han that, another wonderful event
happened before long. A gentleman made his appearance in the family
circle, with an interesting object in view--a gentleman, who had called
at the house in which she happened to be employed as teacher at the
time, and had seen her occupied with her pupils. He had kept it
to himself to be sure, but he had secretly admired her from that
moment--and now it had come out! She had never had a lover before; mind
that. And he was a remarkably handsome man: dressed beautifully, and
sang and played, and was so humble and devoted with it all. Do you think
it wonderful that she said Yes, when he proposed to marry her? I don't
think it wonderful at all. For the first few weeks of the courtship,
the sunshine was brighter than ever. Then the clouds began to rise.
Anonymous letters came, describing the handsome gentleman (seen under
his fair surface) as nothing less than a scoundrel. She tore up the
letters indignantly--she was too delicate even to show them to him.
Signed letters came next, addressed to her father by an uncle and
an aunt, both containing one and the same warning: 'If your daughter
insists on having him, tell her to take care of her money.' A few days
later, a visitor arrived--a brother, who spoke out more plainly still.
As an honourable man, he could not hear of what was going on, without
making the painful confession that his brother was forbidden to enter
his house. That said, he washed his hands of all further responsibility.
You two know the world, you will guess how it ended. Quarrels in the
household; the poor middle-aged woman, living in her fool's paradise,
blindly true to her lover; convinced that he was foully wronged; frantic
when he declared that he would not connect himself with a family which
suspected him. Ah, I have no patience when I think of it, and I almost
wish I had never begun to tell the story! Do you know what he did? She
was free of course, at her age, to decide for herself; there was no
controlling her. The wedding day was fixed. Her father had declared he
would not sanction it; and her step-mother kept him to his word.
She went alone to the church, to meet her promised husband. He never
appeared; he deserted her, mercilessly deserted her--after she had
sacrificed her own relations to him--on her wedding-day. She was taken
home insensible, and had a brain fever. The doctors declined to answer
for her life. Her father thought it time to look to her banker's
pas