THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



137 



thing, displaying great prudence 

 and calmness and started on his 

 homeward journey, though the 

 fever had taken hold of him. 

 Chills and heart were alternately 

 shaking him and when home at 

 last, he fell exhausted into his 

 mother's arms, who saw his pallor 

 with trembling fear. 



"Why did you inflict this on me, 

 Bruno?" She cried." 



"Why did you leave?" 



"To save for father a part of his 

 fortune. Wealth is the only thing 

 that can make him happy I went 

 with the secret hope, he, too, 

 would some day if I asked him " 



That was all. They were his 

 last coherent words, after that 

 there was only unintelligible mur- 

 muring, broken sentences and then 

 his lips and eyes were closed as in 

 death. 



The mother sat at his bedside 

 night and day and listened with 

 breathless attention to everything, 

 but she could find no connection, 

 only now and then, the clearly 

 pronounced name "Regina." She 

 waited and wondered but nothing 

 more came than: "Repina, Re- 

 gina." Sometimes softly, lovingly, 

 sometimes with a sigh and again in 

 reproachful accents . 



"Who is that? I know of no 

 such person," thought she. "I 

 have never heard of her." 



And then she would lay her 



hand on Bruno's feverish brow. 



He took her hand and pressed it to 



his lips [first, then to his breast. 



The mother prayed, lifted her 



right hand as onerdoes with a vow 



and her face assuming an expres- 



sion of heroic resolution seemed to 

 be transfiguring into beauty. 

 Bruno recovered. 

 His mother asked him without 

 any introduction whatsover: 

 "Do you love Regina?" 

 He looked into his mother's face 

 with astonishment, but full of 

 earnestness. 



"I do, mother more than I can 

 describe as much as man can love 

 a woman." / 



"Why did you never tell me 

 of it?" 



"Oh mother, you never can help 

 things, anyhow." 



He said it quietly and meant no 

 harm, but the simple words struck 

 his mother like an awful reproach. 

 Never- can help things! She bit 

 her lips in humiliation. He con- 

 tinued: "And father well you 

 know his plans for my future. 

 Wealthy, distinguished immeasur- 

 ably rich must be his daughter-in- 

 law's portion! He would laugh as 

 he has never laughed in his life 

 before, if I should tell him how 

 poor, how terribly poor, Regina is. 

 Oh mother say no more of it, I beg 

 of you for she too, is so proud, 

 incredibly proud. Her pride is as 

 great as her love for me or I 

 should have gone into the world 

 long ago to make a living for her 

 with my incomplete abilities." 

 "Why she refuses?" 

 "Yes, she refuses to bear father's 

 name against his will. And it 

 would be dreadful for me to lead 

 the wife of my heart to an uncer- 

 tain fate. She, who has always 

 lived on the dark side of life and 

 battled with poverty and trouble. 



