A Faithless Lover

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 674, 7 October 1876, Page 6 (Supplement)

A Faithless Lover

Br MTNOM.

Frvg and twenty years a«o there stood in the suburbs of MV'bonrn* a nniet unpretending little public house, wliooe owner * young Scotchmnn, Alick Gordon, h R( j emigrated from GJ.neow about f<ro y,, ar , oetore, and by hi* industry and enercv had succeeded in building thi* We. and wa , now in a fairway, if not of realising a f or . uae, at least of making a very comfo r r f a abe} c «*ing. Before leaving home ho w as enSteed to a pretty fair-haired. bl,,e CVeA Birl. with whom he had long been nJ*\t ™ !7e! 7 e - Her parents considered *fc more yrndcnfc that their marmge Vnould not take place until he had raided K Xnml Sir if Si? Maeaie US chan(7ed their »"><*«. ;eso, a H o ; hh ° w^ This fimt V taken for two reasons ; dTu^f ™ bed t0 *<*P *•* and secondly, they wisely considered that ihT« V? ld pr°/ep r°/ e a drawback to him when land.ng with limited means in anew P? D ; "I "ffilariy. ana when at the end M-J* htei ; n ™ ontll » Alick sent for her, Ma ?g ,e jrladiy sot out to join Urn, though ui WU mtr nt man * nata ™l reirreh at no, no •?'"' ltWMfor Alick>9 «^. and wr him. She arrived safely in the colony, «ni W "^ warml y welcomed by her lover " nfl a dHtanfc relative of her own who had «""<• ont some years before, and had accidentally met Alick in Melbourne. "*" arranged that she should resido with the family of this relation until her raarnajre, which Wai to take place in two months. ATa W ie wsi Tory happy, and often irated at the pretty white house, and though with much happiness of the day to-l- lfl malm her its n>"tro««. while she was indulging in these plwureabie anticipations, an event which was to mflnence her after life was then causine the most intense excitement throughout the colony, and indeed far beyond it. This was the discovery of "J. ™ h Rolden treasures of Victoria, which caused hope to beat hieh in every brea< for it teemed that now indeed fate had placed a fortune within tho reach of e**ry one who had sufuVieut energy to fra«p it. To reach the di^irgn was the one thought uppermost in the mind of *very man, \nd of many women too. It seemed to all tlmt it w»9 only necessary toronch the scene, and that onoe there, their ouccoss would be certain. But in many cases tho Ion? weary journey only ended m toil and disappointment, for while some made fortunes, others only found prarea. Many a pleasant home, in those days, was broken up, many ties rndolv snapped asunder, and friends parted t 0 meet no more, by golden dreams whif-h *ere never destined to be realised. Anok Gordon became affected with the *pneral fever, and now his whole desire was to leave the house in which he had formerly taken such pride, and try his luck on tho digging!. For lorae time be wavered, not liking to leavo Maßt[ie; but the struggle ended, as it always does whero love and gold are opposod to each othor, in favour of the latter. While pondering over tho subject, and discussin* it with his intimate friend, a red-haired yonni? urocer, a cirenmstanco occurred which finally decided him. One night a diuper from Forest Creek happened to ■tny at his houio, and showed biraa handkerchief full of nuggoti. Tho potency of • <i<lh metallic persuasion was too great for \hfk, anil bis mimlwas at once made up ; «;<■> lie would at all risks. Acting upon this resolution, ne that very nitfht sold his bouseto his grocer friend, and in the morning repaired to where Maggie lived' to bid her goodbye, and inform her that he n;n goinK to make a fortune for her and nuiko a lady of her for life. But though ho had found it very easy to reason with, himself, he found it more difficult to nermiade Maggie of the wisdom cf his determination, and with a man's superiority he could not help wondering how Mind women arc to their own interest. ' Women aro unselfish, but not men,' "nys Ihackeray, and Maggie proved no exception. She unselfishly sacrificed her own wishes when she saw how anxious her lover was to go, and tried to hioe any (InHppointmenfc which the felt, and even to look a little hopefully upon the matter. He, on his part, professed to feel the parting very much, and declared that it was entirely on her account that ho wished for increased riches. 'It is all for you, M,igj/ie, ' he said. ' Komeraber that I do not wish for money for myself ; but I could never bear to see you working. I will come back rich, and then you shall have a grand home and lots of Hcrvantss, and beautiful dresses, and be a real lady.' Well, beautiul dresses, and, in fact, splendours of any sort, even when only in prospective, always have a certain amount of attraction for most feminine minds, and Maggie became half consoled, and smiled through her tears, declaring she was afraid she would fade away, like the bride of Ikrleigh, from amidst such magnificence. ' But, Alick,* she added, ' if you are not successful, do not think that I shall be disappointed ; bring me back yourself unaltered, and that is all I shall ask.' However, at length the last good-by wns spoken, and after many vows of f aith, ' but nero a true one.' Alick Gordon took his departure, and left Maggie to dream away tho time during his absence as best she could. He safely arrived at Forest Creek, and went to work in a hole in which three other miners had been prospecting, but had left as unpayable. The third morning after hii arrival, whom should he see approaching, mounted upon a grey hone, but his grocer friend who had not even waited to sell his recently purchased property, but had simply nailed up the shutteri and left it to take care of itself. The two agreed to become partners. Fortune smiled on their efforts : they had luckily fallen upon a very rich claim, and at the end of three months they had cleared the handsome sum of eighteen hundred pounds each. This sum appeared so large and so inexhaustible to the red-haired grocer, that he determined to at once proceed to Melbourne, and there enjoy his riches amid the gaiety of the capital. Acting upon this resolution he disappeared from Forest Creek as suddenly ai he came. The last his friend saw of him, he was mounted on his grey charger tearing down

the gully as if • The wolves of Appenine were all upon his track.' But ho novpr reached Melbourne ; and as horse or rider was never seen a£ain, it is jmt poss-ble that they may hftvp become spiritualised, and may be galloping awaj somewhere in space yer. Alick Gordon's ambition frft3 not so easily satisfied. A "horfc timo before, tbo possession of i'C much money would have seemed to him absolute rich©*} *^* however, it only made him (Wirous for more, and he thou^M he saw a means of increasing hts health. He gave up diggm^, And started ctorekceping, with good results that within ten months he had realised the enormous sum of forty thousand pounds. He then gave up business and returned to Melbourne, the possessor of a large fortune, after an absence of less then eighteen months. During this time he had kept up a fitful correspondence with Maggie, and at first; had eagerly looked for her letters, bat latterly he began to think less of her and more of his money ; not that he had really ceased to love her, but because his wealth now occupied so large a place in his mind that there wa« little room left for thoughts of Maggie. Her ima»e was growing more shadowy, and it was only occasionally that he remembered her at all. 'Man's love is of man's life a thing apart, * Tii woman'a whole exiatenoe,' says Byron — an excellent authority upon such matters. Men hare so many other things which almost equally interest them, that at best they only love in a halfhearted sort of way. With a woman it is entirely different, and it would require to be a very powerful excitement which could came her to forget her lover. All the time Aliclc was absent, Maggie thought of little else than of the day which would bring him back to her. She always tried to account for his want of punctuality in writing to her,—perhaps he missed the mail, or may be ill, or a thousand things.' Women are slow to believo in the falseness of those they love, and are ever ready to attribute any shortcomings or neglect to accideut. or to some untoward circumstances. Well, of course, love and trust ars very beautiful and poetical in theory, but quite unfit for practice, the trust is so often betrayed and the love flung aside. Upon Alick Gordon's return to Melbourne he was very much sought after and flattered on account of his wealth, so that he had but little time to devote to Maggie. Since his return he had never spoken of their marriage at all ; in fact, he began to entertain very serious doubts about Maggie's suitability to be his wife. Alick Gordon, with a small public house, and Alexander Gordon, Esq., with forty thousand pounds, wera two very different mon. For some time he wavered ; but in his case, as almost in all others, doubts, if oursed for a length of time, pondered and thought over, will invariably develop into, certainties. Poor Maggie ! In the old days he never entertained a doubt about her fitness to occupy any station. Now, however, it was otherwise, and he soon became convinced that a fashionable young lady whom he had met at a ball, and who played andjsang admirably, danced, gracefully, and was altogether a very charming person, would 1 make him much a better wife than the girl who had loved him so long and. so faithfully. After arriving at this conclusion he allowed but little time to elapie before acting upon it ; and 'to ■pare Maggie any pain,' as he generously ■aid to himself, would not leek a personal interview with her, and so allowed her to become acquainted with his falseness through the announcement of his marriage in the papers. Poor Maggie ! It was a great shock to tier. Still, ahe had more pride than probably any of her friends had given her iredit for. From the day upou which the rotd of his marriage she never again mentioned his name, and' he dropped as completely out of her life as if be never had i place in it. Once only she saw him after his marriage, and that was in the theatre, accompanied by his richly dresied, showyiooking wife. He did not see her then, aor ever again, to recognise her. Some months after, she married a young doctor, who had long been in love with her, and irith'him she went to Sydney, and so lost nil trace of her faithless lover. After so many years had passed, she and her husband, who had attained to eminence in his profession, returned to Melbourne. Time bad greatly changed Maggie's appearance; the quiet-mannered, gentle girl had developed into the graceful self-possessed lady. All thoughts of her Barly lover had probably faded from her mind, or, if remembered at all, it only served to make her more thoroughly appreciate the good qualities of her kind [generous husbmd. After taking up their residence in Melbourne, her husband was iaily in the habit of visiting the hospital, lunatic asylum, and other charitable institutions. One day his wife expressed i wish to accompany him. Their first ritit was to the Arflum, where they were 9O litely reoeived and shown over the 3- t,ablishment. They were about leaving, Maggie's attention became attracted jy a gray-haired patient who was kneeling , ro er a tree in a, retired corner of the ltt unds. In answer to her enquiries the pendant informed her that the man had ye en an inmate of the asylum for some in ars, and always appeared to be labourg under the delusion that he bad wronged some person, and daily went at the same hour and prayed beneath that tree for her forgiveuets. While they were speaking the old man slowly approached them, but appeared to take no notice of them, till Maggie spoke to him ; then he stared earnestly ac her and whispered eagerly— 'Do you think she will ever forgive meP' ' Who ' asked the doctor. ' Why, Maggie, of course,' he replied impatiently. 'Do you not know that I left her long ago, and ever since I see her, she shakes her head and turns away from me ; and I always pray, pray to her to forgiys me, but aha will not. But when lam dead perhaps she will forgive me then. Do you think she will P' he added addressing Maggie. ' She does forgive you ' she roplied. ' she forgave you long ago- 1 Maggie had grown very pale, and clung to her husband's arm ; for during those few ' moments she recognised in the melancholy inmate of the Yarra Bend the once handsome Alick Gordon, her own unfaithful lover. All her wrongs had been terribly avenged. ' I am glad you think she will,' he laid. ' I think 10 too, sometimes,'

I ' Oh.' she replied, 'I am Maggie. Do i yon not know me.' j 'Are you?' ho sail] simply ; 'bat you i are not my Masrsju*. Sho dfi'd long aero. ', Your hair is not !:ke Hers, and your eyes arr oct so blue. Slie is dead, poor Maggie, and she always looks sad, and never smiles^ but I know she yrill forgive me when 1 die, Do you koo* ifrhen I am going to I die rl'r 1 ' ho saia. ' Well, when that tree,' ! pointing to the one nnder which ho had j knelt, ' withers, I shall die then ; my life ,is in that tree.' Then he slowly passed ' on and left them. TTpon enquiry they learned his history, which had been the common one of many. Intoxicated by success, he speculated one rnshly, and lost all his large fortune. He afterwards received some paltry appointment in a public office, but even this he eventually lost. With prosperity, all his friends left him ; and his wife, who had only married him for hi* monpy, was constantly taunting him with what he had brought her to. Aud so at last, under an accumulation of misfortunes, his intellect gave way. From the time he was placed in the asylum his wife never visited him, and it was believed that she had left i Melbourne. He was never violent, but always gentle and melancholy, and had somehow come to associate that one particular tree with the memory of his forsaken love. He never recovered his senses, and about twelve months after, owing to some alterations beingr made in the grounds, his favourite tree had to be cut down, and by a curious coincidence he di^d upon the same day. His last words were of Maggie : — ' She forgives me now, and smiles at last,' he said ; • I told you so.' And, happy in this belief, he passed away to the silent land, all his faithlessness and falsehood forgotten and forgiven. In a quiet corner of the Melbourne cemetery he now lies at rest, beneath the drooping branches of an Australian blue gum, whose rustling leaves, like spiritvoices, whisper over his grave.—' Saturday Advertiser.' .