The Sunday Oregonian., August 01, 1909, SECTION SIX, Page 3, Image 55

7
THE SUXDAT OREGOXIAN, PORTX-AXD, AUGUST 1, 1909
V
i .
CHAPTER V.
August 25th.
m aAVE I been too complacent? Have
l-l I suffered In silence when I should
have asserted my rights? But
what can I do? He ts a man that re
proaches, and accusations would only
embitter. I could never force back his
love to me in that way. Once I put
this thing Into words, it would com
pletely estrange us. I would have to
go away: I could not stay and let him
know that I know. Oh. if I only had
the strength, the courage, to go away!
Strange as It may seem, every fresh
proof of his Infidelity Instead of giv
ing me the strength to go, only weak
ens me, makes me cling to him more
and more. I sometimes feel that my
very love for him has degraded me,
that it has made me oblivious to every
sense of womanly pride.
August 27th.
This morning at breakfast I broke
down completely. He was sitting across
from me, his paper in one hand and
his coffee cup in the other. Unobserved,
I was watching him, as I often do now.
thrilled with a consciousness of every
detail of his personality. The pose of
his head and shoulders, the air of dis
tinction with which he wore his clothes,
the whiteness of his linen. The fresh
ness of a morning bath was still about
him, and now and then as I leaned
forward I caught the faint fragrance
of the toilet soap ho always uses. It
sent the blood rushing to my face as
It brought back memories of the first
years of our marriage; when I used
to bury my face against his neck to
breathe this odor partly of himself and
partly of his bath. . I tried to keep my
eyes on my plate, but again as by a
magnet they were drawn to his strong,
well-shaped hand, the edge of his linen
cuff, the cloth of his coat. . . . I
burst into tears, caught up my napkin
and hurried sobbing rrom the rom.
Upstairs I locked my door and threw
myself on the bed. Then I heard his
knock. I buried piy face in the pillows
to mufflo the sobs. A moment later
I felt his hand on my shoulder. He
had gone around the other way and
come in through the bathroom.
-Why, Mary, what is it? What is the
matter dear?" Oh, how that "dear"
hurt me hesitating, reluctant, a con
cession, as it were, to bribe me from
my 'tears. ,
He sat down beside the bed, and gent
ly drew me to him. For a second I
clung to him in pitiful abandonment,
and yet I knew that he only held me
held me as one Would hold another
that they might not falL There may
have been pity, but I could feel there
was no love in his touch. I shrank
away and hid my face in the pillows
again. . .
"Mary, are you ill? Tell me what
" -Oh. you are killing me killing me!"
I sobbed.
A hideous silence. And then:
"What do you mean?" His voice was
like steeL .
And I knew then, had I never known
before, how useless any appeal would
be how futile to beat against this
wall he had placed between us.
"Oh. 1 am only nervous and hysteri
cal. I haven't been well lately, that's
-; i - t rniftined hurriedly.
"Tou are alone too mucn. ius v " 1
was more kindly now. "If you would
go out more that Is why I wanted
. - i. n,..rtni,nf T felt VOU WOUld I
His voice
ig iukd a" ..' -
be happier and less lonely. I am going
to have Dr. Martin call this after-
nTnmade no protests. I did not say
that in all these years I had never been
lonely before, that It was only now
now since he was always away from
me. It would only have made Mm hard
and bitter; it would not have helped.
August 29th.
Is there anything In life so sad as
old love letters letters written by one
who has since grown cold? Today I
went through a box of letters he wrote
m before our marriage wonderful.
glowing love letters. All these years
I
have kept them, ana now x vu...
. thorn with some vague hope that
to
thev will comfort me.
But they only hurt me more. They
have only made me feel more terribly
all thflt I have lost. ..,, .
Oh. how dead they seem! All the love
.nil hopes and desires that they were
filled with are dead now. As I read
them 1 try to forget, to live back in
that time when they were written, to
thrill again with the thought of the
future that lay before me then; the
future that was throbbing with his love,
with the promise of all the tenderness
and nearness that would be ours. Life
holds nothing more beautiful than a
young girl's dreams of the man she Is
to marry. .
And mv dreams came true. The rlrst
few years of our marriage I was happy
bevond all words. Even when he was
away from me I seemed to live every
moment in the shelter of his arms; the
sense of his love and protection and
the bond between us was always with
mAnd then that wonderful year before
our child came. Oh. the tenderness-
the
tenderness of his love tor mo "
that
year! And then our great
row
when It lived only a rew -non.
hours. I tried to keep mucn oi my
Brief from lilm; In some vasue way
I felt that I had not fulfilled my
n lsnn. I cannot quite put it into
words, and yet there was always a
fueling that In the supreme test or
wifehood I had failed. I have often
wondered if -other childless women
have this same thought.
I am sure such a phase of It neer
occurred to him. He was very kind
and gentle and did all that he could
, to comfort me. .
I remember one day he came home
earlier than usual and found me up
In my room crying over some little
clothes that had never been worn. He
took me in his arms and begged me
not to grieve so, that I must not be
so hopeless, that some day the little
clothes might still be needed. But
thev never were. Oh. If only they had
been!
If there had only come anotner
child
cnmniArA our lives ana oui
home.
I feel that no one could nava
ever
..An,. h.fvn us then.
... ...an if thea- ha,) 1 WOUld Still
have had something. I would have had
the child our child. And now I have
...i nAhin?' All the beautiful
rOLIltl.fe ---- t
dreams of my girlhood and wifehood
are dead, and now I stand alone, old.
childless, loveless and alone!
August SO.
I have been reading more of the let
ters. Yesterday I put them away and
promised myself I would not open them
again. And yet today an Irresistible
longing drew me to them, a sad fancy
to find one written on this date, Au-
. t .nt .nr that there was
one. for though our engagement lasted
over a year, there were many days
when we were-together when he did
not write.
Rut T onened the box and looked for
-n. n-uh a Ktranee eagerness, an
arernets that was almost an anxiety
as fhoutrh in some way I felt it might be
stoma good ometi ui&i igaicuiuji
follow If there was such a letter. The ,
second envelope I picked up wm
marked August 20. How strange! My
heart beat fast. But I found no more in
August until I had gone over half of
them: then came one marked August 5.
I hurried on-August 12-August 8. Then
all together were a number in August
almost every day but the 30th. Only a
small handful were left. I was growing
sick with .disappointment When there
remained but two or three more letters
out of all that box. the postmark August
SO lay before me.
With trembling fingers I took It up.
The envelope was empty! An empty en
velope! and I had longed for some lov
ing word-something that would comfort
me that I might take as a message now!
There were a dozen or more loose letters
In the bottom of the box. but none of
them dated, except sometimes the day
of the week or perhaps the hour. And
the paper was all the name the plain,
heavy white paper he always used: there
was nothing to identify any of them
with that empty envelope.
September 2d.
I was at ' 's glove counter today,
when suddenly I was conscious of a sub
tle perfume strangely like ... My
heart seemed beating in my throat as I
turned. Beside me was a strikingly
beautiful woman having some long white
gloves fitted. At that moment a silver
purse slipped from her lap to the floor.
As she stooped for the purse, the move
ment brought the odor more strongly to
me. leaving no doubt of its source. Could
It be ... ?
I was waiting for some change, but now
I turned abruptly from the counter and
walked blindly through the store. My
first Impulse was to get away to hurry
from the place as quickly as I could. But
when I reached the street I was seized
with an uncontrollable desire to go back
to see her asjaln Just to see her! Would
she still be there? I was trembling so I
i a V. .41.. ..Mnirih tn flUSh O VH'.Tl the
I1S.U 1 1 (. 1 ' --1 , - -
great swinging doors that led into the
store, uown one auue, wen vimmw j
She was there! Again that perfume; it
came to me as I neared the counter. The
clerk was folding the gloves in tissue
paper. "Yes. charge and send them
Mrs. A. I Morris, Lafayette Avenue,
.Brooklyn." I could have cried aloud
witn joy. i m
was not the one!
When I came home I wondered at the
great relief that had swept through me.
Why should the fact that it was" not
that woman bring me such comfort? The
woman he loves is somewhere this morn
ingwhy should it matter so much to me
.i -i wo., at that counter? And
yet it does. Had that woman given the
address on central x-ara cow, duvm.w
have been desperate. And the fact that
she did not has filled me with Joy.
September 3d.
Horace said at breakfast that he was
i . -D..OTAV, t nr-nrtrm-ar on the eaxlv
morning train, and asked if I would cars
to go: that I could spend the day with
my Cousin Edith and come back with
him at midnight. Or I could stay over
a day or so if I wished.
I consented gladly. I used constantly
to go with him on such trips, but now he
so rarely asks me. it x couiu omj
that he really wanted me to go, as he
used to. Just to have me with him but I
know It is only because he has noticed
my growing depression and thinks the di
version might do me good. Still, I am
. j , -Iua hnnnt T will Sit b-
side htm on the train, ana ma
more tn8n i have had for days,
x havs near(j nothing from Ec
,V, 1,,-tor futvfnt? aha WAS HTPl
slfle htm on the train, and that will be
TCdlth since
that lotter saying she was preparing to
leave her husband and that the divorce
proceedings would soon be published. But
. i nnthlnv in thA nanera:
they must have succeeded In keeping it
quiet, wnatever oappeuo, mm imo n
consolation of two beautiful children;
thev will keep her life from being wholly
desolate.
September 6tn.
T V n A a With ITrilth T".
rington: I did not come back until this
morning. And those two aays were oniy
M,ralatlnn nf thA trawit of mar
riage and the incessant misery of life.
1 naa written tne hik"- uciuro i
was coming, but tor some reason the let
ter was delayed, and I reached there be
fore If did. It was about 1 o'clock. As
the maid opened the door, Edith was
coming downstairs, charmingly gowned,
ready for the street. At first I thought
I had never seen her look so well, and
then I noticed a certain nervous excite
ment, and a hard .brilliancy about her
eyes.
She greeted me cordially. But I reit
something not quite natural In her man
ner. I found that she had a luncneon
engagement, but she Insisted on break
ing it and spending the afternoon with
t nf ntr nmtaatq hfl U-pnl
to the telephone In the hall. She closed
the door ana spoKe m a iow lone, yet &
could not help hearing part of what she
said, tnougn l waiaea to ma wmuuw
forrhnat mvvav from tha hall. And what I
heird seemed very strange.
When she came back into the room, her
face was slightly flushed.
It Is all rlgnt 1 nave postponea tne
luncheon till Friday. Tou need not feel
AnanlanAA-atinlran tnr T Wnill1 TV1 11 cH
rather have it then: by that time I will
have the gown the tailor disappointed me
about today.
"Now. corr.e upstairs; and we'll take off
our things. I'll have Jane serve us
something up there, so we can have a
nice long talk. I'm sure we've lots to
talk about." with a iittle laugh that
seemed hard and mirthless.
During the luncheon we talked of only
the most impersonal things, neither of
us touching on her divorce or the letter
she had written me. I was strangely puz
xled. I tad never known that she drank
wine, particularly at luncheon, but now
she drank a good deal. When the mall
had cleared away the things she drew out
a small silver case filled with cigarettes
and lit one carelessly. Seeing the amaze
ment' I could not keep from my eyes, she
laughed again that hard little laugh.
"Oh. yes, I smoke now every one does. "
The afternoon passed In desultory gos
sip, with still no reference to her hus
band or to anythimj at all personal.
When I asked about the children, she
answered "briefly that they were In
boarding-school and came home every
other week to spend Sunday! And this
wis the woman whom for years I had
known to be the most adoring mother,
who could hardly let her children bo out
of her sight!
About 4 the maid came in with a long,
white flower box. "This Juet came,
ma'am."
"Very well: you can leave it there on
the table," Edith said carelessly, but I
saw the color rushing to her face.
With what seemed almost like studied
i . . AhA tnllrAri nn to ma ftevAral
moments before she .went over to open
tne dox. rrom tneir tiufs-ppcr wrap
pings she lifted out a magnificent bunch
. Am&rinn TloailtV fOaRAA
"Oh, what exquisite roses!" I said In
voluntarily. thav a a Inviilv. aren't thev?
After all, there la no flower quite like
the rose. fTom the Droaa saun nouoo
. . . h.M than, aha nnnlnnMi a Am all en
velope and slipped it nnopened into her
dress.
a.j. that a-AA All .Qh arranged them in
some large vasea, but made no further
comment about them.
Horace waa to call up at , to know It
A MOMENT
I had decided to return with him. I had
rather thought I would stay, that a few
days from home might be well for me,
but now I was anxious to go back. What
ever had happened in Edith's life, I felt
it was something I would rather not
know, and that to Tetnain would only be
painful to us both.
When the telephone rang a few mo
ments after , she answered it first. I
v, r-A ,a- invite Worace to dinner. And
Five Hundred Youngsters in Tenement District
of New York City Are Taught Farming
Iff J'
jf-4
. X-1 -.
vVUTH' YOJiJC
NEW YORK . July 31. (SpeciaL)
In the tenement district of Kew
Tork City, between Hells Kitchen and
San Juan Hill, BOO little farmers have
already planted their crops for this
season. They are a very enthusiastic
and eager lot of farmers when they
crowd the De Witt Clinton Park as
tliH U-s ryrJ
"a 1 1 P i i (t.
W'rm mill
LATER I FELT HIS HAND ON Mf SHOUIDEM.
then: "I am sorry you can't come up,
but I am going to keep Mary she is go
ing to stay over a day or two."
And when I hurried to the 'phone, pro
testing, she covered the mouthpiece, and
turned to me with a strange earnestness.
"No; you must stay, Mary you must
stay because I want you I need you! I
thought I didn't that I was almost sorry
you had come, and that I would let you.
-tn- 4.5 Ji. t '.frA.
w.
SCMOOL CWID&ZM'
soon as school is over and go to work
on their little farms. The work Is
done under the direction of the Inter
national Children's Farm League, who
supply the children with spades, hoes
and other Implements, and send in
structors to teach the children how
to farm and how to distinguish between
weeds and their rising crops. After the
ivelty of the planting and digging
' Z v
rv .
i
m hack without without telling you.
.OUl X RIIU ll-J-n ..a........
r...- .i v, Huvivor into m v hand.
0115 lllllliSfc- I-U3
"Tell him that you have decided to stay
at least until tomorrow.
Reluctantly I yielded. I seemed power-
. -J .nwhlnv aIcA
jess to uu wijuinie
titi t tinner hack ' the receiver, she
said nervouHly: "We are not going to
.-iir .hnnt it now not just yet I don t
think I can. Frank will be home for din
iVV' "'Z-T---i
. a: LXi &
GAZDZM
i -nana, df the tollers drop
Uixa "i" u wu, ....... j
out. This Is a very lucky thing In one
way, because there is a long waiting
list, and many .applicants have to be
turned away. The children enjoy the
work and are also learning the Indus
trial arts In a most healthful and amus
ing way. There are several of these
farms In Philadelphia, and many more
will be established In New Tork.
m -----1 1 , n!
t - 7 ttJ I
i r-
ner tonight; he dines here about twice a
week, and 1 always manage to have some
guests. Mr. and Mrs. Elton are coming
tonight, and George orresier aim uiaa-o
Hartford you remember her?"
She talked on aoout tne unmet
guests, making no further reference to
her husband. I asked no questions, x
v. i-a thA fpAltrur one has in
watching the developments of a play.
Later when txiiin aressea iui u.uwc, .
realized suddenly that she was still a
young and beautiful woman. She wore a
pale lavender gown that was cut lower,
and fitted more closely, and was more
-.-(Wi.. than anvthinfl T had PVCT
seen her wear. I did not see Frank Car-
rlngton until he tooK me in to mime..
was a man that looked particularly well
In evening dress, and as I looked at Edith
and then at him I wondered why love had
ceased between these two. rnysiraiu,
, .1 Tuvth attractive. And vet
leaiaL, tucy we., - -
several times during the dinner I saw him
glance at her across tne tame, aim
waa in his eyes a. look so hard and cold
that I shivered. Would Horace ever look
at me like that?
After dinner they -played bridge until
midnight I played very badly, for I have
never carea ior it, dui naun. v.o..
w mv partner, and as he is an expert
K - , iTV4;th mrtro hrilllant
h a fwr nnints.
l nave nevei own ...... - --
and more fascinating; she was run or
Van renartee. and her clear laugh rang
out again and again. And yet I felt In
it that note or aisiiiusiuimni, vi -
lessnese, that I had noticed when I first
At last they were all gone, and she took
me up to my room.
"I'm not coming In I know you are
tired. Good night."
o atui aha riirf not want to talk.
Wonderingly I lay there, unable to
sleep. I had come here expecting to find
...!.,. a1na with llAF children. in
ilKJIlII living wv"a .
strict seclusion, a crushed, broken-hearted
woman. That was what her letter im
plied; and now ...
And the children why had ahe eent
them away? Then I thought of the con-rA-sation
over the telephone and the
UOWBI8! -
a lni.ll- ctrlirk Z. aJlQ
r CUIIl BUUKHIIWD a- ww.. -
Btill I lay awake. Suddenly there was a
-,,Ma in "the hall and then a faint
knock. I opened the' door to find Bdlth
ii i .... in a Imit flnwin? srown.
BianuiiiB uidio " i. - ' "
"I knocked softly, so. If you were asleep
I wouldn't wake you," she explained
...... T ha.mn't Kaan Q T ! P Tl OmiB in
and let me put something around you
you 11 taKe coia mat way.
rh tii nt tn kA cold thoucrh It
wouldn't matter If I did." bitterly. She
threw herself on the couch and looked at
V. V. a wA hTtllifltlt atPfl.
"Mary, I want to talk. It will be easier
now than In the morning. Do you know
that for the last two months I have want
ed to come to New York Just to see you
to talk to you? There were times when
I felt I should go mad if I didn't talk to
some one, and you are the only woman I
trust."
i.mu riidn't vnii come, dearr I
asked gently. "You know If there le any
"Oh, there is nothing you can do except
. . . t i ' . Avan trnnhlA to cive
.i..tiw. t hnnlfin't take it one
Hie ouvjwp
never does. But you can listen you can
let me talk. Jan you wmerauuiu "
that will help me?"
. t thlnV T can." Ana I
iw, uiqji i. . . ... .
thought of how Helen Chandler had said
the same thing.
She was walking up and down the room
now Just as Helen had done when she
cried out that sne wantea to b
husband, that he was alone In that awful,
silent graveyard and he could never bear
to be alone that she wanted to go to him.
with her hands to dig aown aim uuu ....
she came to his- coffin, and then to lie
there with him.
There was eometmng in una .uuai""
.. hi,trht that scene back. I felt the
same faintness coming over me. Was
there not enougn anguisn m ui
Why should fate make me share that of
other women?
"I want to begin at the beginning so
you will understand." She was still walk
ing back and forth. "You have always
thought my marriage a happy one, haven t
. , . . .... V. . PMnV a
you7 you nave aiwaye uiuiju
;.i, n i-., la-ant hiithA.nH? That was
Kina anu iii.".&... -
what I tried to make you think what I
tried to make every one inma tuu a
lieve I succeeded. But It waa all a He!
For the nine years of our marriage I have
been living a lie. From the very first ne
was cruel and uniaitniui, Buaiuo.wj
. - 1.. ...1 T haliavA nrtW that he TICVOT
uniiuxinui. . r" ., .
loved me. And any love I had for him he
has long since killed.
"But I resolved that no one should
. . v. . vn,a thA world we should
stand as a happy couple. And for all these
years I have acted mat roie,
the children's saxe ana jjo.ii.ij
own But six montns ago iomouims mck
pened something that crushed out of me
all the gooa tnat was icn- .
time I haven't carea.
. . ,A ...1..1, na nio-ht hA flrOVrt UP
here in an automobile with a flashy light
opera singer his mistress! A man-about-town
and another actress were with them.
And he forced me to receive mem, aim
h.,a Tana sprtfl a suoper! He must
have told the woman I was not at home.
or she would not nave come, rvr unu.
neath her attempted bravado she was
nervous and 111 at ease, and I think, too.
that she pitied me, which waa the most
intolerable part of all. But I carried it
ii aha ahnvan. far mOIfi COnfUSlon
Oil WCil oo -
than I. No one would have thought I was
entertaining my nusDmm s miou..
that I knew every one at the table was
jerfectly aware that I knew who she was.
"But that waa not all. I think he waa
furious because I was not confused, be
cause I treated them with cool courtesy
instead of making some vulgar display of
temper. It seems inconceivable, and yet
I really believe that was what he wanted.
Of course, they had all been drinking,
but not enough but that he knew clearly
what he waa doing. And so he began to
tell stories vile stories and to watch
their effect upon me.
"There was a shining knife beside my
plate; I felt my fingers closing over it.
I knew then if I stayed I would try. to
kill him I made some excuse to get some
thing from the dining-room be had or
dered the supper served in the library. I
slipped out, ran up to my room, threw
something around me and came down the
back stairs through the basement and out
into the street." .
She threw herself on the couch now,
and her eyes grew mOTe hard and more
defiant It was several moments before
she went on.
"What I did after that was not planned.
I wae in no condition to plan. Blinded,
maddened, crazed, I followed the first im-
pulee that came to me. x - "'"f-".
to the rooms of a man who I knew had
long cared for me. No word of love tad
ever been spoken between us, yet I knew
that he cared. By chance I knew his ad
dressbachelor quarters In an old-fashioned
residence on Beacon Hill.
"I found the whole house dark except
a faint green light shining through the
shutters of the second floor. By the dim
street-lamp I read the names on the
brass plates in the entry. The second
floor was his. I rang the bell. There
was no answer; desperately I rang again
and again. Then came the tapping sound
of the door being unlatched from above.
But I would not open It I wanted him
to come down.
So I rang again. Then I heard steps
on the stairs and the door opened. He
stood there in a smoking-Jacket. a cigar
in his hand.
Jira. LalUiifiwti-
For a moment I could not speak. Me
said again: "Mrs. Carrington!
"Then I laughed hysterically. Yes. IS
it too late to call? I thought you, might
be pleased-I-'
"He came out imo ms
he could see me more plainly.
'tnht is it what has happenedr
""sternly. . , ....
"I don't remember lust wnai t
it n-oa onmotiiinir livsterical about think
ing It would be interesting to make a
.. ... j . jvi ,A,-f hut
midnight call, tou uun i
stable.' I nereisted. 'Aren't you going
to to ask me in?'
'No!'
'Why?1
. i . ' ..a-v tn MV whV. If TOU
will wait here I will get my cat and take
you home. Or if there is any i - j
you won't go home, I will take you to
your sister-in-law a, or anywnere
you will be sate
"That is ail mere is
told you because I had to tell some one,
and I could trust no one else. It may
make 'a difference in our friendship: If
it floes. I am sorry; dui even mm
known it would I think I would suit
have told you.
x anA ant hv the couch where
she lay and took both her hands. "It
will make no difference, iiun yuu uus
to know that. The only thing to De con
sidered is your best happiness, inmss
can't go on indefinitely this way."
'Why?' defiantly.
T ii -m-hv clear, excent that
l caii t- w" J '
I know they cannot. Don't you feel that.
too?"
She turned her face away. Of course
I feel it." hopelessly, "but what can I
dO nOW?" ' , -m.al.aa
"Does he love you very much. Edltn.7
Is it a great love that be gives you?"
"I think it Is." in a low voice.
"Then why don't you get your free
dom, dear," I asked gently, "and marry
him?" " ...
She hesitated, and a faint color crept
Into her face. "Because of the children,
and because Frank wouldn't let me have'
It now. He would bring this counter
charge." "Surely he wouldn't want to hold you
"Oh, yes, he would. You don't know
the man. He wants to hold me to fur
ther humiliate and torture me."
"You don't mean he knows this and
still wants to hold you "
"That is Just what I do mean. Of
course, he doesn't know all, but he
knows enough to use it as an additional
way of torturing me. He takes a fiendish
delight in saying insinuating things that
cut through me like a Jagged knife. At
last he can make me Bhrink and cringe
he never could before.
. "Of course, if I were openly lndlsrecet.
If I became talked about a subject of
discussion at the clubs he would not
tolerate that. He would get the divorce
himself, bringing upon me all the dis
grace he could, taking the children from
me, and seeing that the decree forbid me
to marry again. But as long as I am
discreet, and he has thle lash to hold
over me, he Is well satisfied."
I shuddered. "And I have . always
thought htm a kindly man!"
"To other peogle he is. That Is the
stransre part of it ail. It is only to me
that he Is a fiend. If he had marrlPd
some other woman he might have made
her a good husband. But from the very
first I seomed to have aroused in him
the desire to crush to subject me. and .
that has grown upon him until it has
become au obsession. Whatever I did
was done unconsciously. In looking back
now I think it was partly because I
shrank from him In a physical way. I
think It was that which first aroused all
the demon, all the brutality that was in
him."
She started up with a cry: "Oh, GodL
what I've been through! You don't know
you can't know! How could you,"
fiercely "you in your quiet, happy mar
riage? Do you ever stop to realize how
happy you are how good fate has been
to you? Of all the people I know. I know
of Just two really happy marriages, and
yours is one of them. You never think of
it that way, do you? You take It as a
matter of course. Oh, no, it is not happi
ness, but anguish that makes one fully
conscious."
My hands clenched tight the arm of the
chair. Could I bear anything more? If
she would only leave me now before I
broke down. She had again thrown her
self on the couch, her arm over her face,
motionless except for the lace at he
throat, which stirred with her convulsive
breathing.
When at length she arose, she moved
wearily toward the door. All the excite
ment had died out of her voice now.
"I may never be able to speak of this
again, Mary, but I want you to know that
I am glad I have told you that it hae
helped me some as much as anything
could now."
The next day I left about noon, ana
made no effort to keep me. In no way
was any reference mane to tne nwm. oo
fore. It was as though It had not been.
.Semlnoles In the Evergladps.
Florida Times-Union.
' Seminole Indians still live In the ever
glades. Just as they were in the time of
the Chief Osceola, whose warriors mas
sacred General Canby. These people have
intermarried, some of them, with negroes.
They are fishers and hunters.
The Tariff Exception.
J. K. Bang In Harper's Weekly.
There are no bird- In last year's nest-.
There- are no buds on last year's trees.
There Is no cash in laat year's veets.
There are no pods on last year's pes..
There are no wlg on last year's pates.
There are no soles on last year's ehoes.
There la no fun in last year's dates.
There are no oars In last year's orews.
There are cats on last year's fence.
There are no bats on last year's ball.
There's no rebates on last year's rents.
There Is no wind In last year's squall.
There are no votes in last year's poll.
There Is no news in last year's Sun.
There is no bread In last year's roll.
There is no shot In last year's gun.
There are no hens In last year's coop.
There are no rats in last year traps.
There Is no taste to last year's soup.
There Is no coin In last year's cropa
There Is no cold in la-t year's chill.
There Is no joy In last year's rkle
There is no tang In last year's Dill.
There Is no pomp in last year's pride.
There Is no flirt in last year's girl.
There Is no cake in last year s box.
There is no twist In last year's curl. .
There Is no gold in last year's lock.
There Is no tan on last year's cheek.
There is no smile on last year's lips
There 1 no noise In last year's shriek.
There ts no shape to last year s hips.
There Is no etyie to last year's duos.
There is no amlle in last year s jokea.
There Is no soap In lat year's suds.
There are no fills on last year's folka
There are no fish In last year's pnlls.
There Is no pain in last year's Ills.
There are no Trust in last year's jails.
But there Is Just about the same quality
and amount of side-splitting" humor at
tthe expense of the American people aa
ever in last year's Tariff Bills,
L