Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1890-11-28
A MAD MANS HAIR.

"Nhat was she called, do you renlenl'
bery'
LET me sec: her Christian name was
Violet. She was one Of the women who
are seldom called by a surname. The
Lady Violet was the name that was IN
everybody's mouth. or, Violet tout court
Stay, / remember seeing her name once
IN the hotel bOok-Lady Violet Montar-
gis-a peculiar namc. which struck me
for some reason or other at the time.
"Ah. she was rather an adept at coin
ing names. When 1 knew her she wa
Hon. Frances Dalrymple-a girl with
dark hair and light blue eyes: n OF
those rare combinations which are down
right unnatural. and which often be-
token SOM internal arrangement of sys-
tenn, whether moral, intellectual orphys-
ical. A beautiful girl, certainly, but
With that steely look which you see
sometimes on the surfaces of the Thames.
blue steel mixed with water lilies.
Kelley Halswelle knows how to draw
the effect. rs you can see in this year's
Grosvenor. 1t always appears to me tc
convey a moral; the water lilies tempt
you, and the cold, insidious water browns
you; therefore, beware of the lilies. II
poor old Philip Drunmond had only
taken that moral hearth
philip Drummondl who is hey'
Have / never told you? We'll, l vii
give you-my experience of the Hon.
Franc fDolrymple, and then you shall
give me yours Of the Lady Violet Mont
argis. Il wills in a country house in the
north in September. Our numbers were
tUlerably large, but an omnium gathcrunI
lot, and very i'll assorted. You know
the sort of household | mean, where
there Is no presiding hostess and every
thing is all u tort ct a travers. There
was, indeed, a Mrs. Lionel Trotman.
who was the lawful wife Of our host,
Lionel Trotman, retired sugar boiler, OF
something Of the kind; but she had the
talent of self effacement to n degree that
was positively painful. Nobody lnew
where she was at any moment Of the
day, and | assure you that it was n WORK
of herculean difficulty to discover her
whereabouts in her WI drawing room
before saying good night. The conse-
quenee was we did what was right in
our own eyes in wicked aud selfish
couples, such as u d-isintegrated house
hold will relapse into when the presiding
and prudential hand is withdrawn. o.
these couples the most devoted and per-
haps the most interesting was the Hon.
Hiss Frances and Philip Drummond.
'Drummond was a bravny, muscular
hero. u fine fellow, unhanpered by ex-
cessive brain, a keen sportsman and d
good friend. She was-well, l dare say
49,. Tsn0,~n.o1 ~ AT,nwnn oil So
must remember that at the time %
which / am speaking she had not deveI.
oped those predatory instincts which {
am told she afterward acquired so per-
~niciously for her friends. She seemed 9,
soft, lovable woman. with lustrous eyes
and speaking hands. AS a matter OF
fact, her hands spoke more than be-
tongue-it is the way with some incura
bic histrionic women.
zone day l vas not out with the resi-
Of the shooting party, owing to a prea'
of business letters or a fit Of lGziness-l
forget which. But | pottered out in IT,,
afternoon over the turnips Il short waj
from the house. was at the hall dooi
on my return when two men brought
nome a CHASTITY burden. 1t was poo.
Philip Drummond, who had shot him
self, no one knew exactly how, in get
ting over IA hedge or in making his wa
through some tangled covers. / helped
the men to bring his poor rigid limb.
into the house, wondering to myself how
l could best break the news TO the M
discoverable Mrs. Trotnan, or, hardei
still, 10 the reserved and somewha.
naughty Miss Dalrymple. We had no
got far into the house when she met us
at the head of tho stairs. There was n'
explosion Of grief such as / feared; onli
a sudden tightening Of the q
the mouth and a blanched look either @
superstitious dread or hardly realize,
sorrow. She looked for an instant OF
the corpse, asked the single question
He shot himself. Of course? and the,
swiftly Withdrew.
"That evening as / was going to bed
met her again in the corridor. I wa
waiting for YOU she said, and then sh,
began to beg ine, by all that / held mos
precious. to let her see the dead body
The request struck me as unnatural,
remember, and somewhat heartless. Al
though / could not have formulated ml
objections in words / felt that she wal
asking what Jared on my W feelings
and did not suit the circumstances o.
the case. At the same time knew tina
the relations in which they stood to eacl
other prevented me from refusing. 2
loved him So, she said with an air o.
passionate abandon, and / must see hin
for the last time. You can come, too, il
you like He'd her to the threshold Of
the death chamber, threw open the dooi
Tor her, but did not enter. You will
leave the door open, please, was all that
she spoke.
"Impelled by an irresistible curiosity
Istood 1T the doorway and watched her
The room was only illuminated by Z
candle which she carried in her hama
Dark shadows surrounded tho bed on
which wal stretched tne sheeted form Of
bo man whom | had known "a Philip