Evening journal., 1890-01-13
THE CAN0N'S WIFE.

Rev. Canon Alison was gener0lly known
among his acquaintance as "a sanity man,
bnthe was one Of those TO whom saintlincss had
not refused a fair share Of temporal blessings
Ito wit snug canonry, good West End
living, and last though by no means least,
pretty little wife, full fifteen years younger
than himself
Both the canon and his wife were very
fond Of society, and they were undeniably
lin the swimrl their faces were to be seen al
most Of the large balls and receptions which /
took place during the season He was great
favorite with the ladies. to whom he was rec
commended by his fine figure, handsome face /
winning manner and brilliant conversation, /
whereas she, being much too pretty and fas |
chatting to have the approval Of her own sex
usually formed the center Of ring Of male |
admirers
Now, no lady can attract too much atten |
ton from the opposite sex without rousine |
the mortal Jealousy Of all her less fascinating
sisters: and the fair, when once thoroughly |
jealous, are quite reckless in the aspersions
which they cast on their rivals character.
So IN the present case il is not to be won
dered at that most Of them shook their heads
over shat Alison woman's disgraeeful con
ductn and that, when the noble earl, who
occupied a prominent position among her
maiesty's ministers, began to show the can
on's wife rather marked attentions. they de-
clared the little lady's behavior to be posi-
lively scandalous, and advocated her speedy
ejectment from the pale Of decent society.
81 wonder that the dear canon does not put
a stop to it, said Lady Maliss ISLANDERS to
her intimate friend, Hon. Mrs. Medlar
"Ah. my dear was the reply, ''the canon
thinks everybody as innocent and guileless as
r.,
anything
ut would be charity to open his eyes to
the true character Of that woman returned
Lady Malise. II have a good mind to take
the duty upon myselfn
Don't do that, dear; the canon will never
believe you. Let time bring about the ex
| posture. People can't 60 on walking upon ice
| without slipping, ami III lay modest wager
that, before twelve months are out, the ALI
son wohan's name will figure in the divorce
COURT
.rm sure you're rigls; but to see her con
Quoting herself as she does makes me SO angry
that can scarcely restrain myself Lookl
the earl OF Templecombe is bending over her
now, and she is encouraging his attentions
with all her might Really it makes me
blush for the honor Of my sex"
The above conversation is a fair sample Of
what the ladies Of the London drawing rooms
were constantly saying about the canoais
wife But it served neither to open the can
on's eyes nor to make Mrs. Alison change
her ways; indeed, her conduct was $50 the
ladies averredD, il possible, more outrageous
than ever.
Twelve months slipped by, ushering in an
other season, and still the event on which
Mrs. Medar had offered TO lay a modest
| yvauer had not come to pass.
Nemesis however, was close on her victimA
heels, and did not mean to let this season
also come 70 an end without bringing mat
ters to a climax.
1t happened in this wise Mrs. Alison has
been out shopping early ia the afternoon
and returned home about o'clock. On en-
tering the library she found her husband sit
ting IN his customary armchair, with news
I paper lying open on his knees; but he wa
! evidently not reading it, since his face wa
I buried in his hands. He turned round a
tho noise Of the opening door, and looked a
her with a glance which showed her at ono
that something was wrong.
Uneasily conscious of more than one littl
3 secret which her husband might have di!
\ covered, she felt thrill Of dismay at hC
heart
7 "Shut the door, If you please, Edna" sal
the canon grayely. II have something
!, say to yon.n
The tone Of his voice, half stern, half sac
only served to confirm her fears, and whei
a minute later he drew a bundle Of lette
4 from his vest pocket and laid them ON the L
bio beside him, she knew that the worst ha
been discovered
s.sosne Of these letters, Edina,n he said,
the same grave, measured tones, which, HOY
y ever alarmed her far more than passiona
y rage would have done, fare from Lord Ter
= plecombe to you, and the rest are from "
IA TO Lord TemplecombelH
= She stood before him with her hands elias
: ed tightly together and her lips parted, UNI
!, BILE at first TO utter a single word. But VIII
her Sudden dismay had subsidized q little. s
J., at length found her voica "0h. Hugh
- she said pleadingly. -It w@ wropg--yel
: wrong-of me to have writtek those letter
know; but there has been nothing wor
!, than a little harmless Irritation between u
! and Lord Templecombe-I give you my s.
81 emn wordln
"a Il do not accuse you of actual guilt" a
4 swered the canon, In the same grave tom
- ssBut recollect that what>in an unmarri
woman is merely an indiscretion, in mn
- ried woman becomes sin And my wife sh
y not carry on a clandestine correspondent
n with another manIn
= s'Oh, Hugh, do forgive me this oncer sobh
a. the little woman. II meant no wrong
80 -, deed didn't | won't speak to him or ev
- look at him again DO say that you forgi
- meln
M Atpresent can say nothing" he return
~ coldly, rising from his chair and looking
-. into her face, except to tell you this-tha
100 have suspected your conduct for some Il
past, and have only waited to see a cert
announcement in the papers before speakii
nd That announcement appears IN today's Mo
rlv ing Post Take il, and see whether you c
M discover what | meann
Thereupon he handed his wife the par
Ia and, without another word, left the roc
~ closing the door behind him.
rlv For some minutes after he was gone she
va} manned wholly overcome with dismay; q
20 she began eagerly to scan The Morning !
~ IN search Of that announcement Of which
~ canon had spoken What could it BET y
ia IL possible that the newspapers had publis
80 any scandal about herselfl Surely not
snS what else could her husbands words imI
80 She cast her eye quickly down the yari
'~N} @-~--~~ ~@~~~~~~~@ -~~@--~-~ -a-------'