The new dominion. [volume] (Morgantown, W. Va.) 1876-1904, 1878-11-09

another's memory out of a romance
any one who does not die young7 / fear
not. In this, the lapsing summer of the
woman's life, when she pretended to be-
lieve that autumn had actually come,
temptation to Inconsistency assailed her.
For many years a fine house upon the
neighboring estate had been empty, but
now there came to take possession of it
gentleman not yet forty. A widower
with plenty of money and no children
handsome man, well built and stall
wart, with magnificent black hair, and
eyes that were like black diamonds.
Spanish eyes; indeed, he called himself
a Spaniard, and his speech betrayed a
foreign accent.
The dark eyes and the blue ones met,
a few neighborly words exchanged, a
cali followed soon. Mrs. Halifont felt
new emotion creeping into her heart.
She felt pleased and battered by this
strangers admiration. Then she knew
she was loved, and rejoiced, and SO
discovered that she herself loved again.
At first she was angry with herself !;
then she wept over her Inconsistency, but
at last she yielded utterly. After all,
it WAS the love that made her untrue
Since she had loved, she could never
pride herself on being faithful again,
and SO she listened to the sweet words
that, despite herself, made her happy,
and promised to marry Colonel Hum
phries.
When a widow does marry a second
time she generally contrives to make a
fool of herself
Mrs. Hslifont had certainly not done
as foolishly as some widows do. She had
neither chosen a little boy, or a titled
italian without money enough to keep
himself in macaroni. Her future hus-
band was older than herself, and too
rich to be suspected of any intention Of
being fortune-hunter; but, after all,
no one knew him. He came into the
neighborhood without letters of intro
duction to any one, and whether he won
his fortune by trade, or came to it by
Inheritance, remained a mystery.
There were those who shrugged their
shoulders and declared that Mrs. Hall
font would regret not having chosen
some one of whom more was Known
some retired merchant, some gentleman
offortune, whose father had been known
to her friends. Nothing, to be sure,
could be said against this Spaniard or
Cuban with the English name but who
knew any thing in his favor?
However, no one said this TO Mrs.
Halifont, and If any one had, words
never changed woman's fancy yet.
Mrs. Halifont believed in Colonel Hum
phries, and meant to marry him.
Indeed, the trousseau was prepared,
the wedding-day fixed, all was ready,
and Ida Halifont believed herself to be
a very happy woman. She once more
built castles in the air. Her old sorrow
seemed to fade away in the distance.
She was a girl again.
At last twenty four no urs lay between
her and her wedding-day.
She was busy in her sewing-room on
this last day, finishing some rufles in
lace and ribbon, and singing softly to
herself, when suddenly the house was
filed with cries
An old man-servant, while cutting
the grass upon the lawn, had wounded
himself seriously. The doctor was sent
for at once, but he was not at home, and
meanwhile poor Zebedee was bleeding
to death.
Suddenly Ida Halifont remembered
that Mr.. HUMPHREYS had said that he
understood wounds as well as though he
had been bred surgeon. Without this
1t would have been natural for her to
call on one who was 30 soon to be her
protector in moment of anxiety. She
woul call him herself. that there might
be delay; and, seizing her garden
hat, she ran along little path that led
from her ground to that of Mr.. Hum
phries, climbing a low fence, to save
time which would have been lost in
reaching gate, and SO gained the rear
of the dwelling, of which tomorrow she
would be mistress
She thought herself terrified and dis
tressed. She felt rather injured in that
such an unpleasant thing as the wound
ing of poor Zebedee should have hap
pened on the eve of her wedding-day.
Ten minutes after she thought Of her
self at that moment utterly at ease
wondrously happy-for as she reached
those windows and peeped half timidly
through the curtains, thing happened
that made all she had ever suffered ap-
pear as nothing.
The room, the window of which she
had approached, was one that opened
out of a conservatory. She saw Colonel
HUMPHREYS busy with some rare plants
he had just set out to the warm sun
shine that fell through the glass. He
had taken off his coat, and rolled up his
sleeves. Now he left the conservatory,
and coming forward, proceeded to wash
his hands in a basin Of water that had
been set ready for him. He was close
to Ida Halifont. He did not see her,
but she could have reached out her
hand and touched him. Why did she
not speak, and call him by name? Whv
did she sink down upon her hands and
tIemblc like an aspen leaf? Alas the
awful reason was this: Upon that arm
to which she was about to give the
right to clasp her in tenderest embrace
she saw terrible MARIA mark she had
seen once before. She knew it's shape
and size and color. Her eyes had been
riveted upon it as the sinewy hand, at
the wrist of which it ended, grasped her
dying husbands throat. She had learnt
it off by heart; she could not be de-
ceived. Though years had rolled away,
that horrible marked arm was not to be
forgotten or mistaken for any other.
Suddenly Colonel HUMPHREYS felt
himself grasped by hand that, small as
it was, had the fierce clutch of tigers
claw. The fingers closed over that red
mark--a white face came close to his
You are my husbands murderer"
Kissed a voice in his ear.