Nathaniel Hawthorne

The White Old Maid - Original Edition Nathaniel Hawthorne

on the bed, her head pillowed beside that of the corpse and her hair mingling with his dark locks. A creature of hope and joy, the first draught of sorrow had bewildered her."Edith!" cried her rival. Edith groaned as with a sudden compression of the heart, and, removing her cheek from the dead youth's pillow, she stood upright, fearfully encountering the eyes of the lofty girl."Wilt thou betray me?" said the latter, calmly."Till the dead bid me speak I will be silent," answered Edith. "Leave us alone together. Go and live many years, and then return and tell me of thy life.