Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-01-07
C0LoNELQUARITCH,V.C.
By H. RIDER HAGGARD.

nasty mean ways We'll, my long lost one, so you have come home at last, and brought the tin with you. Well, give us kiss, !" and she advanced on him with her long arms out spread
 Mir. Quest shivered visbly. and stretching out his hand, stopped her from coming near him.
 'No. thank you," he said; 1T don't like paint"
 The taunt stopped her, and for moment an evil light shone in her cold eyes.
 "No wonder I have to paint" she said, "when am so worn out with poverty and hard work-not like the lovely Mrs. C., who has nothing to do all day except spend the money that ought to have I'll tell you what it is, my fine fellow; you had better be careful, or I'll have that pretty cuckoo out of her soft nest, and pluck her borrowed feath- CTS off her, like the monkey did to the parrot"
 "Perhaps you had better stop that talk, and come to business am in no mood for this sort of thing, Edith," and he turned round, shut the window, and drew the blind. "Oh, all right; I'm agreeable, Pm sure. Stop a bit, thought must have brandy and soda first. I am as dry as a lime kiln, and so would you De if you had to sing comic songs at a music hall for living There, that's better" and she put down the empty glass and threw herself on to the sofa. 'Now then, tune up much as you like. How much tin have you brought"
 MT. Quest sat down by the table, and then, as though suddenly struck by a thought, rose again, and going to the door, opened it and looked out into the passage. There was mo- l body there, so he shut the door again, locked it, and then, under cover of drawing the cur ,,J, eli into his pocket.
 "Whau are you at therea" said the woman, suspiciously.
 "I was just looking to see that Ellen was not at the keyhole, that's alL It would not | be the first time that I have caught her | there"
 "Just like your nasty low ways again." she said You've got some game on. I'll be bound that you have got some game on."
 Mir. Quest seated himself again, and with out taking any notice of the last remark, be gan the conversation.
 '1 have brought you two hundred and fifty pounds" he said.
 1.-Two hundred and fifty pounds" she said, jumping up with savage laugh. "No, my boy, you don't get off for that if I know it. Why, owe all that at this moment"
 "You had better sit down and be quiet" he said, ''or you will not get two hundred and fifty pence. In your own interest I recom- msnd you to sit down."
 There was something about the mans voice and manner that scared the female savage before him, fierce as she was, and she sat down.
 "Listen," he went on; "you are continually complaining of poverty. I to your house-your house, mind you, not your rooms and find the debris of card party lying about. I see champagne bottles freshly opened there in the corner. l see q dressing gown on the sofa that must have cost twenty or thirty pounds. hear some brute associ- ate of yours out ill the street asking you to lend him another 'fiver.' You complain of . poverty, and you have had over four hum dred pounds from me this year alone, and know that you earn twelve pounds q week at the music hall, and not five as you say. Mo- do not trouble to lie to me, for I have made inquiries"
 .'Spying again." said the woman, with a sheer.
 "Yes, spying, if you like, but there it is And now to the point. I am not going or supplying you with money at this rate cannot do it, and will not do it. am go ing to give you two hundred and fifty pounds now, and as much every year, and not one farthing more."
 Once more she sat up. .'You must bt mad" she said, ill tone that sounded more like snarl than a human voice. Are yol such fool as to believe that will be put of with two hundred and fifty pounds year I, your legal wifes I'll have you in the docl t1rst-in the dock for bigamy"
 "Yes," he answered, 1T do believe it, for reason that shall give you presently. Blu first I want to go through our joint history very briefly, just to justify myself, if yo. like. Five-and-twenty years ago, or was six-and-twenty, was a boy of IS and yo, were a woman of 20, a house maid in m, mothers house, and you made love to me Then my mother was called away to nurs my brother who died at school at Ports mouth, and fell sick of scarlet fever, an you nursed me through it-it would hay been kinder if you had poisoned me-and il my weak state you got great hold over m mind, and became attached to you, and yo were handsome in those days. Then yo1 dared me to marry you, and partly out O bravado, partly from affection, took out license, to do which made false declara tion thatI was over age, and gave fals name of the parish in which wo resided ' Next day, half tipsy and not knowing what did, wont through the form of marriag with you, and few days afterward m mother returned, observed that we were LII duly intimate, and dismissed you. You wen without word as to our marriage, which W both looked on as 6 farce, and for years lost sight of you. Fifteen years afterware when had almost forgotten this adventur of my youth, became acquainted with young lady with whom I fell in lov, and whose fortune, though not large, we enough to help mo, considerably in m profession as country lawyer, in which ,, was doing we'll. I thought that you we, dead, or, that if you lived, the fact of ID hnr Ao% %ha fo1e of~ locality would be enough to invalidate tt marriage, as would certainly have been tt ; case if had alsosnade false declaration '' names; and my impulses and interes prompting inc to take the risk, marie that lady. Then it was that you-hunte IT down, and then for the first time did wh, ought to have done before, and took tt $ best legal opinions as to the validity of Il
 former marriage, which, to my horror,
 found was undoubtedly a binding one. Yc
 also took opinions and came to the same col
 clusions. Since then the history has been