Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1886-01-22
sTAUNToN. VIRGINIA. FR1DAYss3Aryt o. 1886

eager to, catch every wora that tell u'om
Grants lips. My whole, future seeme1 to
rest on what learned during the next few
niinuies Grant began speaking in a calm
and deliberate manner q It struck me even
tnen that be was weighing every word, SO
as to be sure Of saying no more or no less
than was needei.aiD o16 S9Fs .t7t,f.J,,
Julian" he said, lin ordey. to understand 3,
my action in the matter, you must first Of
all bear in mind the truth which you guessed
when first we met. 4 loved Viola
with all the strength of my nature I had
Lowell her for years. and i was waiting in
the hope that some day she would be -mite y
It wasia bitter blow to feturn home and find
that another man was about tosmarry her.
It needed all my, power q, will to, hide my
feelings from, her, and do. what I could to b
insuresher happiness 7SVo D'asR ;a1sDal
10 He sighed and was 3s1lent for awhile. bss,s b.
3. I'VE e III hs Goati II a. IS TIE
falea past. Is have conquered Hnyself. My
love now for Viola IS that of ashrother, to a.
dear sister You will believe ibis Lorr-
j nodded He resumed in a Tighter NAM
ner: - 81 g9tFs
49, l. have conquered it. L think I
n now ponr ar n; love into my books. But
atathatb time wors6ipasu ~ e. ! wo '!ns
. have given my life to save her from q 1e..-.
: Her, Wish :, was to, me a command. Her
smallest request an. obligation to be dis
charged at all cost. Leaving this out of
q the question, her mother confided her to-
me. This was why 1 did not tell her I
loved her l forced myself, to wait until
size was FL; then it was 100 late.'' &o2
jg cAnother pause. i glanced at his face
Its expression was one of actual pain. If
Eustac, Grant had conquered his hop less
pas in the memory Of it was still keen.
~ 'sR ,membar also," he went on II mis-
trussel you / hssita5ed long belore made
up my mind not to .interfere.,9.Yo Your ro-
mantle supp esslon of your true name and
position is accountable for the mis1rust I
,sfett. So L start with two strong emotions
to sway me- owe for Viola, and, mistrust of
the man who was to marry her. Do you
under stand!" HS1 S"' V''t Wv T. -.
g5s.Yes; but,i for mercy's sake, lej me hear
what happenedp 'ad5 eRpd- 1881
''On, Vlola's twenty first birthday" he
bega1--s'l s-''-' -'~ -
's19 No; 7 VIII not give hiss story in his own.
woris T. shouli be bound to break it.
d. hundred times by the insertion of my
ejacula. ions AMI expressions of wonder.
men. When ended, it left me as comrletely
in the dark as before. If it cleared VIOLA
from the accusation of vulgar infidelity, it
p.ungeI me in tenfold psrplexity as to the.
motive which induced her to fly from me-
This briefly is wnat Grant told me: Upon
reaching the solicitors according to APP
pointm mt, he found that Viola had already
arrived, AMI was waiting for him in the
room into which I was afterward shown.
Grant exchanged few words with her.
then went back to Mr.. Monk and spoks
ABOUT details of business. Every thing was
in order and ready for my inspection when
should arrive; SO Grant rejoined my wife
He had much he wished to say to her, many
questions to ask, and, as ne hoped CON-
CALCULATIONS to offer. 50 =
She appeared strange, absent minded and
oppressed He thought she must be i'll
Suddenly, to his bewil1erment, she fell at
his feet, and in a passionate way besought
him to take her away at once. Take her
any where. 3e Hide her from her husband.
Let him never know where she was; never
see her again. At once-this moment.
before he arrived, she must go, AMI leave
no trace! All this she prayed Grant to-
do-besought it absolutely on her knees. - 3 =
The mans blood boiled. Here, fort
night after her marriage. was the woman
who he Lowell begging him, in wild ac-
cents, to save her from her husband. He
could jump at only one conclusion. I had in
some way maItreated her. was an utter vii
lain! My wife had found out nv true nature,
and her only refuge was fight Was it for
the man who loved her to urge her return to-
what, from her wild and despairing prayers,
he gathered must be absolute miserya No.
She besought' his aid Let him fng pru-
dence to the wind, and do her bidding with
out asking why or wherefore. There was
no time to spare for questions Viola
seemed in an agony of fear. At any mo-
ment my step might be heard. Grant, who
believed that l had, in the course OF a few
days, turned my wifes love into ate, felt
no inclination to show me any mercy. He
raised Viola, and promised to save her He
led her out through the door which opened
to the outer world, called cab, placed my
( wife in it, and drove off, without troubling
as to direction. Her only wish at the
moment was to avoid meeting me-
Once within the cab, Grant tried to in
duce Viola to talk nationally; to give some
reasons justfying the rash STEP His eff
forts were unavailing All she would say
was that never could she meet me again.
She must fy-go far away. If Grant
would not aid her, she must go alone
Finding her so firm, and not doubling but
that my conduct had brought all this about,
he consented to do as she wished They
drove straight to Charing Cross and took
the first train to Folkestone. Here he left
her for the night at a quiet hotel, returned
to town. made his preparations, and had
the encounter, which I have already
described, with me. The next morning, as
my spy informed me- the fugitives crossed
to Boulogne. At this point Eustace Grant
finished his tale. As 1 have said, it in
creased my intensity tenfold. Until the
moment when Grant made what we both
thought dying avowal of his innocence,
Violas flight admitted of a natural if
shameful, explanation. Now that the ele-
ments of faithlessness and criminal love
were removed the matter was simply in
explicab!e Eustace Grant might have,
thought, might even now think, that my
i'll treatment of my wiIe had forced her
from my side; but knew better-she knew
better.
But Grant had not revealed all ''Go
on" l san; "tell me more"
II have told you all can, Julian. 1 have
explained the part which, rightly or wrong
ly, acted. promised nothing more"
Tell me where she is, that l may see
her, and learn all from her own lips
"She is with good friends, who love her
can say no more
is she happya Tell me the truth"
He hesitated. Il dare not say she is
happy, he ans Wered; "bu5 believe she is
as happy as she can be in this world"
These unsa tisfactory answers were simply
maddening. "I-- -
Grant," Isaid, fercely, ''for some reason
you are concealing the truth from me- J.
cannot force it from you. Until I know il
cannot say whether that reason is right
or wrong; but will work until find out
every hing. But tell me this: Do you now
believe that my wife left me on account of
wrongs which Ibid hers Speakp'
He made pause. Il cannot ans wer that
question" he said. Doing so would lead
to others. have already said too much :"
You have answered itr' I cried tri
umphantly. you answered it when You
threw that pistol away; you answer it every
time you take my hand-every time you
speak word Of friendship to me.
$50 be it." he said, YEARLY
And now, knowing, as you do, all, tell
me If you approve of Violas leaving me-
me, who loved her above the worIl-the
husband who worshiped her; tell me thisr'
5. u can say. no more. am weary, worn
out Help me to my ROOM" .44
Ibid so. We parted for the night. As
he took my hand he looked me straight in
the face. Julian he said. ''pe wise, and
ask no more. Leave this place. and forget
Viola. There is no hope. All this conceal
ment--ali that haS boon donna fo,, x,,,,,