The Louisiana Democrat. [volume] (Alexandria, La.) 1845-1918, 1886-03-31

Ing, and knocked at a door Invisible II
Lorrimer
Come in" said voice in reply; ant
the knocker entered.
IA gentleman to see you, ma am
che said, in a voice for which Lorrimel
could have thrown her down the stairs
He knew one side of the world and Of
human nature pretty well, and he read
the hypocrisy and Precipitation of the
carneying tone. He could have sworn
that the woman habitually bullied hel
ledger:
Tell him." said Mrs. Tregarthen,
In frightened voice, that / can not
see him-1-"
Lorrimer was in the room already,
and had taken in half its sorrowful de-
tails at glance. A bed in a corner,
with little bundle lying on it; chair;
. table, few dresses hanging on a
wall from which the paper dripped in
moist festoons; rusty CRATE, empty.
Madam" said the manager, adj
vancing you must not decline to see
me. l come as friend"
Pity had the better of managerial en-
terprise for q moment at least, and the
room went dim to Lorrimer's eyes.
Mrs. Tregarthen, in shabby black
dress which made her pale face look
paler than it was, stood lin an attitude
in which she had arisen from her seat
on the side of the bed) with both hands
on the table, her whole figure shrink
ing like that of any weak, wild creature
when suddenly alarmed.
"Oblige me by leaving us, ii you
please" said Lorrimer to the landlady.
The woman reluctantly withdrew, and
Lorrimer held the door open to watch
her down the stairs. He could not help
being STACEY, for use is second nature,
but he was thoroughly in earnest when
he turned: my poor, dear creature
don't mind ME talking to you in this
way-Tm old enough to be your father
my poor, dear creature, what on
earth do You mean by living in place
like thisP' She had only moved to
breathe since his first entrance to the
room, and her eyes said: leave me,
for PHYS saker' if ever eyes said any
thing. But, as he paused, the bundle
on the bed began to move, and feeble
cry came from it. She darted to it,
peeled from it, swiftly and delicately,
the shawl which EMBODIED it, and took
it to her arms. A baby! ''Oh, Lord!'
groaned the manager, with tears in his
eyes again, chow can you have the
heart to throw away such prospects as
you have, when you've got such claims
upon you3''
She looked at him wildly and walked
up and down the room rocking the cry
ing child in her arms. He thought the
look defiant and broke out anew:
Amy grown up creature has right
to starve and be wretched, but, my
God, ma'am, nobody has a right to ILL
treat baby. It's criminal, Mrs. Ire
garthen; it's nothing less than mon
strous. How dare you throw away
that child's chances in the world?n
Lorrimer trod the boards with the air
of amazed virtue.
How dare you speak so to me?n she
demanded, pausing suddenly in her
agitated walk about the room "What
right have you herep"
For Gods sake don't be angy with
met said Lorrimer, descending from
his place of moral pride. 'I'm the
best friend you have in the world; am
indeed" He was no longer the repre-
sentative of virtue amazed, but had be-
come the attached old family servitor,
and pleaded with the last willful de-
scendant of the race he loved.
At this moment there came rap at
the door, and the landlady appeared,
bearing a bulky parcel and letter.
This is underpaid, ma am" said
the landlady, laying the parcel on the
table, ''and the postman says there's
tenpence on it.
Lorrimer drew shilling from his
waisteoat pocket.
There, there, my good woman; don't
interrupt us again, if you please" He
walked to the window and looked out
upon the street. s'Pray look at your
letters. Mrs. Tregarthen, and excuse
me for being here at ALL"
He saw that she had glanced anx-
lousy at the parcel, which looked as if
it inclosed a box of some sort. She
obeyed him without word, and he
heard every movement she made as she
uncorded the packet. Then he heard
the tearing of the envelope about the
letter, and the rustic of the paper as it
shook in her hand. There was nothing
to look at in the street except a NANCY
cat, who stalked town sparrow and
missed the bird by hair s-breath when
she made her final spring. 1t began to
strike Lorrimer that Mrs. Tregarthen
was long while silent, and when, at
last, he turned round, he raised a veil
of dismay, for the poor lady had fallen
back upon the bed, and lay there in
dead faint, with the baby still in her
lap. She looked so thin and pale and
quiet as she lay there, that the man
ager, who was q bachelor, and knew
nothing of women and their weak
nesses, took her for dead, and rushed
to the door with tremulous call for
the landlady. That good creature dis
patched him for brandy, and, he being
gone, she proceeded very calmly to ex-
anime the contents of the packet and
the letter. The packet contained
prodigious quantity of manuscript and
nothing else. From the letter the land
lady gathered (she could just ready
that Messrs. Bilge & Barker regretted
that they could not see their way to the
publication Of. A step ON the stair
warned her Of the visitors return.
Look up, there's dear creatur,"
said the landlady, in audible solieitude.
''Ah. that's it, my pore darlin'. You'll
be nicely by and by"
Lorrimer sweated with anxiety while
the landlady poured few drops of