CHAPTER XXV.—(Continued.)

Waikato Times, Volume XXIV, Issue 2021, 20 June 1885, Page 5 (Supplement)

CHAPTER XXV.—(Continued.)

Orinora's birth to sorrow took place that evening, and an agony of agonica it was. Herbert had stolen to her 3ide when eh* left the company and given her a warm embrace, and many kisses, that set her aoal on fire, and made her feel altogether too happy. She could not after that rest in tho house, and throwing over herself a mantle, she wandered to the shore of the lake and sat by the water, to commune sweetly with herself, to sing ■oftly a song of thanks to the bright star that was the object of her worship. She looked npit Acbernar, and as sho hummed to her•elf the weird air with which she greeted the Grangers, a delicious vision of the future pasted through her mind, colored by her vivid oriental imagination. She pictured the happy days and nights, the never ceasing round of happiness, the little children that would prattle at her knee— though it was only thought the innocent child blushed, even now hardly comprehending the myeteriea of life. It would be one long festival. And then at last, in the fulness of time, when wearied of the earth, their twin spirits would ascend on the beams of light to Achernar ; there to dwell in supreme happiness for ever ; there to meet her father, her dear old nurse. Oh, how good the Great Power was to her ; how kind the spirit* of Aohernar, that watohed over and guarded her ! And then camg that terrible conversation. Prior to this she would have heard and comprehended little of it; now the new spirit that had been born in that passionate embrace on the island was able, by instinct, to tell the terrible tale. She listened as one who is being tortured to death, unable to speak, unable to cry ; capable only of listening as the words burst into her soul. There was an objection to their union— she hardly understood aright what that meant, except that it would give her the right to be Herbert's companion for ever ; there was a nroject to deprive her of Herbert, to take him away from her, never to be seen again. How she hung upon Herbert's replies; how her soul, stricken down to ths earth, began to rise again aa he resisted Ebby and maintained j there was no alternative. How her heart warmed, her cheek glowed, as she heard him lay he loved her. But what a terrible blow it vrtM, almost death itself, when she heard Ebby aay he had another love, when Herbert confessed he still loved this Alice, and would fly to her if he could escape, The poor girl eank to the earth in agony, the shadow of nrhioh was not lifted by anything which was said afterwards. When the young men left •he triid to rise, but fell back ; the straggle had been too great for her untried heart, ncr delicate frame. The birth agony of the gpirit that suffers was almost the death of her soul. Where now was the sparkling Achernar, the roiy dreama of tho futnre, the atm of love that had shone upon her, warming into life her heart, and causing it to send forth bud and blossom? Gone, all gone; and suooeeded by the shadow and the blaokness that are never lifted ! Ho loved another, and loved her far above the island girl. To him she was only a toy, Alioe a companion. O, souls that have known Borrow, need this girl's agony be portrayed in weak worda ? Ho had wandered with Alice in that other worlil, her head had lain on his bosom, her lips had been pressed to his, she had been folded in his embrace I ' If he could leavo he would. Ho would go *way to Alice and leave her to die— for without him she must die. How could she lite on that island and know he wao another's? Picture him in her arms, and she all alone, aiione 1 0 that the pitying spirits of Aoheraar would descend on the atarbeams and take her to themselves. But what comfort would that bo? The brightest spot in the future she had pictured was the eternity with Herbert on that star. Now she oonld /lever hopa to be his, oven in that stellar T^irld : they would be separated for ever. TheiTQ wan one fate to wish for : that annihilation her father taught would be the end of thosd who did not cultivate their souls. She could tot bo one of theao ; she must lire and suffer tor ever. Why had the Great ■Power so ordered things? She could not give a reason, but like millions of souls in the hour of agony aha thought, humbly it is true, •that there waa oomething very wrong in the order of the world. One remark direlt for a while on her mind, -and Kate a little oomfort. Her father would not »Uow Herbert to leave the island to kill *tf , Why aboold ih« not tell him and pat an

and to Ebby'a schemes. Then it came Into her mind with all its awful force, that if she was to be happy with Herbert, he must give bis love freely, he must not be forced. Oh, howeatisfiednow she would bo with a oorner in his heart if he only remained with her— 9he, who it few happy honra ago, thought she possessed his whole soul : that their souls had been born into the world of love together. When the immediate agony passed away, md was succeeded by the numb pain that geems to one the "worm that never dies" of Scripture, the utter hopelessness of her position became evident to poor Orinora. The terrible words of Ebby when he described Herbert's life if he remained on vho island, buried themselves into her soul. She knew little of the lifo and aspirations of the people of the other world, but she inhsrited sufficient oommon sense from her father to have a glimmering knowledge that she was no fit mate for a man like Herbert, who knew so much and who had lived so different * life. And yet how she would have tried to raise her intellect to the level of his, to become his earnest pupil, to study his every wish. Ob, that Ebby had never come to the island ; that he would fail in his schemes of esoape. And yet if his prophecy would turn out true, if a union with Herbert could produce but suffering ? But for this ohe did not care. She would suffer whatever humanity had to snffer to be his companion, to possess him through life. O wonderful, enthraUing power of love. . She had no resouroe but this great ana overmastering love; she knew not of the myriad things that distract people in the civilized world, and force them to dwell less on engrossing passions ; she had not the hope of the Christian to sustain her— the religion she had been taught only made the future without Herbert more terrible. Not for a moment did the sweet girl dream of thwarting Herbert, of preventing his escape, of telling her father and obtaining her desires through his power. Her pure and noble mind revolted at anything like this; her sense told her love was not so to be won. One weak thread she held to : that even now she would be able to win his full love. Had he not shown that he would as soon remain on the island as be shown a means of escape ? Poor Orinora, Bho did not know the revulsion that had taken place in Herbert's mind when escape was declared possible; she did not comprehend how the past had at once claimed him and the present was swept away. So the night wore on and the stars, once her companions and comforters, looked down upon her and had no balm. If she looked at them their steely glitter appeared to convey a new meaning, a cold apathetic regard. The murmur of the lake she so dearly loved seemed to shape itself into the moan " Lost, lost." The sigh of the night wind through the trees had no voice of love in it now : it appeared to aay " Gone, gone for ever." The oold grey dawn oame, chill and dreary, like the future that lay before her. Utterly wretched, worn out with suffering, dazed with unusual thought, Orinora dragged herself up to the house and pale and haggard fell upon her bed as if never to rise. The birds sang, the sun rose in its glory ; there was no music, no light in her heart. She drew the blinds and abandoned herself to despair.