Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1883-11-15
"You are Mrs. Frederic Martindalep,

he asked.
She colored wildly.
"Then," she cried, ''you know it ala
But I cannot tell who you are"
81 am your husbands brother" said
he, coldly.
Captain Guyon Martindale9"
She held out her hand, but he did not
take it.
"The same. And I have come to
escort you to your husband" he added,
the sentiment of antipathy seeming to
grow stronger and more strong as he
spoke on. ''Heis i'll, and desires to have
you with him. And you will oblige me
by making every preparation as promptly
as possible"
Cora looked at him, the color varying
in her cheeks like white and red banners.
"Is-is he dead?n she faltered.
"No," Captain Martindale answered,
shortly. 'sWhat very foolish question
to askl'
eyes, dare say am very foolish"
said Cora, clinging to the fence, and
quite needless of the pet Alderney, which
was seeking in her pocket for apples.
But-but it was 50 suddenl Yes, l
will 60 with you"
So Captain Martindale took this lonely
uncultivated sister-in-law of his to her
husbands death-bed.
"She must have lived all her life in
these wildernessesr" he thought. Her
gloves don't fit, her boots are outlandishly
shaped, and the cut Of her gown is some
thing positively pre-Raphaelitei She
might be pretty if she was decently
dressed; but as it is, I can only wonder
how on earth Fred ever fancied herl'
Poor little Coral She was only seven
teen. She never had been out of the Cats
kills until now. Frederic Martindale had
fallen in love with her, and, stung by the
rivalry Of some rustic swain, had married
her while on hunting excursion in the
mountains, and she scarcely knew how to
comport herself in these changed circum-
stances. And when at last Fred died
the third day after her arrival at Cape
May-she felt herself shipwrecked on the
shores Of the great world.
"Black dresses9n she said. Grape
bonnets2 But, Captain Martindale,
have no money to buy these things"
Your husband has left you sufficient
to maintain you comfortably, /" said Guyon,
coldly. "Every widow is expected to
wear mourning
So there she sat, listless and silent,
while the milliners and dressmakers sur
her with pillows Of black Grape
and inky rolls Of Henrietta cloth; and one
evening she heard the family lawyer, who
had arrived in the evening train, talking
to her brother-in-law on the veranda be-
low.
Poor Fred poor lad ~ said Mr..
Tape, sonorously blowing his nose. II
never was SO surprised in my life as to
hear that he was married. What sort Of
a girl is she now2"
"She belongs to the milkmaid genus,''
said Captain Martindale, scornfully.
How Fred ever came to marry her
I can't imagine"
"Pretty2n
sRather; but coarse and common.
She has no style, no education, no polish,
What am to do with her, I'm sure
don't know. 1t is positive misfortune
to be left with such an incubus on ones
hands,"
So far Cora had listened; then she
sprang up, clasping both hands over her
ears.
"He need not fear," she thought, with
cheeks tingling as if every drop of blood
in her veins were separate needle
thrust. II will never be burden to
him. will accept Aunt Melinda's offer
to go to her as companion and reader.
[ will never take cent Of the Martindale
l have heard them say that the
money was all Captain Guyon's, and l
will never live upon his grudgingly- given
sharityl"
And when the old lawyer sent up his
and a request for an inter-
view with Mrs. Frederic Martindale, the
young widow was nowhere to be found
She had gone away from Cape May.
"With the mourning outfit not com
pletedw said Miss Pringle, the dress
maker. 'Poor dearl Trouble must have
upset her mindp'
1t is very strange, said Captain |
Martindale; but if she prefers to go to |
her own people, let her go. 1t will GER
5ainly be an infinite relief to me, and Of
course the. allowance must be continued
TO her just the same"
But the allowance, represented by a
generous check, was returned, without
word of comment, to Captain Martin
lale.
He shrugged his shoulders.
"Let her do as she pleases," be said,
= I have done my best; l can do no
more"
So ended chapter one and in the
of time came chapter two.
Six years afterward, Captain Guyon
Martindale was introduced, at Rome, to
he young American beauty who was
lueening it in the gay circles Of the
seven-Hilled city.
If waa in the nalazzo of the Prince /