The Wellington enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 1867-188?, 1884-12-31

rest or peace, until 1t made me curse
the day when Kenyon led me inside
that old church to see "the fairest sight
of all.
How could 1 prove the untruthp
There were but two other persons in
the world who knew Pauline's history
-Ceneri and old Teresa Teresa had
disappeared and Ceneri was in the ST.
berian mines or some other living grave.
Even as / thought of the old italian
woman, Macari's SANDER began to
throw forth its first poisonous shoots.
Her mysterious words, "not for love
or marriage" might bear another
meaning, dishonorable meaning. And
other circumstances would come to me.
Ceneri's haste to get his niece married
his wish to get rid of her. Thoughts
of this sort would steal into my mind
until they half maddened me.
/ could bear to sit with Pauline no
longer. went out into the open air
and wandered about aimlessly, until
two ideas occurred to me. One was
that would go to the greatest author
ity on brain diseases, and consult him
as TO Pauline's hope of recovery-the
other that would 60 to Horace street
and examine, by daylight, the house
from top to bottom. l went first to the
Doctors.
To him l told everything, saving, of
course, Macari's black lie. l could see
no other way to explain the case with
out confiding fully. l most certainly
succeeded in arousing his interest. He
had already seen Pauline, and knew ex-
actly the state in which she had been.
l think he believed, as many others will,
all told him except that one strange
occurrence. Even this he did not scoff
at, accustomed, as he was, to wild fan
cies and freaks of imagination. He at
tributed it to this cause, which was
but natural. And now what comfort or
hope could he give mep
''As / told you before, Mr.. Vaughan" "
he said, "such thing as losing the rec
objection of the past for long while
and then picking up the end of the
thread where it fell is not altogether un-
precedented. will come and see your
wife; but as the case now stands it
seems to me it is an attack of brain
fever, and as yet no specialist is needed.
When that fever leaves her should like
to know, that | may see her. 1t will, i
expect, leave her sane, but she will be-
gin life again from the hour that her
mind was first unhinged. You, her hus-
band, may even be as q stranger to her.
The case, i say again, is not unprece-
dented, but the circumstances which
surround it are"
l left the doctor and walked to the
agents in whose hands the house in
Horace street was placed. obtained
the keys and made some inquiries. j
found that at the time Of the murder
the house had been let furnished for a
few weeks to an Italian gentleman
whose name was forgotten. He paid
the rent in advance, so no inquiries had
been made about him. The house had
been vacant for a long time. There was
nothing against it except that the owner
would only let it at certain rent,
which most people appeared to consider
too high.
gave my name and address and took
the KEYS. / spent the remainder Of the
afternoon in searching every nook and
Granny in the house, but no discovery
rewarded my labor. There was, l be-
lieyed, no place in which the body Of a
victim could have been hid-there was
no garden In which it might have been
buried. / took back the keys and said
the house did not suit me. Then / re-
turned home, and brooded on my grief,
whilst Macari's lie ate and ate its way
to my heart.
And day by day it went on working
and gnawing, corroding and warping.
until was told that the crisis was over;
that Pauline was out OF danger; that she
was herself again.
Which self? The self / had only
known, or the self before that fatal
nightp With beating heart | drew
near to her bedside. Weak, exhausted,
without strength to move or speak she
opened her eyes and looked at me. II
was look Of wonder, of non-recogni-
ton, but IL was the look Of restored
reason. She knew me not. II was as
the doctor predicted. ! might have
been total stranger to those beautiful
eyes as they opened, gazed at me, and
then reclosed themselves YEARLY. j
went from the room with tears running
down my cheeks, and at my heart q
feeling Of mingled Joy and sorrow,
hope and fear, which words will not
express.
Then Macari's black lie came out from
its lurking place and seized me as il
were by the throat-clung to me,
wrestled with me-cried, u am true
Push me away, / am still true. The
lips Of a villain spoke to me, but fol
once he spoke the truth. If not for this,
why the crimeP Men do not lightly
commit murder" Even then, when thu
moment had prayed and longed fol
had come-when sense, full sense, wa
given back TO my poor love-I was in
yaded, conquered and crushed 70 th'
ground by the foul lie which might b
truth.
"We are strangers-she knows M
not" / cried. "Let me prove that thi
lie is a lie, or let us be strangers for
everr
How could I prove itP How could
ask PaulineP Or asking her. how coult
/ expect her to answerp Even II sh,
did, would her word satisfy mep Oh