"LOVE IS THE BEST OF ALL."
This golden ring, love, take,
And wear it for my sake
When I am far away;
And nightly we will pray
The dear God's pity on our pain,
That we may meet again,
Our partings o'er, our sorrows past,
You mine, I yours, at last!
MRS. ALEX. MCVEIGH MILLER.
How much the two happy girls had to say to each other, when Hawthorne
was gone!
It was long past midnight when they retired, and the joyous Christmas
sounds were already filling the air. Even then they could not sleep,
they had so many things to tell of all that had happened since they
were parted from each other.
"I am quite cured of my passion for the stage. It seems to me that all
actors must be deceitful villains!" cried Geraldine, and Cissy agreed
with her, glad of her disillusionment.
"Do you think, Cissy," pursued Geraldine, "that I could get back my
place at O'Neill's with you? Oh, I would be so glad to get back again!"
"We will try to manage it," replied Cissy. "One of the girls is to be
married soon after New Year's, and perhaps you can have her place. I'll
see about it as soon as I go back to the store; but we have Christmas
holiday to-morrow."
"Yes; what a happy Christmas it will be for me!" cried Geraldine,
thinking of what might have been, with a shudder. She laughed, to choke
back a sob, and continued: "Let's hang up our stockings to-morrow
night, as it's too late now, and fill them for each other as we did
last Christmas."
"Agreed, my dear; it will be great fun," laughed Cissy, and added:
"I suppose your Christmas gift from Mr. Hawthorne will be--an
engagement-ring."
"Oh, Cissy, how nice that would be! Do you think he can afford it?
Firemen aren't very rich, are they?" naively.
"I guess not; but of course he will give you a ring, even if it's a
plain gold band, that will do also for a marriage-ring when the wedding
comes off."
"No matter how simple a ring he gives me, I shall love it, and be proud
of it, for his sake--just as proud of it as if it were a splendid
diamond!" cried pretty Geraldine, tenderly, and then she laughed and
said, further: "I used to be such a silly little goose, thinking I
would never love and marry any man who could not give me silks and
diamonds; but love has changed my nature, and I prize Harry's love more
than anything on earth. Of course, I still admire beautiful, costly
things, but I would not give him in exchange for a millionaire."
"You are right, dear. Although it is well to have love and wealth, too,
yet love is the best of all, and I would not barter it for anything on
earth," answered Cissy, so earnestly that Geraldine put her arm around
her neck and whispered, coaxingly:
"Dear, you have always spoken so sweetly of love--and yet you do not
seem to care for lovers yourself. Why is it? Have you never loved any
one?"
Geraldine felt her companion tremble a little, then she replied,
lightly:
"That is a leading question--as the lawyers say--and I don't believe I
will answer it just yet. Wait--I will tell you another time."
And her answer only confirmed Geraldine in the belief she had cherished
for a long time that there was a romance in Cissy's past--some
love-story that had somewhat saddened her life and made her lips and
eyes so sweetly pensive. From her own happy heart swelled up a silent
prayer that love and joy might come soon to Cissy's life, with the same
rich blessings it brought to her own.
"Now cuddle your head on your pillow, dear, and go off to the land
of Nod, or you will not look pretty for your sweetheart to-morrow,"
commanded Cissy; and soon they were both fast asleep and wandering in
the land of dreams, from which they did not return until the light of
day peeped in at the windows.
"Good gracious! it must be eight o'clock! I've overslept myself this
blessed Christmas morning. A good thing I don't have to go to the
store to-day!" Cissy cried, springing out of bed and running to the
window, where she thrust aside the curtain and peered out into the
street.
A beautiful sight presented itself--a great city clothed in a
resplendent mantle of deep snow, that had come between the dark and the
dawn, and overhead a clear, blue sky and brilliant sunshine.
"Oh, how grand! how beautiful! and what glorious sleighing there will
be to-day! Wake up, Geraldine, and see the beautiful Christmas morn!"
cried the young girl, who, although she had so little of this world's
goods, and did not expect a single Christmas gift, was unselfishly
happy in the prospect of pleasure for others.
But they had scarcely finished their simple breakfast, gayly prepared
by both their hands, when there was a knock at the door, and several
packages were handed in for both of them--a little feast of fruit and
confectioneries, jewel-box, with a dainty pin for Cissy, and another
for Geraldine, with a ring. The gifts bore the card of Harry Hawthorne.
"Oh, how lovely in him to remember me like this! I shall fall in
love with him myself! This dear brooch! How I adore it! See the dear
little enameled violets, with dewy centers like real diamonds! Oh, how
generous he is!" Cissy cried, rapturously, while Geraldine paled with
emotion as she slipped over her finger a beautiful ring, and held it up
for inspection.
Cissy went almost dumb at the sight, for the stone was a pure diamond
of good size, and worth more than either girl had any idea of in their
ignorance of the value of gems.
"Oh, Cissy, it is a real diamond, is it not? See how it glitters!"
cried Geraldine, tremulously, as she turned her hand about, admiring
the sparkling rays of light.
She was fairly overwhelmed with joy at this beautiful gift from her
lover, and continued, breathlessly:
"Oh, it is so beautiful! I am so proud to have it! But--but--wasn't he
rather--extravagant, Cissy? I should not have thought he could afford
it, for surely it must have cost a hundred dollars at least--don't you
think so?"
"More than that, in my judgment," cried Cissy, finding breath after
her rapturous amazement, and continuing: "But it is none too pretty
or costly for you, my beautiful darling, if he can afford it; and of
course he can, or he would not have sent it. Perhaps he is not as poor
as we thought. He looks like a prince in disguise, anyway, he's so
stately and handsome!"
She paused, for Geraldine had found a note in the box, and was reading
it.
"MY OWN DARLING:--I am disconsolate this morning because I could not
get leave of absence to come to you," wrote Hawthorne, fondly, "but I
couldn't get a man to take my place at the engine-house to-day, and
I daren't desert my post, for there have been two fires already this
morning, and I was out with my engine in the driving snow of dawn,
while you, I hope, were wrapped in slumber and sweet dreams of your
adoring sweetheart!
"Isn't the snow fine? I shall try my hardest to get off in time to
take you and Cissy for a grand sleigh-ride before the day is ended.
"I send you both some bon-bons and fruits, with a brooch for Cissy,
and a ring for you. You will be asking yourself how can a poor
fireman afford to give diamonds to his betrothed and her dear friend!
Well, darling, both trinkets were heir-looms from my dead mother, who
was richer in worldly goods than her son. So the little mystery is
explained.
"God bless you and keep you, my beloved, until we meet again, which I
trust and hope may be this afternoon.
"Devotedly, HARRY."
Geraldine gave her friend the note to read, then they discussed some of
the dainties, while Cissy said, regretfully:
"If I had only known yesterday that I should have you with me to-day,
I should have prepared a real little feast for our dinner, but I felt
so lonely and sad I prepared nothing extra, and now I really must slip
out and buy something good. What would you like, dear--a dear little
chicken and some oysters? For a turkey would be too big for us two!"
"Oh, some oysters, please; I am so fond of them, and they are not so
good out West, where I traveled so long," cried Geraldine, with real
girlish delight, it seemed so jolly to be back with Cissy, playing at
housekeeping again.
"I'll never leave my darling again until--I marry!" she thought, with
kindling blushes, and while Cissy was gone she employed her time
writing a very polite note to Mr. Cameron Clemens, the manager of the
Clemens Company, resigning her situation, to take effect at once.
When she remembered Mr. Clemens, she felt a little remorseful over her
denunciation of all actors last night, for she had found this one very
kind and clever during her engagement with the company.
She went down stairs and engaged the landlady's son to take her note
at once to the hotel where the manager was staying, and then tried to
dismiss the matter from her mind, but she felt a little remorseful, for
Laurel Vane was billed to appear again to-night, and she knew it could
not go on, now that she and Standish had both withdrawn--that was, of
course, unless the latter could get free from prison, which did not
seem likely, considering the nature of the charge against him.
When Cissy came in, Geraldine said, happily:
"I feel as free as a bird, for I have sent in my resignation in the
Clemens Company, and now I shall not have to leave you any more."
"Until Mr. Hawthorne steals you away from me," amended Cissy, kissing
her rosy cheek before she hurried into the adjoining room to prepare
her little Christmas dinner.
"Let me help you!" pleaded Geraldine.
"Oh, no, you shall be company come to dine to-day. And, besides, you
must stay dressed up, to receive callers."
"But there's no one to call."
"Oh, yes, there is," and her words proved true, for before the day
ended there came Mrs. Stansbury, with her three sisters, Carrie,
Consuelo, and Mrs. Charles Butler, the lovely bride of whom Geraldine
had been so horribly jealous.
How glad they all were to see her again; how they petted and made much
of her, denouncing Clifford Standish for a real villain.
"And you're engaged to that splendid Hawthorne--how charming! Oh, you
needn't blush! He told my husband this morning, and we all hurried off
to wish you joy," cried volatile Mrs. Stansbury.