma xim verified: “All it
fop ^ Ust to tbo i UUOGent aud the virtu
oaR .„ ftnd thu# it is that vice Wt>r k 4 out it*
own p inishmont at last.
LOVE DOWN A WELL.
Do you see the lady on the other lido of
the firepla e, wirfi soft brown hair and
mild blue eyes, whose fair complexion, aud
unwrinkled brow doff ten year* from her
age, and whose quiet voice and gentle
manners tell truly ef a shy, retired nature/
That’s my wife! Ah! ain’t i proud of h r,
aud don’t I love her/ Haven’t I an Ja*aa*
desire to run to the roof and shout out lot
the benefit of tbo world at large that Mary
Sherman [nee Le-»] is my wife/ You
would never suipeot her of being a hero¬
ine, but HI tell you the story, and then
judge.