Miss Lenworth's Revenge

Miss Lenworth sat by the drawingroom window, in her daiiity muslin diese, tlie cool eea-breeze blowing through tlie lace curtains, stirring the looso, heavy masses of her raven hair, and f'aintly tinging her cheeks. Those languid sunmier days were very deliglitful, spent in that great house, with its cool, airy rooms, furnished with all the elegance that good taste, aided by wealth, loves to collect ; and here uaught that could gratify the most f astidious was laoking. Miss Lenworth, arriving at this, her guardian's residence, two months previously, wearied with the cxeitement of the London season, was very grateful for its quiet and seclusion, necessary on account of the illness of her guardian's wife ; bilt this was growÍBg monotonous, and she was already beginning to sigh for some excitement, some new conquest. Her rêverie was suddenly intorrupted by a young lady exclaiming, in eager, joyful tones, " Oh,. Alberto ! wherehave you been ? I have been searohing for you everywhere. I have such deliglitful news for you. Do come back from the land of dreiuns, throw off that air of supreme indifferenco, and ask me what it is ; for I'm gure, thongh you do look so uneoncerned, you are dying to know. " " Some one is coming," returned Miss Lienworth. "Yes; and I can imagine it must be none other than your dashing ïamilton, the inimitable and enviable tnight who has stolen our Ethel's heart; 'or you surely would not have taken so nuch pains to make yourself charming 'or any one else." She certainly was a charming little creature, this Ethei Wesfon, with her lelicate blonde complexion, laughing )lue eyes, and gleaming golden curls, alling in rich profusión over neck and shoulders, and mingling with the delicate ace that increased the beauty of her blue silk evening dress. " Some one else," she retorted, with a lush ou her cheek ; " some one you will ,hink worth dressing for. And you don't care in the least who it is ! Ihe queen of hearts is so sure that, be he prince or peasant, knight or page, he will bow it her shrine; she will not even take the rrouble to inquire who this unexpected irrival may be ! I would punish you for your indifïerence if I could do so witlimt depriviug myself of the plensure of communiating such unexpected news. Know, then, that papa has received a etter from Hamilton, stating that his particular friend, Ooi. Wolverton, the nost elegant of men, the hero of héroes, will accompany him home, and spend a :ew weeks here. "We may expect them :o dinner to-day. I assure you this is a 'oenian worthy of your steel ; and I advise you to burnish up your armor, for [ propose entering the lists in opposition ;o you." And the gay giri danced oft" without waiting to note the effect of her words. Miss Lenworth went slowly up to her room ; but, although it was within an tiour of dinner-time, she did not commence dressing. Sitting by her window, lier eyes, glowing now with a firc that told of the passionate soul within, again wandered seaward, while the flush on her eheek, that something in Ethel's words had called up, grew brighter and brighter. Memory wandered baok to the time when she first met this man, the mention of whose name affected her visibly. Six yenrs previously she had met him at a little country town, which wawthen. her home, and whitherhehad come with a ooilege friend to spend the sumrncr. Young, and ignorant of the ways of the world, this handsome, reflned gentleman, with his stories of London ]ife - of the wondrous occurrenoes in what was, to her, a foreign land - soon not only captivated her fancy, but won her love. Slie was sitting, one day, on the bank of tlie river, under ashadowy elm, whose drooping branches concealed her from view, wlien Edward. Wolverton and his friend pavsed by, bent on a shooting expedition. She heard her name mentioned jestingly by his friend; ana, with a ciireless laugh, Edward Wolverton replied, "In love with that awkward, ignorant country giri ? What au opinión Í'ou must have of rny taste ! Can't a felow amuse himself a little without being ncoused of serious intentions ?" Stung to tli heart, she staggered nctbét t.lian ftHiedhom8wad; mul, once safe in her own room, she sat down to fchink of tlie few weeks that had passed like a happy, blissful dream, and of this rude iiwakening. Even i the firist Bients of her bitter grief the pride of her nature rose paramouut, and she determiucd to be revenged. It was no very terrible revenge that she wished for - oaly to niake liim suffer as she lmd done - to win his love, theü cast it scorhftilly away. A few weeks aitt-ï that never-to-beforgotten day, her father died ; and, after spendiug three years at a fashionable boarding-sehool, she became a raeinber of the i'amily of Mr. Westoli, who had been appoi&ted guardián. In those years she hnd Hot forgotten her resolve. Tt pro33j)tccl her to redonble her exertious in acquiring knowledge. If she must always be awkward, (he would not be ignoraatalso ; at the end of that time, was the most accomplished young lady i the establishment. Three years liml greatry altered her appearanoe ; the thin i'orm had rounded to perfect symmetiy ; the face, pale still, except w'hen some emotion lent a passing flush, was exquis; tely shaped; the expression of the rnouth, perhaps a litt.le too üeoided, was softened by the drprtmy look that was habitual to tho deep black eyes. But three years had taken away quite as mueh as they gave her. The simple, trusting faith of the little country girl who had poured her heart's devotion at Eiiwaïd Wolverton's feet was gone for ever. She had grown selfisb, cold, and worldly. In all these yenrs Bhe had never once met Edwaï'd Wolverton ; and, of courso, hel' revenge had not been constowtly in her mind. Neither had she entireiy lostsight of it ; and now the time had come. Presently slie heard tho noiBe of wheels, and at the same time the quick patter of Etliel's little boots, and the rustle of her dress in the passage outside her door. She ran out. "Ethel," she cried, "I have a whim that I want you to gratify. I wish you tt) introduce me to Col. Wolverton by niy middle name - as Miss Emerson. Will you ? Hamilton does not know I am here, so he will not have mentioned my name to him." "But why?" replied Ethel. "Are you afraid if he knows what a famous coquette he has to deal with he will be on his guard againstyour beguiling arts? Oh, I pity him, bilt I won't betray you, never fear. Why ain't you dressed ' You will be late for dinner. " And Miss Ethel vanished down the staircase to receive her guests. Miss Lenworth returned to her room, and began a hasty toilet - hasty, but carefully suited to her style and complexion. WThen she appeared in the drawing-room she was attired in a black dress of some thin texture, that displayed to advantage the gleaming white marble of her rounded arms and shoulders. The heavy masses of black hair, that feil far below her waist when unbound, were gathered in a loóse coil behind, with no ornament sove a cluster of yellow lilies ; and round her throat and wrists she wore a necklace and bracelets of curiously carved amber, clcar and transparent as crystal, in golden settings. A gleam of triumph shone in her eyes as she beheld Col. Wolverton's start of admiration ; then, wreathing her lips in a sweet smile, which addedtothe beauty of the pale, haughty face, her deep eyes drooped beneath his gazc until the long lashes almost hid them. Ethel turnêd away her head, to hide the sparkle of amusement in her eyes, for it was by no means her, wont to be so gracious to strangers. As the summer days flew by, filled up with boat excursions, rural drives, and walks along the beach, in which Col. Wolverton was MissLenworth's constant attendant, it became evident that that young lady's plans had succeeded perfectly. She sat before the piano, one cool September ovening, running her fingers listlessly over the kejs. She had declined going to the beach with the others, on the plea of a headache; and now she sat alone, the purple twilight shadows falling around her, and a numb, desolate pain at her heart. Suddenly her voice broke through the slow, wailing notes that had been dropping from her fingers like falling sea-spray, in a calmer strain - " Sweet Bonnie Doon." A trernulous throb sounded in her voice, at the seoond verse, about the "fulse. lover." Through the open window stepped Col. Wolvca-ton to her side, where he stood for a moment in silence. " If it were not impossible, I should think you had feit the pain of a ' false lover' 'once, you sing that with so much feeling," remarked the Colonel. "I was not aware I had a listener," she replied, without noticing his remark. " I thought you had gone to the beach with Ethel and Hamilton." "I did ; but the attraction here was so great that it drew me back in spite of myself . " She turned her face away from his earnest gaze; and the lashes drooped over her eyes, veiling the pain that shadowed itself there. Then carne the words she had expected - eager, eloquent words of passionate love and entreaty. But no sylliible answered him. Emboldened by her silence, he raised the little hand that rested on the keys and pressed it to his lips; instantly she snatched it away, and rose to her feet. " I am very sorry for you, Col. Wolverton, but I cannot be your wife. You are right; I had a false lover once; he stole my rose of love, and I have never had any to give any one, since.j "A false lover - you!" exclaimed he; ' ' and you have no love to give me, when all these weeks you have been leading me on, giving metounderstand you were not indifferent to me?" ' ' Leading you on - I don't know - havo I?" sho carelessly answered; then, modulating her tones to a eareful imitation of his, as she remembered them when he uttered those words, she said, " Can'. one amuse one's self a little without be ing accused of serious intentions?" A ñush rose to his very forehead, and lic looked at her with an oxpression of utter bewilderment, through whioh a flash of recognition soon broke. " You are Alberta Lenworth," he exclaimed. ' ' From the first you reminded me of some one - I could not teil whoin - but now I soe Alberta. My own little Alberta, you loved me once ; you en.imot be indifferent to me now. I was weak and föolish - but I (lid not mean what I said. Oh, Alberta! ftorgive those pruel wortls, and teil xas yon love me, still." Miss Lenworth's dark eyes ilashed. " Forgive you ?" she said. "You don't know what you ask. You don't know what a great wrong you did me. You destroyed for ever my faith in truth and goodness ; you took away my overy hope and joy in lift'. But the 'ignorant little country girl' had pride enough to keep her heart from breaking, and fa niiilii' lui1 wish to be reveñgéd itpoij yon." He looked at her a moment in SÖenoe. There was no sluu low irf fe'inlerness in tlie dark, flaslnug eyes, no fluBL on the pale, proud face, only a soorutuJ curl in tlie red lips. He saw tliere was no relenting, and turned away with au aching heart. " Revenge !" lie said. " Well, if that was yourpurpose,youhave aecomplished it. I hope it niay bring you happiuess. " And without another word or glance he was golie, and, perhaps, for ever. As the thought of whnt she had sacriflced for her pride swept over her. she bent her prouu head, and wept unrestrainedly ; for she had leamed, in those brief weeks, to love him au dearly as in those old days, when he won her heart but to trample it under his feet. Hud he returned then, love might have conquered ; but pride had too long held the ascendency to lose its control for any length of fciine. Ere Ethel and Haniilton returned, she was as seemingly indifferent as ever, and listened, unmoVed, to Ethel's announeement that Col. WolVerton had left for town by the 8 o'clock .train. A sudden recolleotion of a business engageinent necessitated his iminediate departure. At the beginning of the winter season, we see Miss Lenworth the bride of a rnillionaire - beautifnl, admired and envied by all. Immediately alter her marriage Col. Wolverton sailed in a steamer bound for Jamaica, tll-fated steamer ! Though hiany prayers followed her over the treacherous billows, yet she went down in the imfathomable deep ; and to the anxious hearts that looked long for the coming of their loved ones that heart-breaking message came, ' ' All on board perished." Even those hope-destroying words could add nothing to Miss Lenworth's grief when she learned what a miserable mess of pottage her revenge hadproved.