Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1891-03-21
OUSLETTER
WRITTEN FOR THE EVENING sTAR BY
EDGAR FAWCETT.
fCopyrixhiedl
CHAPTER l.

A
o., tber,. ltveI in a lonely. old-fashioned New
York house which traffic and enterprise have
r,ovs5 from, the once almost somnolent
r4rion Of Waverly Place a pale woman,
with traces Of remarkable beauty. whose
hair wa, auite white. although she had not
vet reached the age OF fifty Long ago she had
inherited the house from her father. but she
had never cared TO dwell there until certain
crounins misfortune Of her days caused her to
seek i, almost a. one might seek nunnery or
monastery and bide in absolute social seclusioa
with tive trusted servants.
There was nothing morbid in this resolve.
She was rich. and quietly dispensed large sums
in charity. personally visiting hospitals and
often finding her way to the suuald homes of
those whom her purse could aid OF her presence
cheer. But a. Cor the world o. men and women
with whom she had once mingled. all that be-
came wholly dead to her. and for excellent rea-
son. according to her own belief.
i have tried faithfully throughout nv entire
life" she wOuld sometimes muse amid those
long. slow years of the retirement that pre-
cei-d her death. Ito serve duty and shrink
from all wrong. And ye: nothing but sorrow
has proved my reward have been brought
into the very closest contact with three men.
One dearly loved; for one felt a boundless
friendship; to one i gave n compassion so
deep that II almost resembled love. Yet each
has left with me memories that are horrors
ant each IN his way has dealt my spirit the
bItterest Of wounds"
Her gift az a musician had always been st-;k-
ing and music now consolcd her through many
a ESssrd hour. She had a small piano of
exquisite tone and seated before this she would
sometimes seem to be recalling and rehearsing
through the pl&intive melodies of Schuman
Chopin o. Schubert all the strange grief and
lHfe1IbIc doom Of her astonishing past.
her name before marriage had been Helena
Hamilton The only child of wealthy father,
who idOiiZed her to the verge of folly. she had
reached n.adenhood without knowing what
= meant 10 have single wish
crossed When suddenly, one day. she told her
father that she desired to marry her music
teacher. young EnglishElan named Justin
Worcester. the announcement was a fearful
shock But Mr. Hamilton quickly rallied from
H. After all it had only been somewhat as
though his Helena had asked for the moon. If
she had really asked FOR that lurlinaryhe might
almost have consulted with some noted astrono-
Eler ON the possibility of securing it for her
rs II WAS he made u wry face and gave her Jus
TN Worcester. He permitted himself sorrow
fully 20 add. however: II did hope. Helena.
that YOUR cousin. 1allriadge Van Dyke. would
have found favor with you.
Dear papa. she answered. ''he never sought
II And within two months. having the full
latcrnal sanction. she was married TO her music
teacher IN Grace Church.
But she had been wrong as to Tallmadge Van
by not having cared for her. The engage
meut was a fearful blow to him. He was not a
hr>t cousin of Helenas :. but a cousin twice re-
moved He had loved her for many months
past and had been debarred from telling her so
simply because of the clear-seen wish on her
fathers part that she should become his wife
lallmadSe was proud and sensitive. He had
never cared for society, though il had opened
It's arms TO him as n gentleman of leisure with
an income handsome If not huge and a face
anu hSure which marked him alike for good
looks and grace.
his Justin Worcester as Tallmadge now Bit
terly reflected. was a Young man with twice his
own personal attractions. THESE alone. the
klnsman of Helena decided. had caused him to
win the hand of his young pupil OF course.
passionately argued Tallmadge. Helena had
been inveigled and her father welD by a
mere acyentCring fortune hunter. In a little
while all would be plain. Worcester, with his
eiriy blonde Assrr-Aas deceptive blue eyes and
his beguiling silky mustache. had made
a deliberate set for a rich wife. He
would now ignore his music, excep: in
careless dllettante way. He would
drag Helena among the fashionable cliaues
which she had always hitherto despised. He
would aim to shine leader of society, and
perhaps IN a few years would break his wife's
heart by course of reckless in:idelities
Helena would never seek a divorce: she was too
modest and gentle for that: it would all merely
result in an infection of lingering misery on
the sweet creature whom he had married
30 Iallmadge prophesied and after two wears
had passed there was every reason for him to
acknowledge himself the very falsest of proph-
cts. Old Mr.. Hamilton followed his dear wife
To the grave. during these two same wears vet
before his death silently blessed the husband
who had already made his daughter charm
lngiy happy. Helena and her lord seldom went
into society at all She renamed childless and
get their home was one replete with content
ment. A more loving husband than Justin
Worcester could not well be imagined
lallmadge occasionally visited them.
and saw nothing in their quiet,
refined household except signs OF a thorough
eonnubial peace He met. on several occasions
the kinsman of Justin Worcester. who had
come 70 dwell with himself and wife 1T that
pretty basement house uptown. which was a
haunt of delightful taste and culture.
This gentleman was Mr.. Oswald Blagden. and
his age was certainly ten wears more than that
OF Helena's husband. IL to him. rs Justin
Worcester frankly and freely said that he had
owed all his proficiency In music. Blagden {"
Tall gray man with scintillant black eyes and a
most distinguished general appearance) had
come TO America for the purposesof placing ON
the New York stage an opera of his own COM
position which had en- oyed fair success abroad
he had felt very hopeful. at first. about the
success OF the opera here. but soon he discov-
cred that even if performed there would be
slight chance for it, as it aimed at something
better than triviality. Blagden was not without
certain means Of his own. and through the aid
VI anu "OfctSrcr ne secured q few
highly desirable pupils. Then in a little while
be came TO live with lstin and his wife. This
plan Helena herself had one day proposed and
her husband warmly seconded il. AT first Blag-
Len drew back from the proposition, grateful
aHd vet reluctaEt- He stammered at least ten
polite excuses TO Justin for not accepting it,
but there was not q real excuse in any
Of rhem- Finally a vision of Helena in all her
gentle loneliness conquered MIN. This Blagden
Mas no longer Young man. but he had never
mt of Flt,.ff
Now and then he would tell himself that her
musical eadOwments formed Cor him her chief
charm; then, soon afterward, he would realize
that this false and that II she had not had
note Of music IN hcr soul he you'd have been
eapuvsted just the same. No sooner had he
gone 10 live IN the same house with her than
De regretted the step. though neither Justin
nor Helena dreamed that his happiness had not
IN all ways been materially augmented Justin
worcester was a man of strongly jealous tenn
permanent. and yet. As time went OH, he failed
aiioge;her to perceive that the world had
marked him ont FOR either the most complsis-
ant 1r hoodwinked Of husbands.
Of course Tallmadge Van Dyke was among
the hrst 10 Near scandalOus rumors- He went
u the home OF the WOrcesters and during each
VISIT carefully watched. These visits took place
III the evening. and Oswald Biagden WAS nearly
always al such times IN the drawing room with
heleiia- They played Chopin and Mendelssohn
together, and often for at hour OF two at a time
'oHNeTsed IN murmurs- The hum % their low
voices would reach Justin Worcester where he
AL IL ms library writing reading Since
marriage had brought him entire financial ease
L. N1N.f L.