Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-02-22

He loved the soiled lily, loved it more than
| all the fresh roses. All other women might
as well never have been born for him; this
woman he would have died for. Could he
not protect her from evil conquest II she
were trampled, could he not lift her into
| his bosomf II she were insulted, could he not
put his mans heart and strength between her
and shamef He would hurry to his darling,
throw himself at her feet, her past should be
buried, her life should begin with his happi-
| ness tonight.
"You want 10 marry Berthal supposed
you were acquainted with her past"
1t was in Mr.. Ellingsworth's room, where
| he sat In dressing gown and slippers, well
| back in his easy chair He was looking at
| Philip Breton very curiously. He had really
fancied he understood human nature before.
IL suppose | an" answered Philip simply.
| "Wel, | know more of it than wish did.
She ran away with beggar, and she has
come back dislike unpleasant memories,
So / avoid unpleasant information. You
| know her--hcr-her relations with Currant
Yes, woll,n and the gentleman shrugged his
| slight shoulders, no doubt you know what
You are doing, you run your own risks
| "Rislisr
understand me, asked but two ques-
| tions-haye you left CuITan forever3 do you
want to come home, | had heard she had
| never been married. Jane has heard it,
feared it. Do you wonder | did not ask, not
caring for disagreeable certainty. Well, do
your own questioning. | suppose the fact Of
her keeping her maiden name shows some-
| thing
What if he should find she was indeed
married after all, when he had at last de-
cided he could not live without her; when he
| had at last made up his mind that he must
| have her if he took a burden of life long
shame into his soul with her' That would be
n wretched freak for fortune to play with
him; but how foolish he was, did not her
| name prove that she was UNMARRIED
| But | hate SO to harrow up her memo
rios" said Philip, in an unsteady voice; "to
| make her confess her shame before me. l
should think that would be a fathers
| duty"
"Can it be, my dear Philip" remarked Mr.
| Fllingsworth, with his own brilliant smile,
| ''that YOU know me so little as to expect me
i to perform an unpleasant duty There are
| people that love them-that never seem so
| much in their element as when engaged in
some act of self sacrifice. You must really
| excuse me"
When Philip went down into the parlor
| Bertha was sitting there alone, and his fate
| seemed thrust upon him. Before he had time
| to dread breaking the subject to her he stood
| at the back of her chair, looking down on her
thin, white fingers moving over her embroid-
cry work. He laid his hand very gently on
her shoulder All, it was less round than it
used to be. She was good enough to keep her
| ewes fixed on her work. There no shade of
| heightened color on her cheeks, nor did she
| quicken her breathing.
Bertha, - he began, in low, sweet voice,
al am going to ask you something" Still she
did not look up.
"If, at some time before you died, a man
whom you liked came and asked you to
marry him" he spoke very slowly, lis there
| any reason why you must say nor
| Not one flush or nervous tremor. She
| threaded her needle again with the red
worsted. "What do you mean by reasonF
~ mean,n he said, IL forced calm, sis there
any barrier vi ch the laws make to prevent
You from marrying hing Since he had be-
| gun to dream Of marriage, he had thought
| only of the barrier of her shame; he had not
thought that there might be Il barrier more
| impregnable But it came over him all the
| more terribly now. That would explain her
lack of shame, her unbroken pride, that
would be more consistent with his lifelong
idea of her, if she hal preserved her honor,
and, alas, was already married and cut for
ever away from him That would save her
purity which he had thought sullied No
llllBtI5 bl SttlIl tbull even lDJiilIti tit hti
No; but she would he lost to him forever.
God forgive him, then, if he would rather
have her dishonored, insIlted, degraded, than
lose her Would she never answer! She laid
down her needle and turned her face up to-
ward him He treInbled like child as he
watched her lips part; in moment his fate
would be decided 1t was terrible that his
happiness could come only through her
shame and her honor meant life of despair
and loneliness for him, but SO it seemed to
him now
"There is no barrier" she replied.
Il "Thank Cod he whispered The strain
was removed. She had established her own
disgrace with her own lips, without droop-
ing of her eyes, without a culver of her lips.
All, but he suffered in his very hope. 1t
| wounded him that he must rejoice in her
| shame it was almost as if he had caused it.
He bent low over her shoulder, in another
| moment no would have told her of the un-
changing passion-of his love. All the
| bounds of his nature were broken down now.
His whole soul seemed dissolving in ineffable
tenderness for this cold woman, into whose
calm, beautiful eyes he looked SO hungrily.
Like embroidery, don't you, MIR. Bretonl'
Mrs. Eliingsworth flashed her small black
eyes in delight. Philip started back in ill
concealed dismay but Bertha's face changed
not one shade of expression as she rose mag
nificently to her feet and swept from the
room.
The lady of the house looked unpleasantly
after her.
isn't it funny, she don't seem to like met
Do you suppose it is that Curran scrape that
has put her so much above mep
Philip glanced savagely at her; he could
almost have struck her, without thinking of
her womanhood, there was such snake like
IL. l. flKaEa. rNaffF
as well reproach n wild creature of the forest
for following out its instincts; but after a
moment he said:
Mrs. Ellingsworth forgets she is a lady"
But she was beautiful, if not lady, her
| hot blood lighting up her round olive cheeks
| as if it were liquid fire and her curled lips
glowing like perfect rose just bursting into
bloom No man could look at her now and
not feel mad soulless fascination for her, a
fascination the greater because mixed with
revulsion. She was a perfect type or the
womanhood that can madden man with
nassion, without tenderness, that can wreck
his life, Danish every noble hope or ideal
from his soul and feed him nothing but
dead sea fruit
Its strange what makes lady," she
answered him in growing excitement.
your Bertha is one no matter what vile
ness she sinks to, but l can't whisper one
rude wordn
She came close to him and put her burn
ing fingers ON his hand. "Your horse loves
YOU better than that woman She will tor
ture you to death, let her alone" Then she
sprang away from him, and walked back
ward and forward clasping and unclasping
her clinging fingers in her old habit "Oh, l
hate her, hate her; but what good is It'll
would dash myself to pieces to break her, but
could not. She steals my lover and then
leaves him. She comes back dlsgraced In tine