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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 5, 1889)
1 10 WEST SHORE. bo unkind, I mean thin fur your gixnl. As I said she was never your wife, you never bent jiroudly above her a she cradled your habe on her ItreaHt. Oh, I tell you sir ! a lover's love may le wide, deep ami sincere, hut 'tin nothing when compared with a husband's love. On memory 'a wall you have the picture of a sweet young girl ; you lout her when hope Irat high in your heart, and you expected one day to call her ly that most nacred of all name, 'wife.' I kc the picture of a fair, frail leing, holding in her arum her minature counterpart ; and (die whh my wife, and the little one w our child. Oh, Lawrence! I can not explain the difference, hut it exists. I honor you for your con stancy, while 1 feel that you are wronging yourself. This early love of your did not wreck her lifcbccaiiHc the man of her choice died a she iiposed. She mar ried and ha doubt 1ch lived a happy life. l-ct nie advise you to sec the reality of your idea), and then I believe, you will icrmit yournelf to care for some other good woman. 'It in not good for man to he alone' you know. In my cane, I could never think of forming new tic while my darling'H fate wan shrouded in my tery. I should feel very differently could I have closed the Meet blue eye and nnioothed back the curls of golden hair. Terrible nn it would have been, it would have Ix-en a fad privilege, but one I crave, to have stood by and lifted the clod on her coffin. Instead of that she ciink alone to a watery grave, and then" completely overcome, he panned here and began to ner vously pace the deck. " You may U right," raid Lawrence, pityingly, and at the name moment Imogene's face rone before him. The party landed at San Francisco, taking apart ment at the Palace hotel. Together they visited the many noted place of rcort, hut the favorite for all wan the Golden date itself, pnyn they Hicnt hero n. ploring the jagged cliff, driving on the U autiful lieaeh, reveling in the artistic grandeur of Sutro Height or lounging on the Imlcony of the t'lilf House, watching thr sea lion crawling by the hundred on the nek far Mow. Of course, the Profewor visited the principal educational institutions, sometime in company with the other of the parly, hut more often alone, a neither Uwrence nor Imogene were interested in M'ientific pur suits or the working of the common mhd system. On one of thee urasion, when the Profcor had con sented to give an afternoon lecture on hotanv to a clan in the high school, Ijiwrrncf and lnngene repaired to the Golden (iate park. "Now tell me aliout some of your adventure." ihc ordered prettily, "while I (Itttf)i (hi ccnt Mchet for Mother Irving Only think I have Utii a wh.de week rnilroidcring thi hum h of nic on it, ain't J niy y lie had thrown him If on the gram at her fc't t she at m low rustic l-nich, the soft gray of her dre relieved by the pile of bright-hued silks in her lap. Ai she ftjKike he looked up in her face with an expression she had never seen before. " I think you are just right, " he said. She blushed, but paled the next moment as she noted the shadow that chased the brightness from Iur face, and the far away, pained lxk that crept into his expressive eyes. He bit his lip impatiently at his own folly. He must not imagine that this fair young heiress was for him, even if he could ever love any woman. No, be would be careful, he only cared for her as a friend, nv way he was almost as old as her father. Neither spoke for a little time, and then he began to speak of impersonal matters. She watched him awhile and then there came into her eyes a hard, deter mined glitter, and she set lier lips in a firm but unbe coming way. Nature had denied her a pretty mouth, and she knew it. but just now she was not thinking of her mouth at all. Mechanically she shook out the floss, and smoothing out the bit of newspaper in which it was rolled. It was a bit of the Orttjoninn, and, with out realizing what she was doing, she Wgan to read i part of a list of obituaries, when suddenly her atten tion was arrested by the hist name Max Hrowning the rest was torn off. "Then he is dead, and she in free," she said to herself, with an involuntary shudder. " lie must not know yet," she mentally added, looking once more at the man at her feet. Hastily, but stealth ily, she crushed the bit of pajr in her hand and thrust it into her jacket. Tom talked on, but she did not seem to hear him, and when he asked some question, she made no answer until he looked inquiringly at her. "What is the. matter, Gene, you look quite pale?" (He had called her "Gene" from the first, and (he liked to hear him.) "I am not not feeling well," she stammered, "please take me homo." lie arose at once. Her hands trembled, and with gentle authority he gathered up the bright bits and folded her light wrap about her. " Come, we will go it once," he said. His very tenderness maddened her ; but she only kept saying over to herself: " He must not know." Weeks formed into months, and still the little party lingered in compliance with Imogene's request. She would never tire of San Francisco, she averred ; but t last they were enroute for Portland, where they pur ed to remain while they advertised for the where about of Mrs. Max Hrowning. A drinling rain was falling as Pet Browning, envel 'led in a rubber cloak and hood, hurried homeward after giving a music lesson one morning early in ftw