The Forrest City times., 1891-07-03

Dick Tanqueray read the above and threw the delicately perfumed coronet- ed note on the table, and, leaning against the mantel-piece, moodily reviewed the situation. Not alto gether @ pleasant one. A younger son, with barely anything but his salary as clerk ill the foreign office, the lookout was about as deplorable as could be. Debts rapidly increasing, and duns daily more insistent, with 8 wretched book on the derby, while to top all, here was the infatuation for Lady Lanthwaite, and how that was to terminate heaven only knew! h. timacy had grown into warmer and stronger feeling, and day by day the pair had drifted on till it was abundantly clear that, unless some extraordinary bit of luck occurred, the final smash could not be far off.
 Dick could not exactly make out on what footing he and Lady Lanth- waite really stood. She was not, perhaps, exactly his ideal of what 8 woman should be; but, however he might gird at his bondage when away from her, he knew but too well that in her presence he was her very slave. He might have had small compunction m following out his worst instincts, but he was curiously held back by his strange likingfor Lanthwaite, a really excellent fellow, who would have been the last to believe his old Eton chum could play him false. And, as a mat ter of fact, Lanthwaite entirely trust ed Tanqueray, and, in his blundering, good-natured way, was always throw ing the two together, when they would have been better miles apart.
 And now another itiiculty had arisen. Had Dick been clear of this wretched entanglement, in which the woman took everything and gave no- ching, prospect, faint as yet certain ly, but still with promise in it, had broken on the horizon. For one of the new debutantes of the sea- son, lovely and mistress of her own fortune, had looked with anything but unkindly eyes at handsome Dick who had, indeed every thing in his favor but his indebtedness. Then again, Dicks uncle, from whom he had large expectations, had as much as promised him that. if he would range himself on a satisfactory footing, his liabilities should be cleared off, and that he should meet his bride far from empty handed. It was just in this state of mental worry and un- certainty that Dick stood at present. He was so bound to Lady Lanth- waite that he could not see how he could in any way break off his intim- acy with her, and until she herself gave him his conge he must perforce continue in his present atmosphere of indebtedness and general bewilder- ment-wlth the prospect, too, of losing the one chance of happiness which lay before him, and of securing himself the good will of his venerable uncle, who would assuredly leave him without a penny if he in any way did anything to cast 8 shadow on the family name. However, there was the lady's letter, and to her he must go at once if he was to be in Grosvenor Square at the appointed time.
 Lady Lanthwaite had directed that she was to be at home to no one but Mir. Tanqueray, and with disturbed look on her usually composed and haughtily beautiful face, she sat wait ing the arrival of the man on whom she felt she could rely in the difficulty that had now to be met. Young and nobly born, with every advantage that wealth, beauty and position could give her, Lady Lanthwaite was very far from being satisfied or happy woman Under her calm ex- terior there blazed passions that her husband-good easy fellow that he was-knew little of; and seemingly cold and reticent, she lived for excite ment in one form and another, and was as reckless in her expenditure as the veriest plunger on the turf; specu- lations of all sorts were her craze, and there was no big event of any kind on which she had not a heavy book. And yet, with this strange woman, her extravagances were to some ex- tent dominated by the passion she had for Dick Tanqueray, her feeling for him being, in truth, far stronger than she herself cared to recognize. And she had written to him with set purpose, for she was in such aposition 6 that 1t was beyond her wit to conceive how sine was to get out of the impasse she was now in.
 Her reflections were broken by the opening of the door and the entry of her expected visitor. At once the charm of her lovlness and the soft, low tones of her voice dispersed Dick good resolutions, and taking his place on q low stool beside the fair siren, demanded the cause of her wanting him so hastily.
 But q sudden change came over Lady Lanthwaite. She now hesita- ted to speak of her trouble. and be- gan to doubt within her mind whether 1t was, after all, quite fair to place her burden on the eman who had given so much of his life to her. It was early summer and the light was playing on the trees in the square and flecking the green leaves as they moved gently Tn the passing wind. Looking toward the open window. through which the hum md roar of the great city passed with never dying murmur. she seemed almost to forget the man sitting be- Sids her, and closing her hands across her knees gaxed wistfully beyond the sweet flowers in the veranda, the memory of earlier and better years bringing the tears into her eyes.
 "Why, Ida! Whats up? This must bs something serious," remon- oerated Dack.