le grande's diary.
"october 3.
"i have been in such a maze of suspense and bewilderment for a month, dear journal, that i have neglected you; to-night i'll recall, if i can, some of my lost days. no, i can't. it makes no diference; they were only days of trouble. i am perplexed to death to know the result of the baron's letter. he wrote, of course, and urged that mr. mordecai send leah at once to him. and the preparations are going rapidly forward for her departure. every day i say, 'darling, stay with me,' and her father says, 'daughter, you must go.' 'we shall see, in the end, what the end will be.'
"october 15.-to-night, dear journal, i make the most triumphant record of my life. tell it not, breathe it not, to a mortal soul! leah, my darling, has promised to marry me, and not go to europe, as her father had determined. she told me last night, when i met her in the park, that her mind was made up. she would not go. she did not wish to go, and to marry me was her only alternative. she loves me, though, and we shall be happy, i am sure. my parents are bitterly opposed, and hers will be, to such a union, but we will be married, for all that. helen alone is in my confidence; she has none of that pride that revolts at leah's being a jewess. to-morrow i leave for havana, where i go with papers from our banking house to a branch house in that city. if i am successful in making my business arrangements, as i feel assured i shall be, then all will be well. i can only remain two days, as the day for leah's embarkation is not a fortnight off. my mother and father know nothing of the business that takes me away, yet i have not deceived them. but, journal, good night.
"october 28.-home again from havana-home with bounding heart and glowing hopes. i admire that fine city of the antilles almost as much as i do my beloved, native queen city. i shall enjoy my new home, i know. how could i do else than enjoy it? with a satisfactory salary in our branch house, and a lovely young wife, a heathen might well be happy. now, old mordecai can keep his gold, if he likes, and ny father can do the same. the opposition has driven me to rely more implicitly upon myself, thank the fates. i shall be able to 'paddle my own canoe.' leah looks something like those spanish beauties, only she's a trifle sadder in expression. i trust she'll be happy in her new home, amid cuban bloom and under azure skies. heaven grant her an unclouded life. i am delirious with joy; and for fear of committing too much to your keeping, journal, i'll stop writing. adieu."
