Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1885-03-06

the " GRID without lear o. ScOrn, the reStOra-
ton OF her self-respect would bring with it a
joy which only a woman can rightly COM
prehend And Phiiippa, with all her pride
and passion. was a true woman, full of the
softneSs and delicate dread of SD anne which
characterizes the best of her sex.
Yet when SHOULD be able tt, tell hers
Whenever did so l must also reveal the
TACT of her husbands being dead, and nv
doing so must bring TIE whole story of his
death to her knowledge | trembled as
thought what this might mean. Surely its
dramatic surroundings must suggest some.
| al.ng TO 1er mlnd--must bring back tbs
night and its horrors; must, in fact. tell her
what she had done in her madness! Rather
than risk this l must let her continue to
bear the cruel weight of what she thought
her shame. My aim must be to mako 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 to love and cherish until death.
cursed the wretch's memory as l thought of
him.
The sending of Philippa to live under the
charge of one of his own discarded mis-
tresses was but another proof of the mans
revolving cynicism. Mrs. Wilson's accept
ance Of the charge showed me to what a
| level woman could sink. 1t told me
moreover, that in spite of her letter she was
not to be trusted. A woman who could
| lend herself to her former lovers purposes
III such way as this must have parted with
every atom of pride. 1t seemed to me that
the woman and the man were well matched
| in baSeness.
Sill her letter lifted load from my
mind. 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 crossed tie frontier of Spain could
l sleep in peace.
All researches, with view to obtaining
evidrncs of the first Lady Ferrand's death.
l postponed ndefnte!y. Some day, if all
went well, l would return to England and
procure the documents necessary to prove
the validity Of Philippa's marriage There
was no pressing hurry AS to any money
which SHOULD be hers, never with my consent
should she touch a penny which had belonged
to the dead man.
Protracted as my meditations seem on pa
per, they were in reality much longer; in
de d, they were not at an end when the boat
steamed into Bou ogne harbor. | went in
search of my companions, who, was glad
to find, had borne tho voyage well. 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. The stains OF travel
washed away, my mother gave a sigh of
satisfaction as she seated herself at the din
nar table. Like sensible woman, she was
no de>piser of the cool Things of this life.
There were other late diners in the great
coffee room, and many head was turn I'd to
look at the beautiful girl who sat on my
| i. Ii l,,,., /, r
her new health and strength brought also
to my love an instailment of her former
Leauty. In a very short time she would be
to all appearances the Pnlippa o. old.
Chow long shall we stay il Paris, Basilg'
asked my mother.
at is now half-past nine; cur train starts
at e:45 in the morning. Calculate the
timen
''Oh nonsense! 1t is years since 1 have
been in Paris l want to look at the shops.
So does Phiiippa, l am sure"
"My dear mother, the man, much more
the woman, who fingers in Paris is lost. If
you are going elsewhere the only way is to
20 straight through, OF else you get no lur-
ther l have proved this, and mean to run
no risk"
But remember we are only weak women.
This poor Child is far from strong"
She smiled at Phlippa, whose eyes thanked
her for the affectionate appellation.
Don't b mercile-s Basil" she continued,
"give us at least one day."
Not one. am just going to look after a
courier, SO that you may travel in all posi-
BILE comfort"
My mother seemed almost annoyed, and
again said I was merciless. What would
she have said had she known that, unless [
| had raoaiva1 that lntfar iuctca I of oSiny tt,
our present comfortable quarters we should
have driven to the Orleans railway and
taken the first train to the south? How
little she knew-how little, l trusted, Phil
| ilpa knew-from what we were flying
felt | must give my mother some reason
for my haste; so, befor going in quest of
my courier, took her aside.
at is not well for Philippe to stay in
lris," said "Some one whom she ought
not to meet was here a short time 70"
[ blamed myself for the deception; but
what could do? Alas! it seemed to me tnat
my life. which once was fearlessly open to
The inspection of all, was now full of little
else save deceptions Should ever again
| be my true self!
My mother raised no further objection.
found a courer-a bearded gentleman of
commanding presence. who spoke every
| European language with impartial perfec-
ton. l gave him instructions to sea to every
hing next morning: to co lect our lugga re
save the small quantity we carried with US,
and to register it through to Burgos I had
no particular reason for choosing Bur COS
but it seemed convenient place at which
to take our first thorough rest.
The next days journey was dull, dreary
wearisome affair. My companions hal not
| cba off tha fat Of Il
and now that felt Pnilippo's safety was
comparatively speaking, assure |, reaction
set in with me No wonder Ishud Ter now
as think of the strain to which both body
and mind had been subjected during the last
fortnI sht. / was moody and listless. The
air was full of fog AMI mist. The so-called
express train pounded along after tho well
| known style of French railways. Orleans
Bois, Tours, Poictiers, An ouleme, Govt as
and other stations passed. m. as one in a
dream. The dull day crept on until dark
| evening upon us, and were all thor
oughiy glad when our days journey ended
at Bordeaux.
| My mother, who was rather great at guild j.
books, had beguilel part of the Journey by
Murray, which somehow made its appear
ance rom her travel ing bag. As she knew
we were to sleep al Bor, AUX she had been
| ItYlup tOWIl lllt law us 10 NlaU we were to
look at. We were to see the curious hirh
wooden fifteenth century houses of the old
town; the cathedral, with its fine towers; the
very old churches of st. Croix and st.
Seutin, and a variety of other interesting
objects. 1t needed all the assurance | DOS
sessed, all the invalids querulousness and
insistence | could assume, to induce her to
consent to resume our journey the first thing
in the morning Even Philipra plead ed for
delay, and gave me to understand that she
thought / was using my mother unfairly.
But l was firm. If l could | would have
hurried on by the midnight train. Any
way, now that we were within a few. hours
journey of the frontier ami of safety, l
would leave no more than | could help to
| chance.
So in the early morning I got my party
together, and before it was light led them to
the train. l believed that by now my
mother looked upon M as rather out OF my
senses She frankly ownel size could not
see the necessity of making a toll out of
| ,ic.hf Ja ,o