West-Jersey pioneer., 1869-06-25

| Mres bl0ndelle as closely as Sne ulo ncreoii,
and she subsequently had occasion to remem-
Der and shudder at the fact.
Seeing the watched couple seat themselves
on small sofa in one corner Of the room, she
glided to an ottoman near them, in time to
hear Mrs. Blondelle say:
"No. Lyon, your wife is not my friend-she
is my deadly enemy. She is fiercely jealous
OF your affection for me, though it is the only
happiness of my unhappy life. And she will
make you throw me off yet"
Never! no one, not even my wife, shall
ever do that. swear it by all my hopes Of"
| Sybil glided away. She could bear no more.
/ Supper-time drawing near, when all the
| guests would have to unmask, Sybil and Bea-
the drawinn qom together just as the last
ouadrille was completed, and the company be-
gan to march to the supper-room
As each couple passed into the supper room,
they took off their masks and handed them to
attendants, placed for that purpose to the right
and left of the door. Thus, when the COM
pany filled the room every face was shown,
but ssDeath" was nowhere to be seen.
At last the party broke up. Only few of
the guests remained all night. These were
! shown to their rooms, and the others having
gone, as fate would have it, Mrs. Blondelle
went into the little reception parlor to meet
Mr. Berners. who assured her that henceforth
he could never extend to her more than
| brothers affection.
"Then give me brothers kiss" she sighed.
ssThat is not much to ask, and have no one to
kiss me now. So give me brothers kiss, and
let me CO." she pleaded, plaintively.
| He hesitated for a moment, and then bending
over her, he said:
"It is the first, and for your own sake it
must be the last, Rosa" and he pressed his
| lips to hers
| 1t wa, the last as well as the first; for at
the meeting of their lips they were stricken
asunder as by the fall of thunderbolt
And Sybil, blazing with wrath, like spirit
from the Lake of Fire, stood between them
She looked not human-with her whole face
and form heaving, palpitating, flashing forth
the ligh.nings of anger!
''SYBL.! !" exclaimed her husband, thun-
der struck, appalled,.
| She waved her hand towards him, as if to
imploreor command silence.
'IhaEe nothing to say to yeu," she muttered,
| in low and husky tones, as if ashes were in her
throat. ''But to You p she said and her
voice rose clear and strong as she turned and
stretched out her arm towards Rosa, who was
leaning in alright against the wall-"To YOU,
traitGess, who has come between the true hus-
band and his wife-in the morning you must
leave the house you have desecrated for if
you do not, or if ever l find your false face
here again, l will tread down and crush out
your life with less remorse than ever l set heel
on spider! I WILL as l am Berners! And
now, begone, and never let me see your form
again 2
Rosa Blondelle, who had stood spell-bound
by the terrible gaze and overwhelming words
of Sybil the wronged wife, now suddenly threw
up her hands, and with low cry fed from the
room.
And Sybil dropped her arm and her voice at
the same instant, and stood dumb and motion
less.
And now at length, Lyon Berners spoke
again tsr-'oyDrI r. saiu, ,--JnIs- mouse Is
yours! You must do as you please. But this
l tell you: that in the same hour which sees
that poor and friendess young creature driven
from the shelter Of this roof, leave it too,
and leave it forever p
If Lyon Burners really meant this, or
thought to bring his fiery hearted wife to terms
by the threat, he was mistaken in her charac-
ter.
"Oh, go!' she answered, bitterly-"go as
soon as you like, Lyon Berners. Goodnight,
and-good-bye," she said, and with wave of
her hand she passed from the room.
He was mad to have spoken as he did; mad
der still to let her leave him so how mad, he
was soon to learn.
Lyon Burners remained walking up and
down the room some time longer The lights
were all out, and the servants gone to bed.
Yet still he continued to pace up and down the
parlor floor, until suddenly piercing shrieks
smote his ear.
In great terror he started forward and in
stinctively rushed towards Rosas reom when
the door was suddenly thrown open by Rosa
herself, pale, bleeding from wound in her
breast.
s.Great Heaven! What is this; he cried.
as, aghast with amazement and sorrow, he
supported the CHASTITY and dying form, and
laid it on the sofa, and then sunk on his knees
beside it.
''Who, who has done this?" he wildly de-
manded, as, almost paralyzed with horror, he
knelt beside her, and tried to staunch the gush
ing wound from which her life blood was fast
yelling.
She opened her bloodless lips, now paling in
death, and gasped forth the words:
..She-Syb Sybil-your wife. l told you she
would do it, and she has done it. Sybil Bern
ers has murdered me-" she whispered. Then
raising herself with a last dying effort, she
cried aloud, s'Hear, all Sybil Berners has
murdered me-" And with this charge upon
her lips she fell back DEAD.
Even III tnat supreme moment Lyon DcrHeTS
first thought, almost his only thought was for
his wife. He looked up to see who was there
who had heard this awful, this fatal charge.
ALI were there guests and servants. men
and women, drawn there by the dreadful
shreks. All had heard the horrible accusa-
ton.
And all stood panic-stricken, as they shrank
away from one who stood in their midst.
1t was she, Sybil, the accused, whose very
aspect accused her more loudly than the dying
woman had done for she stood there still in
her fiery masquerade dress, her face pallid, her
eyes blazing, her wild black hair loose and
streaming, her crimsoned hand raised and
grasping blood stained dagger.
so, vretched woman most wretched wo-
man What is that you have done ?" groaued
Lyon Berners in unutterrable agony-sgony
not for the dead beauty before him, but for the
living wife, whom he felt that he had driven to
| this deed of desperation.
| Lyon Berners, do you believe me guilty p
she asked.
He looked up, and their eyes met. If he
had really believed her guilty, he did not now.
He answered briefly and firmly:
! "No, Sibil Heaven knows that do not
but explain this horrible business-if you
can ~
.'The explanation is this, she said, emphati-
csIy; ana then her voice arose clear, firm,
and distinct, as she continued: 8
- was IN my chamber, which is immedi-
ately ABOVE that occupied by Mrs Blondelle.
MY cnamoer is approached by two ways, first
oy tne iront passage and stairs, and secondly
Dy barrow staircase running up from Mrs
b'onaeles room, l do not know how long
naa ssl there, when heard piercing shrek
from some one in the room below. Instinct
lve,y rushed down the communicating stairs
ana into Mrs. Blondelle's room, and up 70 as nss
Osa' s;ns saw BY the light Of the sapsp and
thought at first that she had tainted from some
fright until. almost at the same instant, saw |
this dagger" here Sybil stopped and pcsssu ssu
up the dagger that she had dropped ~"
minutes before" driven to its haft IN ,ed ~
chest. | drew it out Instantly the ;,a olJoy NV