, 1884-12-25

1853 ~ $50 49,
night and It's horrors; must, In fact, tell her
what she had done in her madnessl Rather
than risk this l must let her continue 70
boar the cruel weight Of what she thought
her shame. My aim must bo to maks her
believe that Sir Mervyn Ferrand is still
alive, and troubling nothing as to what has
become Of the woman whom he once falsely
swore 20 love and cherish until death. l
cursed the wretch's memoir as l thought Of
him.
The sending OF Philippa to live under the
charge OF ono OF his own discarded mis-
tresses was but another proof OF tho mans
revolving cynicism. Mrs Wilson's accept
hncs OF the charge showed me TO what a
Lowell a woman could sink 1t told mt
moreover, that in spite OF her letter she was
not to be trusted. A woman who could
nd herself to her former lovers purposes
IN such a way as this must have parted with
every atom OF pride. 1t seemed to me that
tho woman and the man were well matched
In baseness.
Still her letter lifted n load from my
mud. l felt that for awhile there could be
no pursuit.; yet l resolved to risk nothing,
but hurry on with all possible speed. Only
when We crossed the frontier OF Spain could
l sleep in peace.
An researches, with a view to obtaining
evidence OF the first Lady Ferrand's death.
l postponed indefinitely. Some day, IL all
went well, l would return to England and
procure the documents necessary to prove
the validity of P~hilippa'a marriage. There
wns no pressing hurry. As TO any money
which should be hers. never with my consent
should abe touch u penny which had belonged
10 the dead man.
Protracted as my meditations seem on pa
per, they were in reality much longer; in
deed. they were not at an end when tho boat
steamed into Boulogne harbor. l went in
search Of my companions. who, I was glad
to find, had bor-e tho voyage we'll We
were soon in the train, and, without any
events occurring worth recording, at eight
O'Clock stood OH the Care du Nord, Paris.
We drove through the brightly lit streets
to the Hotel du Louvre. Tho stains OF travei
washed away my mother gave a sigh of
satisfaction as she seated herself at the din
ner table. Like n sensible woman, she was
no despisor Of the good things Of this life.
There were other late diners in the great
coffes room, and many a head was turned to
look at the beautiful girl who sat ON my
right hand for every day which brought
her now health and strength brought also
to my love an installment OF her former
beauty. In a very short time she would be
To all Appearances the Philippe OF old
"How long shall we stay in Paris, Basilf'
asked my mother.
at is now half past nine; our train starts
at 8:45 In the morning. Calculate the
time"
'Oh, nonsensel It Is years since l have
been In Paris. / want to look at the shops
So docs Phiiippa, l am sure"
my dear mother, tho man. much more
the woman, who fingers In Paris is lost II
you are going elsewhere the only way Is to
go straight through, or else you get no fur
thar I Ia IVA pravad thfa and mann N rrtu
no risk"
but remember we are only weak women.
This poor child Is far from strong"
She smiled at Philippe. whose eyes banked
her for the affectionate appellation-
Don't DO merciless, Basil, ~ she continued,
''give US at least one day"
mot one. l am just going to look after a
courier. so that you may travel In all possi-
BILE comfort
My mother seemed almost annoyed. and
again said / was mercilessL What would
she have said had she known that, unless I
had received that letter. instead OF going to
our present comfortable quarters we should
have driven to the Orleans railway, and
taken the first train to the Bouthl How
little she knew-how little, l trusted, Phil
ippa knew-from what we were hyingl
l felt ! must give my mother some reason
for my haste; SO, before going in quest OF
my courier, l took her aside.
at is not well for Philippa to stay in
Paris" / said "Some one whom she ought
not TO meet was here a short timo ago"
l blamed myself for the deception; but
what could l dol Alasl IL soemed to me that
my life. which once was fearlessly open TO
the inspection OF all, was now full OF little
else save deceptionA Should l ever again
be my true self
Ny mother raised no further objection /
found a courier-a boarded gentleman of
commanding presence. who spoke evory
European language with impartial perfec-
ton. ! gave him instructions to SEQ to every
thing next morning; to collect our luggage
save the small quantity we carried with US,
and to register it through TO Burgos. l had
no particular reason for choosing BurKos,
but 1t seemed a convenient place at which
to take our first thorough rest.
The next days journey was a dull, dreary,
wearisome affair. Ny companions had not
shaken of the fatigue OF the previous day,
and now that I felt Philippa's safety was,
comparatively speaking. assured, a reaction
set In with me. No wonder. Ishudder now
as l think OF tho strain TO which both body
and mind had been subjected during the last
fortnight l was moody and ~listless. The
air was full Of fog and mist. The so-called
express train pounded along after tho well
known style OF French railways Orleans,
Blois, Tours, Poictiers, Angouleme, Coutras
and other stations passed mo as ono in a
dream. The dull day crept on until lark
evening was upon US, and we were all thor
oughly glad when our days journey ended
at Bordeaux.
Ny mother, who was rather great at guide
books, had boguiled part Of the journey by
a Murray, which somehow made its appear
ance from her travelling bag. As she knew
- .uo-. 60 a1aor ~ unrd.a,r- .Ao Aa1 Ln..
laying down the law as TO What we were to
look at. We were to SEQ the curious high
wooden fifteenth century houses OF the old
town; tho cathedral, with its fine towers; the
very old churches of st. Croix and st
Seurin, and a variety OF other interesting
objects. 1t needed all the assurance 1 pos
sesssd, all the invalid's querulousness and
inslstence l could assume, to induce her to
consent to resume our journey the first thing
In the morning. Even Philippa pleaded for
delay, and gave me to understand that she
thought l was using my mother unfairly.
But l was firm. If | could | would nave
hurried on by the midnight train Any
way, now that we were within a few hours
Journey OF the frontier and OF safety, /
would lenvo no more than l could help to
chance.
SO In the early morning l got my party
together, and before IL was light led them 10
the train. l believed that by now my
mother looked upon ms as rather out OF my
senses. She frankly owned she could not
see tho necessity Of making a toll out of
what might DO a pleasure. She little knew
that nothing could have made that journey
a pleasure to me, that even finding Phiippa's
eyes now and again fixed on my face with
what l almost dared TO think was teuder
interest-that even the blush which crossed
her check when 1 caught those g~lances-was
not sufficient to reward me for my anxiety.
A slow, a painfully slow train. Innumer-
able stoppages. A country which under the
circumstances would have given mo nc in
terest even II we had been In summer in