“‘Kiss me, Lannie. There, dear; yes, that is right, Lannie! Hold me in your arms. Now, dearest, we are happy.’
“Then, while tears of joy dimmed my eyes, in the madness of passion, my future was molded. As the poisonous little reptile stings the lion, who is king of the forest, and causes him to writhe in death’s agony, so did the lecherous fangs of passion fasten themselves into poor Lannie’s pure, white soul, sending the venomous poison into a heretofore healthful system.
“If I could but live that hour over again. If I erred the sin was tempered with love.
“I know, in the way that sins are reckoned,
This thought is a sin of the deepest dye;
But, I know, too, if an angel beckoned,
Standing close by the throne on high,
And you a-down by the gates infernal,
Should open your loving arms and smile,