, 1891-05-27

a very lively and n highly sensible lady,
had, at an early period, detected the I'M
usual gloom which had come over her
friends manner, and rallied her upon
taking her new position so seriously.
MY dear Ada, she said at last, in the
course of an afternoon call, during which
Mira. P~artington had been more dull than
ever, 81 should never have encouraged
you to accept Tom if / had foreseen what
a deplorable effect your second dose of
matrimony would lave upon you. Do
You know that in the twenty minutes |
have been here, the only original obser-
walton you nave made was to ask me
whether ! had enough sugar? What is
the matter with You today
Mrs Darlington muttered something
about a bad headache"
But have you always a bad headache
nowadaysY' continued Mrs Brandon,
more seriously. Il should not ave al
luded to the subject if this were the first
time that | have seen you thus But for
weeks | AVE observed you growing
more and more gloomy and depressed.
You are getting quite unlike your old
self, and ! cauno help feeling seriously
uneasy about you. What does it mean?"
To Mrs. Brandon's surprise her friend,
instead of answering, only burst into
tears and buried her face in her hand
kerchiet Evidently, thought Mrs.
Brandon, the nee gay and ~sprightly
Ada lsaacs was very changed indeed.
Come, Ada" she said, drawing her
chair closer, and taking one of her
friends hands, ''you nave something on
your mind | thought so before; now /
am sure of it. Tell me all about it. 1t
will do you good to coufide in some one,
and you and ! have never had a secret
from one another during the last twenty
years. Is it anything to do with TomY'
NO. no-indeed it isn'tl Pray don't
think thatr sobbed Mrs. P~artington.
well, that's a mercyi" observed Mrs.
Brandon. Then it must be something
to do with yourself. What is itY'
There was a short pause, during which
Mrs, Partington's sobs slightly sub
sided
Nell" she said presently, lit is all
your fault"
MY fault. dearl" exclaimed Mrs.
Brandon
Your fault" repeated Mrs. Parting
ton. 1T has all come of your introduc-
ing me to that hateful Pompadour club.
Oh, how | wish / had never entered the
PLACED"
you don't mean to say Mrs.
Brandon paused and looked at her
friend
81 mean to say that, unknown to Tom,
have been playing there every after
noon, and losing constantly, until-oh,
Nell, promise-swear that You will not
tell Tom thisl"
"Of course not. Have we ever be-
trayed one another's confidence, dear?
But you must promise me something
too. Promise that you will tell Tom"
"P Oh, Nell. you don't know what
you are asking You have not heard all
yet. | would not have Tom know it
for the world Rather than that |
would"-
Mrs. Partington's sobs had oarst forth
again with renewed force. Suddenly
she sank back on the sofa with a cry Of
pain which alarmed her friend. Per
ceiving that she was really i'll Mrs.
Brandon summoned assistance. Many
minutes did not elapse before one of the
servants was h%urrying off for a doctor.
Very shortly after the arrival of that
~functionary, Mrs. Brandon herself left.
She drove direct to the club where Tom
Partington occasionally called of an af-
ternoon IN his way home from the city.
By good luck he was there now, and the
message which Mrs. Brandon sent in
quickly brought him to her carriage
door. A very few words passed between
them, but enough TO make Toms face
grow to twice its normal length.
81 will be off at once" he said.
DO" replied Mrs. Brandon. But
mind, not a word yeti Not until she is
quite well again"
Trust mel" cried Tom. He was al
ready hailing a passing hanson, and
with a hurried bow t. Mrs. Brandon he
jumped into it.
When he reached home he sprang up
the steps and rang the door bell sharply.
1t was opened in about half n second by
the cook, who, with a look of deep i'm
portance on her face, gasped ont: "Please,
sir, will you be as quiet as possible. And
-and-it's a boyl"
Before her bewildered master had
time to make any inquiries relative to
this information the doctor, who had
been descending the stairs when he en-
tered, came up to him and shook him by
the hand.
Il must congratulate you, my dear
sir" he said, ION the birth of a remark
ably fine son. | am glad to tell you, too,
that Mrs. Partington is going on as well
as can be expected. But she is naturally
very weak. So if you go in to see her
do not stop more than a minute or allow
her to talk. Anything calculated to ex-
cite her must be most carefully avoided.
| will call in again later and see how she
is progressing"
Under these circumstances Mr.. Part
ington was compelled to abandon for the
present the hope which he had enter
tanned of inducing his wife to conide to
him the trouble which seemed to have
recently oppressed her. He accordingly
restrained his patience as best he could,
and waited until her strength should re-
turn. At the end of the week, however,
it was evident that Mrs. Darlington was
only mending very slowly, and the doc
tor was by no means satisfied with her
progress. Indeed, he expressed his con-
viction to the husband that something
was weighing IN his patients mind, the
removal of which was essential to her
complete recovery. After this Tom re-
solved TO endeavor at the earliest oppor-
tuuity to come to an understanding with
his wife.
So, on the same afternoon, as he sat by
his wife's bedside, with one of her hands
in his, he said kindly, Ada, my dear.
you have something on your mind"
A quick flush overspread her pale face,
and she averted her gaze, murmuring in
a confused tone, What makes you fancy
that, TomY"