Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1891-06-18

Lucy's conscience was not dead yet
\ AS she slowly undressed before retiring,
/ she heard a voice continually in her ear.
/ 1t had an ugly sound and conveyed an
ugly meaning. ~Faithless wife!" she
l heard the voice mysteriously murmur~
| ing again and again. How dreadful the
words sounded in the still night A cold
shower crept over her body, yet it was
warm night
In the adjoining room she heard Ralph
walk up and down with hasty, excited
/ steps. Every step rouses an echo in the
stiffness of the night, and the echo calls
out; @Faithless wife."
OH
She thinks of Desdemona-no, not
| DesdemOna-not she, but Othello-he-
| OthellO-yes, that is it,
She violently trembles, her eyes fast
ened upon the door that opens into her
husbands room The door is closed, but
not locked.
Stealthily, on tip-toe. she creeps to the
| door and nOiseiessly turns the key.
! Then she listens-the footballs still con-
tinue-he has not heard what she has
done.
Deeply breathing, she stands. then
she sinks into an armchair and covers
| her bowed face with her hands.
But after a while she raises her head.
| Her eyes shine forth defiance. Love re-
bells against Conscience.
What right has he TO demand from
her fidelity? She does not love him!
She loves another, who is ten times-a
| hundred times-wOrthier than hei Is not
/ love the supreme law of nature? Is it
not impiOus, then, TO attempt 10 fetter
love?
Vanities! Vanitiesl The voice will
not dOwnl Again she hears it, that
dreadful, ugly sound: @Faithless wife!"
Down on her knees she throws herself
~oh, God help me, for I am LOST"
But prayer does not avail the impenI-
tenti Love will not submit, She iUiLL
| love himi How handsome he is, how
chivalrous. how noble. She lriIL not be
bound to him she hates, whose caresses
she lOathesl
She rises from her kDees-the dread
| full voice goes on: @Faithless Wifei Hast
thou not betrayed him? Didst thou not
lie TO him? Hast thou not told him thou
| lowest him?"
She will hear the voice no longer! She
must go TO bedl She must sleep! She
will dream of him she loves
She does go to bed! She sleepsl What
does she dream?
Who knows?
There are days In summer when the
| atmosphere is sultry and oppressive, and
a threatening thunder cloud stands on
the horizon Everybody expects, nay,
almost hopes for. violent outbreak of
the elements. The most destructive
tempest would be preferable to that dead
| calm, that scOrching sun, that leaden
sky. But day after day the suspense
| continues.
Such was the condition of the War
bingham matrimonial atmosphere. The
journey was continued to Mayence and
| thence to Frankfort Both husband and
wife knew that the other was aware of
the situation. But Ralph shrank from
a decision, and contented himself with
treating Lucy in chillingly polite man
ner, that was more painful than the most
violent outbreak Of passion.
Mrs. Warringham, on her part, gave
| herself up to her passion with an aban-
don that sometimes became almost reck-
less. Count Won Hohenfels must have
been obtuse, indeed, if he had not soon
become convinced that his friend Grei-
bern would win his bet. This conviction
produced decidedly mixed sensations in
the young diplOmatist.
On the one hand, his vanity was, of
course, immensely gratitied by the easy
conquest of one of the handsOmest and
most amiable women he had ever known.
Tickled vanity, however, of this kind is
very apt to engender feeling which, if
not love, is at least close counterfeit of
it On the other hand, he was perfectly
conscious of the embarrassing conse-
quences that such liaisOn would in all
probability have. The Count was in a
quandary. Finally, however, his good
sense prevailed, and at Mayence he pro-
posed to take leave of his American
friends and proceed southwark, while
they turned east toward Frankfort, with
the intention of going further to Thur
ingia-
Count Won Hohenfels, however, had
not taken into his calculations the OBJ
stinacy of an enamored woman. When
1 ha init raa tod Il 10 Mo Ipaa NaN
ham directly invited him to accompany
them to Thuringia. She did so in the
} very presence of her husband, who shot
a glance at her that revealed terrible
abyss of jealousy and rage. She met
his eyes boldly with a look of defiance.
/ He turned pale, but said not word.
Count HOhenfels had the weakness to
accept the invitation. a few days later
the whole party found itself at Eisenach,
! in Thuringia
As yet Ralph succeeded in restraining
} his rage. The fear of public humilia-
ton still prevailed. Mrs Warringham,
in whose breast passion had now entire
ly overcome the scruples and pangs of
conscience and fear, took hardly any
pains to conceal ii from her husband
The Count gradually worked himself
, up into state OF mind in which he felt
it a sort of point d'honneur 10 persevere
= in an adventure into which he had en-
| tered somewhat reckleSSiy.
The thunder cloud still stood OminOus-
? ly on tho horizon, and everybody mo-
, mentarily expected to hear an explosion.
, Lieutenant Won Greibern, in the mean
, time, insisted on his friends paying the
bet which was done. Ralph participated
I in the little banquet Of course without
knowing how it originated.
A few days after the arrival of the
3 party at Eisenach, the Doctor found in
his mail large. Official-lOOking envelope
from America, and small one with his
= family crest, at the sight Of which he
I turned pale It had a black margin.
: He recognized the hand of his cousin
Hattie. Hastily he tore it open. 1t was
the announcement OF the death of his
} mother.
? The large letter came from his lawyer
0 1t contained a copy OF his mothers will
He looked over the obscure legal
\ phrases The whole estate was divided
: equally between Walter Warringham
and Hattie Beekford. Not a penny tC
/ Ralph.
/ He threw down the document. The
3 cold sweat stood on his brow. Mechan
D ically he wiped it with his handkerchief
Then he re-read Hattie's letter Hell
C ! mothers last thoughts, in the night o.
d feyerish madness, had been OF him
OF him! Wretch that he Wasl Wha1
Q did he care for the fortune now!
Q And she? His wife?
n He laughed loudly. 1t was q ghastly
: laugh, like a madman's-
o His mother was dead. He was a poo
? man
The hour of decision had come.
no BE CoErINUED-I