The morning call., 1891-12-06

''Blindi and then WHAT" showed her
such dreadful possibilities that she shiyered
with terror. What tormented her was not
alone the thought OF tha; frightfui night
into which of So. full OF viger, " no
had not yet even arrived at the full fruition
OF his mental strength, had been suddenly
plunged; that startling arrest OF activity
which had become already proveTbai with
his colleagues. No doubt she felt great pity
for her husband; but there was mingled with
it Il sort OF angry irritation. III he had listened
to her, only for once; If De had INDUCED her
feminine caprice all this would not have hap
pened. But this man, who was SO amiaoie
In many ways. would never take any advice
but his own; and while she pitied him she
pitipd herself, too, greatly. 1t was in some
degree her husbands fault, II the artificial
life she had teen leading foT the past few
years had become necessary 10 her, and in
that artificial life abundant means were
an essential factor. Abundance was no
longer possible. Several tunes she went all
over their pretty house, quietly, moving like
a shadow, AS though afraid to break the
silence which now regned throughout it,
She felt the soft draperes. looked lovingly
at the costly knck-knacks, and sudden re-
membrance came to her which froZe her
blood. Long ago, in her childhood, she re-
membered once when her father had thought
himself ruined and. all at once. comfort dis
appeared out of the house. She was very
young at the time. but she seemed to see
again the troubled face of her mother
worried with the small cOntrigings OF
poverty which would try to conceal itself
under n false appearance of well being
The struggle to make ends meet, the miser-
able meals, the old dresses made over again.
and, above all, the melancholy which
broOded in moody silence over the house,
broken only by the vaXatious murmurings
of small cares. The amenities Of life often
followed on the heels of fortune.
Ruin was now at her door indeed; if not
quite ruin, at least priyation. Sitting be-
side her husbands bed. she unused on all
these things. and having a lively magma
ton she saw herself ia the depths of p0v-
erty. alone, abandoned by society and her
friends even; foreVermore in The close COM
paniouship of one sad. unfortunate man,
whom fate compelled to idleness, and from
whom. little by little, she had become de-
tached, so to speak. She acknowledged
this to herself in whisper. In the early
years OF their married life she had asked
nothing better than to. love her husband
with all her heart She brought him her
virgin heart, on whose purity no passing
maiden's fancy even had ever traced a
shadow, and he had lot been able to estimate
his prize at its full value He mad treated
her like child, child to be INDUCED and
grathed with toys and sweetmeats, and the
gifts had gradually become more precious
20 her than the affection Of the giver.
Kari had been brought mp in world
which hardly allows women to enter really
into its fold-not from want of affection
but from the conviction that, their educa-
ton being so different they are necessarily
lacking in point of intellectual contact.
From whatever cause, whether slovenly
habit of thought with regard to women, or,
perhaps, from scarcely TO be so called con-
tempt or that moDstrously stupid idea that
the intellectual man requires reposeful
corresponding inanity on the part of his
wife, Karl had never treated Jeanne as a
true helpmeet. Jeanne had acce pted tile
place assigned TO her, but not without
always having indignantly resented it.
Drawn irreSiStibly into the vortex of fashion
and she could find nothing To reproach
herself for in having been 50 drawn; on the
contrary. she gioried in it; 1t WAS requisite
of her highly strung nervous Organization
this resentment rarely appeared on the sur
face. Now That she had ali the time to do
nothing but think of these things she
thought about them with vengeance.
She refused to see anybody. Every day a
small heap of cards and letters was brought
to her. but the heap became smaller every
day, naturally. You canuot force n door
which remains obstinately shut; but she
saw abandonment in the decreasing pile.
She was mOrbidly susceptible to every
fancied slight. At the time of the accident
the newspapers had been full of eulogies
and articles more or less resembling obtu-
airy notices of Karl du Boys; now that
people were treasured about him the papers
wrote about other subjects. She read them
Jealousiy every day, and when his name no
longer appeared she felt grieved and hurt.
1t seemed TO her as though the silence Of
the tomb were round them both.
Sometimes a bill or two would crop ND In
her pile OF letters, tradesmen demanding
payment These scented their downfall.
thenP Among these latter was one OF fifty
francs for the sabots-ah. the sabots! That
day Jeanne wept.
The week dragged slowly by, and at
length the sick man was able to get up.
Lille came back In hm-one might almost
say that the poor face, in spite OF the sears,
regained much Of its old appearance, nnly
The eyes were dreadful to look upon. Karl
remained very depressed and absorbed in
thoughts which might easily be read In his
countenance Knowing that Jeanne was
constantly near him taking care of him,
reading to him alond when no felt well
enough to listen. all gentleness and devotion,
he would have liked to thank her. but did
not know how 70 set about doing so. With