, 1884-09-11

wedding - taEn place within Three days
mSacly, on the following Monday,
Mss NaustliB gave a very plausible re0usOu
tot tits ImorsA. Loxarrangement, saying that
after what L.t passed She Thought tho be-.
WY o. s~lcn1.i.s the gossip would lc 10 gus
married without more ado. Jack was Lardly
surprised ti-ot Miss Vanstone should prefer
70 avoid the nw~kwnrdncss OF q e-engag
ment. and for tho rest he was not Inclined I.
be hypercrincal The we k-minded OH uncle,
II Il true, raised feeble objections, which
were easily overcome, but there was prncti-
cally no ono TO DO consulei on either Side
Tho cons qlencs WINS that. a special llcsn-s
having been obtained, Jack aud Ethel wer-
quietly married without fuss or ceremony,
"hnr their friends were still talking Of the
rupture or their engagement
WHOM they we're on the point Of starting
on Tor the honeymoon Jack noticed that his
vie handed the butler an envelope and CAV
hitn some directions concerning It In an IN
dcEtone. The envelope contained a glazed
c7ur with tho nama OF MIR. and Mrs John
lenSn" inscribed thereon, und when Lord
D%ti-y called the same afternoon, asking fpf
Miss ) %anstone, this enigmatical missive wa
placed IN his hands.
ArS Jack Benson would have given u COOL
deal 10 be present in order TO see how Lori
barley lore the shock This was her schen,-
of revenge, and she did not doubt that Il
would prove effsctunL To learn that SIZE
bad, after all, married the rival he had en-
dlavored to supplant could not fall 10 lie
most calling to his ordship's self-esteem, not
70 mention his own blighted hopes. 1t must
be confessed That a more humiliating way oI
refusing All offer OF marriage could hardly
have been conceived
Jack knew nothing OF all this, his wife
Icing content to chucklc over her triumph In
secret. Beyond making him promise TO keep
no clue 10 her real motives, and, finding that
no had no suspicion that Lord barley had
proposed TO her, she generously forebore to
enlighten him Having achieved her object,
Ms. Jack Benson did not suffer her mind to
dwell with bitterness upon Lord Da-ley's be-
hGvior, and under the soothing influence Of
the honeymoon her resentment began TO evap-
crate. This magnanimity was chiefly owing
u her husbands sturdy championship Of his
friend, for Jack scofied at the idea OF Lord
Darley having sought to deliberately injure
him, and declared BIN TO be one OF the best
fellows that ever breathed. Mra Jack list
ehed in silence 10 these eulogiums, knowing
that his lordship had meanly sought 10 take
advantage OF his own wrong.
On the day Ct their return 10 London Jack
received permission to stroll down to the club
for an hour or two, and when he came back
bis wife could not refrain from asking If be
had met Lord barley.
Obi yes; met barley answered Jack.
with rather q queer smila
WAS he-did he seem at all depressed.
You know he used to be almost as fond OF mo
as you were" added his wife ingoniously.
ate was just the same as ever. AS for be
ing d~spressed-well, you see, be won a lot of
money over your marriage" said Jack,
"Whatl' exclaimed his wife, opening her
eyes TO the widest extent
"He is n quiet fellow, barley "a II appears
that, when he heard our engagement was
broken Of, he took odd all over the place
that it would ell como right. They say he
has Won 5000 pounds sterling" said Jack,
laughing a little awkwardly.
what oh jack He Is a heartiess, wicked,
bad man" cried Mrs Jack, with sudden
energy. do you know that. after you and 1
had quArTeled, he actually wanted mo 70
marry himf+
"The deuce he did, Then was that why
you agreed to marry ms of a suddenF1 crisi
Jack, with q start
yes; but-but, of COURSE l always loved
you, Jack. You mustn't think | only marrieJ
you out of 2ique," said bis vito, evidently NJ
penting Of her precipitation @As for Lord
barley, he Is a wretch. l forbid you to as
sociate with him Jack. He is not worthy Of
you"
son the contrary, my dear, barley Is the
best fellow in the world. as I've often triec
TO convince you" cried Jack exciredly.
Nov l understand everything. He
was awfully cut up at having been
the cause Of our quarrel, and do
clsrei he would set things straight He
never told me be had proposed to you, but /
see now that he did 50, perceiYinz what
would probably hnppen- barley Is one of
the shrewdest fellows know. Good graciousl
Don't cry, my love"
Aoh, Jack! II l had only gueesedr- ex-
claimed his wife, with q paroxysm of weep
ing.
~HRng it, Ethsll it would not have made
any difference, l hope" cried Jack, as his
countennnce fell.
kiss me, jack Yes, it would, We
should have had rs-re-regnllr wedding,
with the bridesmaids md all the rest OF it,
murmured the bride spasmo1cany.