, 1884-12-21

And men can love IKE thIsr shs saA
sadly. IAN msn are not alike, thenf'
Enough OF nls,n I said. ''TelI me Of your
Self. Tell me how l can aid you. Your
husband
She drew a sharp, quick breath. Tia
color rushed back to her cheek Her eyes
giittered strangely. Nevertheless, she spoke
calmly and distinctly.
"Husbandi ! have none," she said
"Is he dead r
"Non-she spoke with surprising bitter
ness-"no; I should rather say l never was
q wife. Toll me, BASIL" she continued
fercely, did you ever hate a manF'
yes" l answered e~mphatically and
truly. Hate n mani From the moment l
saw tho wretch with whom Philippa fed 1
hated him. Now that my worst suspicious
were true, what wore my feelingsi
l felt that my lips compressed themselves.
I knew that when | spoke my voice was Us
stern and bitter as Philippa's. "Sit down."
l said, " and tell me all Tell me how you
knew l was here-where you have come
from
| Let me but learn whence she came, and l
felt sure the knowledge would enable me to
lay my hand ON the man l wanted. Ahi
life now held something worth living for
81 have been bore some months" said
PhilippA
"Herel In this neighborhoodf'
yes. have seen you several lines. I
have been living at a house about three
miles away. felt happier in knowing that
in case of need l had one friend near me"
l pressed her hands. go on" l said,
hoarsely.
"He sent me here. He had grown weary
OF me. | was about TO havs u child. was
In bfa vax-a trauhla q. hin, ~
Her scornful accent as she spoke was In
describable.
"Philippai Philippaw Igroaned. had you
sunk SO low AS TO do his biddingln
She laid her hand ON my arm. More
she said, 'Listeni Before we parted he
struck me. Struck-mei He cursed me
and struck mel Basil, did you aver hate a
manrn
l threw out my arms My heart was full
of rage and bitterness "And you became
this mans mistress rather than my wifef' l
gasped. Neither my love nor her sorrow
could stop this one reproach from passing
my lips.
She sprang to her feet Your she cried.
Did you-think-do you imagine Readl
Only this morning l learned itn
She threw a letter toward me-threw it
with a gesture Of loathing, as one throws a
naussous reptile from ones hand. opened
it mechanically.
Yes" she said, ''you are right in think
Ing | had fallen low. So low that | went
where he chose to send me. So low that
would have forgiven the nI-treatment Of
months-the blow. even. Whyf Because
until this morning he was my husband.
Read the letter. Basil, did you ever hate a
mnnr'
Before l read l glanced at her in alarm.
She spoke with almost feverish excitement.
Her words followsd one another with head
long rapidity. But who could wonder at
this mood with a woman who had such a
wrong to declarof She grew calm beneath
my glance.
Read she said, beseechingly. ''Ah.
Godl / have fallen low; but not so low as
you thought"
She buried her lace in her hands while l
opened and read the letter. 1t was dated
from Paris, and ran thus:
"As 1t seems 10 me that we can't exactly
hit 1t Off together, | think the farce had bet
ter end. The simplest way to make my
meaning clear Is to tell you that when /
married you l had a wife alive. She has died
since then and dare say, had we managed
TO get OH better together, l should have
asked you to go through the marriage core
mony once more. However, as things are
now, so they had better stop. You have the
satisfaction OF knowing that morally you
are blameless.
'If, like a sensible girl, you are ready to
accept tho situation, l am prepared to act
generously, and do the right thing in money
matters. As l hate to have anything hang
ing over me unsettled, and do not care tc
trust delicate negotiations to a third party,
l shall run across TO England and SEQ you.
l shall reach Roding on Wednesday evening.
Do not send to the station to meet me; !
would rather walk"
The letter was unsigned. My blood boiled
as 1 read it.; yet, in spite Of my rage, / felt 4
grim humor as ] realized tho exquisite cyni
cism possessed by the writer. Here was G
man striking a foul and recreant blow at q
woman whom he once loved-a blow that
must crush her to the earth. His own wordi
confess him a rogue, a bigamist; and yet he
can speak coolly about money arrangements
can even enter into petty details concerning
his approaching visitl He must be without
shame, without remorse; a villain, absolute
ly heartlessi