I DOOMED. By WILLARD MacKEIMZIE C H A P T U li X X V I.— (Continued.) She pies.sed her hands upon her head, and there was Incipient madness in her eyes, as abc muttered, “ Ob, thou who hath ray (ate in thy hands, spare my reason, that I Bii> have vengeance upon that w retd »!” •There was not a crime that the villain did not lay to your charge.” “A n t you could listen to it all?” she said, sadly "Not without twice strikiug him to the ground.” “Bless I you— bless you (or th at!” she cried, fcven tly. "Oh, that you had kill­ ed him! But n o ; I would not have had that, (or then you would have robbed me ©( my ■sngeance.” "Unhappy woman! Do not talk of vengaaao ' he answered, reprovingly. "This « a : said that but (or your machi- nationd-..the mortgage money would have been forthcoming. Oh, Eleonore, this cannot be true!” " I would have laid down my life to n r e Pen,!, yddyn,” she cried. “ Oh, do not think me such a wretch as th a t! But I (eel that he has woven such a mesh round me that I know not what I may have done unwittingly. The anonymous letter I gave you I obtained from him. I now see it was a snare— I saw it the instant you told me he was Interested in the mortgage; and it was that which threw me into the fits last night. I have been to his >fflce this morning, trying to see him. I can (eel that he has made me a tool infringing about this ruin; but I do not know how— hnt, oh, do not think me knowingly guilty 1” “ I do not.'' he answered, solemnly. “ I must make one more coutession. I am the child you saved (rom the wreck. But I did not know it until I heard the story (rom your lip s ; and it was the a w fu l-fatality that was enshrouding ub that made me fly (rom you. I am Eleo­ nore de Boissons, the namesake of that picture." “ I have (elt that it was ho all along" he answered, sadly; “ but I never dared to ask of yo u a confirmation. Poor child, why should I blame you? You have been no free agent ; you have been but an in­ strument In the bands o ( a resistless des­ tiny. When n John Trevethick's cot­ tage, we were plighted to each other, and I pronounced the words, 'Death alone can separate us,’ Death was at our side. As we left the altar, Death was the first object our eyes fell upon; and Death la about us now in this our last meeting. Before I go,” he went on, “ let me warn you that this W ylie has threatened to have you arrest.d ipon some charge. You had better at once seek some other •bode.” “Have me (arrested!— (or what?” she cried. "But you are right, and I will act upon this caution; Tor there Is no extremity he would not go to take away my liberty.” “Seek no revenge upon him, for my sake; avoid everything that may lead to expos lire. My lawyer, Mr. Briggs, will have Instructions to pay over to you on application such sums as I can send you out of my earnings abroad; and here are (our five pound notes.” “ I shall never go to him for m o n e y - do not leave me a n y !” she answered through her sobs. But he placed the notes upon the table, and once more moved towards the door. “ Let me kiss your hand,” she said, en- treatlngly. He held out his hand. She took it, gased upon It for a moment, kissed It passionately, end bedewed it with tears. Even then, spite o f all, so powerful was the old love within him. that he could scarcely refrain from raising and pressing her to his heart, in one last wild embrace. But he conquered the weakness. His hand elides from her clasp— one lingering look— their eyes meet for the last time on earth— and then he is gone, and she lies senseless upon the floor! “Freeman,” said Eleonore, after she had revived, “ I must not sleep in this bouse to-night. W ylie nas threatened to have me arrested upon some trumped-up charge, and he dare not let me be loose, If he can help it, after what has passed. W e must go to our old home until morn­ ing, and then think of some bitter place of conoealmeir The servants must be discharged, and this house shut up.” Mr. Wylie did take out a warrant", as he had threatened. The charge being the abduction of Miss Constance Grierson; the proof‘produced by him the very letter which had been written In his office un­ der bis d ie .r on. But the policeman who enmo to execute it found the bird had flown. almost the same day that blighted my life blighted hers to o !” “ Do not be so malicious, Eleonore! Be­ sides, you have no reason to be in this case, for Miss Grierson would have lent Sir Launce the money to pay off the mortgage if she had not been carried off just at the time. She had arranged it all with some luwyers. But as soon as she was out of the way, W.vlie went to them, and said that Miss Grierson had changed her mind, and the money was not to be paid.” “ And it was I — I who contrived her abduction— who was the means of pre­ venting this; and he made me the tool to work my own destruction. From whom did you hear all this?” "From Mr. Stafford. As soon as Miss Grierson was released and came home and told how your letter had led her luto the ambuscade, he rushed down to Bromp- ton in a terrible rage, and I happened to be in the house.” There was a long silence, and then Eleonore said, “ I shall sell off my furni­ ture— everything at Brompton— turn It all into money ; and I want you to see to it at once for me.” She was naturally very exhausted after this conversation, and fell, soon after she had spoken those last words, into a deep sleep. “ Where can the nurse be?" muttered Mrs. Freeman to herself. “ She ought to have been back long ago. I must go out before the shops shut, and I shall have to go at once. She seems very sound asleep; I think I might venture to leave her.” She had not left the room more than ten minutes when Eleonor* awoke. All was still, the nurse had not returned, and the patient was alone. The room was very dim and shadowy, illumined ss It was only by a rushlight. She called “ Freeman,” and when no answer came, she raised herself upon her elbow, and looked round the room. Even that effort was too much for her. How strange her face fe lt ! She put her hand across it. A thrill shot through her. Was she in a dream, or had her sense of touch deceived her? The skin was no longer smooth and soft, but rug­ ged and uneven. She looked at hsr bauds ; they were reduced to skin and bona ; and. by the dim light, she could just paroeive some si>ots upon them. What sickness had she been attacked with? “ A h ! great heavens, could It be that?” Excitement gave her strength, and she struggled out of bed and staggered to the dressing table. There was no looking glass upon it— none to be seen anywhere. Trembling and nervelese, she eauk upon a chair. She looked at her hands again. There was no mistaking the marks this time. Oh, for a mirror of some kind, that she might know the w orst! The toilette glass must be h'dden some­ where. Holding on to the walls and fur­ niture, she looks about the room. At last she finds it concealed beneath the bed. She drags It out, and sets it upon the table. W ith trembling hands, she swings the face o f the glass towards her. One look — a shriek of horror— an unearthly cry— a horror more than human upou her quiv­ ering face— and shuddering from bead to foot, she gazes upon her own reflection. The fell disease has concentrated all its ravages in her face, which it blotched, seamed, scarred and ploughed by It. It cannot be her face— the face that was the god of her idolatry— the face whose fascination no man ever could re­ sist— this hideous thing fill* her soul with terror! She strikes at the fearfal reflec­ tion, and the glass falls shivered upon the floor. A fter this she is seized with delirium ; has to be watched night and day, and held down forcibly, to prevent her dashing her head against the wall, or rending herself with her nails. There is one name ever upon her lips — Wylie. He is omnipresent to her mad­ ness— ever standing at the foot of the bed mocking her; and then she shrieks, and struggles to seize npon him, until ex­ haustion paralyzes h er: but she still mut­ ters threats as she lies back upon her pillow. A ll this time her life hangs upon a thread. The doctor says that It is Impos­ sible for her to recover. After a while the delirium exhausts Itself, and then she lies for upwards of a week in s state of coma. A fter this she slowly begins to ra lly ; the crisis is past. She will live. But no shadow of her former self remains. She Is gloomy, morose, seldom speaks, never looks in a glass, seem to bo ever brood- disarm ed and that th eir arnJ* , am m unition have been i|*P0^ ‘ ®d . 8h the French consulate. T h e M o o rtrt officials have con fided the o f the city to the Franco Spanish forces. t,