The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-03-17

cause tender conscience, hitherto void
Of great offense, exaggerated her little
folly into crime. She made up her
innocent mind that she was one of the
wickedest women in the world. She
had married her husband under false
| pretences!
When Tregarthen turned his back
! upon her she read final remuneration
in the act, and was persuaded that she
had lost him forever. She had no blame
for him then or afterward, and she
recognized the justice of the imagined
sentence, even at the moment when its
weight first crushed her. The perfect
trust which love should have in love is
a flower of slow growth indeed. Often
| enough life is over before it has reached
to its full bloom, though there is this
compensation for its laggard coming,
| that when once it blossoms it can know
no decay.
Mrs. Tregarthen went to London,
and naturally enough sought the one
place there which she had known be-
fore-a respectable, if somewhat dingy,
clearinghouse off the Strand. The
stout landladv had not forgotten her,
and received her kindly There was a
faint flavor of home in the stuffy bed
room, and at least it was better to be
there than to find nest altogether
strange. But the foolish fugitive had
run away without any provision, and
had made no arrangement for those
bodily needs which continue their
claim in spite of sins or repentances.
She had twenty pounds in money, and
her maid, being hidden to pack for
London had naturally foreseen iestivity,
and had put up all the hapless lady's
| iewelry. There was no fear of imme-
date starvation, therefore, but none the
less that terror doomed from the future.
She was sure that she was forever part
ed from her husband, and when the
first agony of that certainty had settled
down into 4 dull pain, she had to
think of ways and means for her sis
ter's sake, and in little while (for a
reason she had not hitherto dreamed
of for her own.
| The maid, who was for the first time
in London, was poorly impressed with
town life, as may be fancied. The
stuffy clearinghouse was not the sort of
place in which Mrs. Tregarthen's posi-
ton gave her right to bestow herself,
and the maid knew it. Once or twice
she had surprised her mistress in tears.
and she had found out very early in the
history of the exposition that there were
no ideas of festivity in Mrs. Tregar-
then's mind. She began to put two
and two together, and after week she
spoke.
81 beg your pardon, ma'am, but it is
my wish to leave
"How is that, Mary9' inquired the
mistress, with sinking heart, The
heart had sunk low enough already, in
all conscience. but it fell lower yet
when the maid spoke of leaving. Ire
garthen had himself engaged this wom-
an to serve his wife, and the exile was
ready to cling to anything that bound
her, however slightly, to her home aud
him.
"Well, ma am" returned the maid,
"since you ask me, don't understand
things and I'd rather CO."
There would be one month the less
to fill, but that was little. The maid
received her wages and went away,
though she kept an eye on Mrs. Ire
garthen, having fancies of her own con-
corning the reasons for this curious es-
capade. The expected gallant never
appeared, however, and when Mrs. Ire
garthen went abroad she took the child
with her, and, after purposeless walk,
returned without having spoken to
single creature. In these circumstances
the maids interest in her late mistress
declined, and she found another place
and went away, content to leave mys-
terry unsolved.
The poor lady set aside all her gayer
dresses and attired herself in somber
raiment, as typifying mourning, and
when one day Mr.. Lorr;mer caught
sight of her in the street by accident he
took her for widow.
IRAN away from the stage to get
married, did she, poor thing!" said Lor-
rimer to himself, not unkindly. "WeIl,
if loves young dream is over, she'll be
back again. Pm business man, and
l can't afford to miss a chance like
Miss Churchill second time"
So Mr. Lorrimer, without particular
ly violating his conscience, lit cigar,
cooked his hat little, and logged Mrs.
Tregarthen home.
clearinghouse. Mrs. Barnley. Re-
spectacle poverty. Married widow
er. Widow left hard up. Encountered
with little girl. Poor thing! poor thing!
Get her now on easy terms"
Mr.. Lorrimer cooked his hat anew,
bit off the end of second cigar, struck
a brown-paper fusee on his trousers, lit
the cigar with an air of victory and
walked homeward. Shortly before nine
clock. being by that time in the full
glory OF evening dress, he strolled past
the house dozen times or so, and had
begun to examine the windows with
some Impotence, when a servant girl
came up the area steps, bearing half
dozen jugs of different sizes and made
her way toward the corner public
house. MIR. Lorrimer intercepted her.
Good evening, my DEAR Don't be
frightened" The girl had pranced
into the middle of the roadway. Il
only want to ask you question-quite
a harmless question. Half crown, my
dear" The coin ratified into one of the
jugs. There's lady staying at Mrs.
Barnley's-a young lady, dressed in
mourning-goes about with a little girl.
l want to call upon her-quite honor
able and correct-I know of something
to her advantage. I used to know her
maiden name-Miss Churchill What
is her name nows''
'.Mrs. Tregarthen,' said the girl.
That's her sister she's got with her."