"
Still the whisper stayed in her heart, nor would the honeyed words of
praise be gone, even when he kissed her, and thanked the gods for this
pearl of great price.
Then as time fled on, the tiny whisper grew into a great roar, and all
the praise of men, and the sweet words of women, filled her brain, and
what had once been her aversion became a great desire, and caused her
brow to grow thoughtful, and her eyes moody.
But when she spoke to him of this new love, he smiled and said, "My wife
must be mine, and mine alone. I want not a woman whom the world claims,
and shouts her name abroad. My wife and my home must be inviolate." And
again as of yore, his wish controlled her--but only for a while.
Then the tiny whisper grown into the great roar urging her on, became a
mighty wind which drove her before it, nor could she turn aside from the
path of ambition, but swept on, and conquered.
Ah, sweet, sweet the exultation of the victor! Dear the plaudits of the
admiring world; wild the joy, when queen of song, admired of men, she
stood upon the pinnacle of fame! And he? True to his old convictions,
turned sadly from the woman who placed the admiration of the world
before his love and the happiness of his home--and went out from her
life broken-hearted, disappointed, miserable.
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