The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1874-02-24
The Secret ofthe "BIue Closet"

a more charming little wife Or hap
pier little home than George Burton had,
,eldom falls to the lot Of any man.
His Annette and the CHEEKY, blithe.
-one cottage Of which she was the mis-.
rress. so wonderfully became each other,
,ud got to be so associated in his fancy
hat il is hard to tell which he thought
smiled upon him the sweetett welcome on
his return to them for rest after the bur
densome labors OF the day.
George Burton was hard-workiuy
lawyer. Day in and day out be was busy
studying aud trying cases. 1t was only
1t home, iu tho evenings. that he could
'all his lime his own, and -peut it as ho
chose, which was usually in reading OF
alking to Anuette. But even then he
,rp, "a "deu' supplied with law book,
,nd other implements for work. whittier
re could retire, on occasion, to consult
sifh some important client.
That room was Aune;tes aver sion
When George shut n,n-clt up in it he
was lost to her for the rest Of the eve, .
tug She called it the blue Closet -
but, unlike the hapIess Fatina, she felt
no wish to explore Its secrets. Perhaps
1t might have been different had her hus.
haDd kept the door locked and the key 10
mis- pocket.
1t was one OF Georges working evening,
aud Auuette went to spend ap hour 18th
her chatty little neighbor Mrs Chcrrup,
hoping her husband would be disengaged
~ the time she got back But on her
return, the door Of the Blue Closet war
It'll shut, aud a light streamed through
the keyhoe.
With sigh of disappointment, An.
ne,tc was passing on to the little parlor
| to wait ill Georges work was done, When
-he heard the sound of voices, Que OF
ihem womau's. broken with sobs, the
other that of her husband, 10 low and
earue>t toues. She distinguished the
words "dereiver" and william" uttered
~ the former, followed by something that
sOundcd like u remoustr .nce on George
part.
Annette had never known what i. was
TO be JEALOUS. aud wa not more curious
than the average OF her sex; but for once
she felt an unaccouutabe desire to pene
trate tho secrets of the Blue Closet. Il
is hardly probable she would have peeped
through the koyhole, though possibly she
might have stayed to listen longer if the
opening Of the door had not put her to
fight.
She heard the footsteps Of George and
bis visitor along the massage. and ,ht
opening and c!osiug Of the hall.door a,
they weut out together. What could il
all mean? No lady clients had ever
called there before Then tho sobs, the
passionate exclama,ions, Georges earnest
remonstrance--all taken together per-
picked her entirely.
She sat down and tried to read. hut til,
words had no meaning. Half an houl
elasped, and George did not retnru Sh,
began to feel uneasy, yet wouldn't ad
init as much to herself What was there
after all, in Georges going out with tn,
strange lady? At that hour it woulc
have been rude not to sec her safe wher,
she was going. Still, Annette woult
have much preferred it had George bee,
at her side at that moment
She hardly knew what impelled he
toward the dnor of the Blue Closet
Somehow it possessed strange iascina
ton for her, 1t stood open, aud lgh
was burning within. She entered. au
pproacbed her husbands writing desk
Ga il lay al opeu letter. Between he
aud George there were 10 secrets, an
she took ii up mechanically. The word
were traced in womun's hand. und pur
ported to be written by an abseut wife (
her husband Dear George" the Ierte
began ard after going on to announc
the writer's intention soon to rejoin hiI
from whom she had so long unhappl
separated. it wound up with Your A
iecliona,e Wife"
Annette staggered as If under blow
She had not known George long beior
their marriage. He had come FROM di,
'ont city, and they had met as stranger
Bat he had shown himself 10 all things :
true aud noble that she would not hsy
hesitated TO stake her life upon his homo
Aud now, to 6nd that he had anotht
wife-ihat she was not hs wife! tb
thought was maddeuuiuy.
One feeling took possession Of hel
She must fee from that house on the il
stan:. To remain longer iu it would
TO add TO her disgrace.
She hasiened to her room, hurried Q
her b0puet aud shawl, aud without sloJ