A Struggle for a Ring — page 129: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

“GIVE ME LOVE, OR HATE.” 125 For himself, he was delighted; he had longed to spend a few years at least in the army, and Gibraltar was one of the most pleasant of military stations, so that he was alto- gether well pleased. His wife—well, of course, she would be happy enough; he would leave her to take her chance. She could either remain with the family at Rudeswell or have a nice little house of herown. He had quite given up all idea of ever telling his parents the story of his mar- riage. Since he had been at home he had seen and understood so thoroughly the difference between Ailie’s friends and his own that he realized how useless it would be to attempt to bring about any common understanding between them. While his parents or either of them live : his marriage must be kept a dead secret; when they lived no longer, and the knowledge of it could not pain them, he might perhaps publish it to the whole world. It never occurred to him that in thus acting he was doing his wife © the least wrong; he had given her the shelter of a home; he had placed her in easy circumstances; he had provided for her fiiends; he had surrounded her with comfort ; and he did not realize that a living, passionate, beating human heart wanted more than that. ‘‘Give me love, or hate!” his young wife would cry, in her wild dreams—‘‘love that burns, hate that kills—any- thing rather than this cruel, kind indifference.” Lord Carsdale did not think very much about her; the glow of hercism had a little faded, now he had realized what he had done; he kept the whole affair as much out of his thoughts as possible; and then came the wedding, with all its pomp, its ceremony, and grandeur. The Countess of Waldrove had said that her daughter’s wedding. should be a ceremony not easily forgotten in the county, and she was quite right. It never was forgotten ; 4 ~~ | AAP BS Rhy Eomichboo CS (eo)