The National tribune. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1877-1917, 1881-11-05

the carpet is up and my butler s away, and
40, | shouldn't mind that a Bit" answers
Dick who would have been cOntented to dine
on the front doorstep in her delightful company,
and then sudden inspiration seizes him.
II saw. Mrs. Boyne, why shouldn't you dine
with me at the -," naming popular restau-
rant. "and do play afterwards?"
His ewes and tone were eager The idea is
certainly a tempting one. Mrs. Boyne hesitates.
month ago he might as well have asked her
TO 90 over to Paris with him for a day or two
but we all know that crime only becomes crime
by being found out and there is not a soul in
London. Why not? it would be extremely
pleasant, and she can guarantee perfectly that
there will not be the very slightest harm in it.
Dick pleads so earnestly that she smiles and
consents.
eve had better dine at seven" he says, as they
part. Il will call for you in hanson at ten
minutes to-, and will get a box for -" men
tioning a new play.
Mrs. Boynes spirits are agreeably exhilarated
as she dresses. There is a slight element of ex-
element in the fact that she is doing something
a little bit risqae. Her maid inwardly resents
this display of cheerfulness and makes bitter
Punctual to the moment up dashes Dicks
" Lowther." Mrs. Boyne takes the precauton
to throw a black lace scarf over her head with
which if necessary she can partially conceal her
face. When they enter the dining-room only three
or four people are there, country cousin-like
looking folk; certainly no one Mrs. Boyne ever
saw before. Dick has selected table in corner
sheltered by pillar, with Mrs. Boyne's chair
presenting it's back to the rest of the company
Dick is young, but he knows what he is about
and has ordered thoroughly recherche though
transformations little dinner. Both he and his
fair guest are in the highest spirits-the spirits
Of well-bred people to which noise and loud
laughter are not essential A grouse with
delicate troth bubbling on its breast has just
been put on their table, when lively party
enters the room with a considerable amount of
hustle. There are two ladies in tremendous
tOilettes glittering with diamonds, accompanied
by two gilded youths whose shrt-fronts alone
are a guarantee Of their social status. As
a matter of fact, they belong to the Third
Life Guards, and Mrs. Boyne is perfectly well
acquainted with them; the ladies she does not
recognize.
This is rather bore She certainly does not
want them to see her there with Dick because
the world is uncharitable Young men are
worse than uncharitable; they talk and they
have an Objectionable way of smiling. After
one glance Mrs Boyne turns her back assidu-
ously TO the party. She sees Dick nod which
means that they have recognized him, and of
course with the inquisitiveness of their species
they viii want TO know who he has got with
him. She is quite sure, however, that she can
trust Dick not to betray her; she has her lace
scarf and there is door by which she can
leave the room without passing them She is
a little bit rufied, but she does not mean to
have her evening spoiled by such a trifle, so she
goes on talking gaily to Dick She has lust
helped herself to two inches of savory ONE
leNe when she sees her companion grow scarlet
and look as though he were wishing the floor
TO give way and swallow him. Like lightning
she turns to seek the cause Of his embarrass-
ment; and then whatever Dicks feelings may
be, they run very far short of her own. Another
couple have just entered. The man is-her
own husband! Ye gods what Nemesis is this?
The husband who she firmly believed was at
AK. But when the first agonized sensation is
paniOn? She is small; she is distinctly pretty:
she wears the most C0yante toilette imaginable
of brown and the new shades of Orange-a dress
similar to one / heard a man call harico-mut-
ton gown; she has a shrill voice. which is dis
tinctly audible the moment she has taken her
place.
BY JOve!" gasps Dick, looking at Mrs. Boyne
The situation is too horrible If Captain Boyne
had come in alone it would have been as nothing
They would have welcomed him to their table
and could have explained their reacounter with
a very fair grace. But who is this lady? Who
indeed. For there is no suggestion in the minds
either Of his wife Or Dick that Captain Boyne's
tete-n-tete can be as harmless or as spontaneous
as their own. Mrs Boyne is white and trembling
Her first impulse of fear and embarrassment has
given place to furious anger. She feels herself
cruelty wrOnged and insulted. Never never had
she imagined her husband capable of such
his own house! In London with creaturet
Her heart beats to suffocation. She hears the
shrill voice, the loud laughter; she sees, though
her back is turned, the rainbOw-colOred garments
And her husband, who hates (or processes that
he hates TO hear a womans voice raised in pub
lie, and who thinks every woman ought to dress
in black. The hypocrite! the traitor. the-she
cannot think of a name bad enough for him
For the first time in her life she comprehends
the instinct that makes lOw-born women (chil-
.nc,,, y a.