Southworth_How_He_Won_Her.txt topic ['13', '324', '378', '393']
melt her. remained obdurate to the last.
, dear ! my long, dark story is almost at an
end. am about to give you the sequel of all this."
" on, my dearest , and believe that am
listening with the deepest interest and closest attention."
" pass on to the week of her death. was here at the
helping to nurse your sister at that time, you
remember ? "
" ."
" doctor came one morning and announced to me the
death of my aunt, and placed a packet in my hand. con-
sisted of a half dozen newspapers, with certain passages
marked in them. passages related to the arrest, trial
and execution of a guerrilla named , alias , alias
. was stated that he had confessed to having com-
mitted nine highway robberies, seventeen successful burgla-
ries, and five murders. these papers there was a writ-
ten manuscript and a note. note was from the
chaplain of the prison in which he was confined. waa
addressed to . explained that the accom-
panying manuscript was the attested confession of the
' . 507
prisoner. , have that document bj me ; would
you like to look at it ? "
" now, dearest ; would rather you would tell me its
contents. did the dying culprit confess ? "
" to having murdered ' ,' as my sister
was called, for the sum of a thousand dollars, paid him for
the service by the di ."
" ! "
" to various other offences which would have seemed
like felonies, except by the side of that one enormous
crime."
" left the soon after the receipt of that
packet."
" ; could not maintain my self-possession sufficiently
well to make me serviceable in a sick room. hastened
back to my regiment to lose the keen sense of sorrow in
active military service."
" , my dear ! your experience of men has
indeed been very bitter ! "
" bitter so stringent, , that it contracted and
warped my judgment, until attributed to your whole sex
the follies and crimes that had found only in the evil men
immediately about me ! not only in my own genera-
tion, and in my sister's life, but in the lives of my mother
and my grandmother. , , it is true this strange
chain of coincidences has run through many ages. all
the women of my race had been like me proud, defiant,
high-spirited, the phenomena might have been easily
explained. might have been said that they were a race
of viragos who had nothing better to expect than misery in
marriage. this was not the case, at least with my
immediate foremothers. gentler women ever lived
than were my mother and my grandmother."
, those gentle women, by too deep a sub-
mission, ruin tbeir domestic happiness as often as the high-
508 .
spirited do by their resistance. are not gods, dear love,
and so they are very often spoiled by women. there is
no danger of your spoiling me in that manner, dear -
marte," laughed .
" there is not," she answered. " for this
reason because you would never abuse the power that the
law gives you over the outer circumstances of your wife's
life, or that she herself gives you over the inner world of
her affections."
" think you do me justice, dear."
" , , grew up both in feelings and in princi-
ples a man-hater. narrow personal experiences gave
strength, bitterness and intensity to my feelings, and the
frequent discussions of the topic of the day, ' 's
,' gave form, shape and consistency to my opinions.
became a very perfect man-hater."
paused and looked at him.
was contemplating her with deep tenderness, but he
made no observation, and she continued :
" was at this very flood tide of my young soul's life that
first met you, . soon, to my consternation,
found that a pledged man-hater was loving you, -
tin ! loving you with my whole heart, just as all the women
of my race had loved men, to their own destruction.
hated and scorned myself for this love ! how struggled
against it, battled with it, trampled on it, tried to tear it up,
root it out, and utterly destroy it, you well know."
" ! " smiled .
" you see did not believe in man's love.
you said to me, ' love you want you for my wife,'
interpreted your words to mean just this ' like your looks,
and want you for my slave.' you wonder that
resisted my own love and resented yours ? "
did not answer. was still contemplating her with
ineffable tenderness and infinite love. as she met his
' . 509
eyes, her eyes softened, beamed and dilated, her cheeks and
lips glowed, and her whole countenance grew beautiful and
radiant from the soul's inner light and life.
" oh, ! " she murmured, " as my knowledge of
you grew, and my love deepened, what a change came over
my spirit ! learned that, though all other men
might be false and base, you were true and noble.
came the lesson learned on the , where found
by experience how utterly helpless woman was without her
brother man. saw that though in civilized countries,
which men had already made habitable for women, by the
building of cities, houses and roads ; the manufacture of
furniture, clothing and utensils ; and the promotion of arts,
sciences and education, a single woman might live well
enough ; yet, in a wilderness, where nothing had been done
where there were no habitations, no manufactures, no
planted crops woman could not possibly exist without
man ; though he might live without her. was a
humiliating truth to the proud man-hater ; but it was truth,
and as such she accepted it."
" man would have no motive to live or to labor, if it
were not for his sister, woman," answered .
" ," she continued, " the war broke out. that
glorious, awful trial brought out all the grandest traits of
manhood his patriotism, courage, fortitude, self-devotion
until oh, , from being a man-hater, have almost
become a man-worshipper ! "
", don't ! " he said, laughing gaily, catching her hand
and pressing it to his lips ; " don't do it ! great serious-
ness, shouldn't like that. the two extreme alterna-
tives, would rather you should continue to be a man-hater,
with a single exception in my favor."
smiled at this speech. before the smile
had left her lips, opened the door ; but seeing them
510 .
alone, was about to close it again, when called
to her :
" in, ! "
entered, saying :
" is a couple out in the hall, inquiring for
. are on their way to the , but have
stopped till the next train for the sake of calling to see the
."
immediately went out into the hall, where he
found and .
were looking remarkably well ; and the woman
was eager in her expressions of joy at seeing her old friend,
and anxious in her inquiries about .
stepped to the drawing-room door and called
out.
there ensued a meeting a great deal more noisy and
demonstrative, if not so deeply emotional as any we have
recorded.
and had made money enough in the war to
cover twenty times over their losses 's capture of
their wagon. they were now going to to
start in the grocery and provision line of business.
time was limited and they soon took leave, amid the kindest
wishes for their future welfare.
's arrival at the , she had
noticed that often looked at her with very roguish eyes.
the first time she found herself alone with that wild
young woman, said :
" want you to tell me what that means ?
with it, ."
" must ! can't keep it any longer ! want to tell you
that knew, if nobody else did, who was the spy that pene-
trated into the camp of the ! "
" , , speak no more of that ! was a stern mili-
' . 511
tary necessity, but it will ever remain with me, one of the
darkest memories of the war ! "
" many names and how many wigs had you, -
marte , , ? were a very pretty boy in
the blue-black curled wig, as ; but you were a hideous
little fellow, in the short-cropped flaxen wig, as ?"
" ," said , very seriously, " is miss-
ing and will never be found. is dead and buried.
yourself, there is but one person in this world who
knows my identity with those two names. you have
discovered the secret do not know ! must put you
on your honor to respect it."
". ! " said , lifting a from a centre-table,
" will bind myself by a solemn oath never to mention it
again to any living soul ! not even to , my betrothed !
not even to you ! that satisfy you ? "
", my dear," answered , kissing
.
month later there were three weddings at the -
sonage.
and were married and sent off to
's renovated home at , to spend
a sbort honeymoon. it was agreed that during 's
absences at sea, should reside there and keep house for
her father, and that should be 's " anchorage " when-
ever he should be ashore.
and were united, and started
at once for his home in , where it was arranged that
should soon join them, with the intention
of residing with them, and helping them in their efforts to
restore order and industry in their own section of country,
and to promote peace and good-will between the and
the .
512
.
and were the third couple wedded.
was decided that they should reside at the until
should be mustered out of the service. went on
a short tour through the ; but returned in
time to celebrate the of that year at
home. very next morning after their arrival, as they
were seated together, took up the morning paper,
where, among other interesting items, he saw the advertise-
ment of a celebrated ladj r lecturer, who was announced to
deliver a discourse at a certain church that evening, on the
great subject of 's .
", by the way! about 's now,
sweet wife ? " said , as he called her attention to the
advertisement.
" live," answered , " will advocate
the rights of woman in general. for my individual
self, the only right plead for is woman's dearest right to
be loved to my heart's content all the days of my life ! "