San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1892-01-20

you. l thought you wished the affair
managed quietly to avoid publicity and
comment. OF course, if the case comes
into court, / shall contest it, and try to
obtain possession of the boy, even for
the time the law allows the mother, ON
the ground of being better able to sup
port and educate him."
81 do notwant the case to come into
court here, Nesbit, and you know that i
do not. Why do you delight in tor
menting me?"
sListen to me, Ethel I've no wish to
torment you. l simply wished to show
you that would abide by my rights, and
that / have some power-all the power
which money can give-on my side.
Our marriage has been miserable mis-
take from the first; we rushed into it
without knowledge of each others char
acters and dispositions, and like most
couples who take matrimony like a five
barred gate, we've come horribly to
grief. l shall not stand in your way; if
you wish to go, shall not hinder you.
This is what l propose: I'll help you in
the matter, will take all the trouble,
pense. 1t will be necessary for one of
US to so to Illinois and see these lawyers,
if the divorce is to be gotten there.
1t may be necessary to undergo
short residence in the state in
order TO simulate citizenship and make
the divorce legal. I'll fluid out about
this, and if it's necessary will do it.
After the divorce I'll allow you the use
of this house and a sufficient income to
support it, and also the custody of our
son as long as you remain unmarried.
In return you must waive all right to
the boy for the years you can legally
claim him, and must bind yourself to
surrender him to me, or any person
appoint, at least month before any
such marriage, and never, by word or
act, to interfere in his future life or any
disposition may think best to make of
him. l should also strongly object to
any future marriage taking place from
my house and should expect legal notice
in ample time to make arrangements
about the boy"
Would you allow me to see the child
whenever l wished?"
Certainly. I'm no brute, and you
are his mother. shall only stipuIate
that the meetings take place in some
other house than yours. You are at
liberty to visit him as often as you like,
so long as you are faithful to our agree
ment and leave his mind unbiased. l
will never mention you unkindly to
him, and shall expect the same consid-
Grafton from you. When he is old
enough to judge between us he will de-
eide as he thinks right"
Suppose you marry again, yourself,
What about the child then2 You are
very hard and uncompromising in your
dictation to me, Nesbit; but | can have
feelings and scruples as well as you"
Thorne was startled. He considered
that he was behaving well to his wife.
He wanted to behave well to her; to let
the past go generously, so that no shadow
of reproach from it might fall upon the
future. Her tart suggestion set the af-
fair in new light. 1t was an unpleas-
ant light and he turned his back on it,
thinking that by so doing he disposed of
it. There was the distance of the two
poles between Pocahontas Mason and
Cecil Cumberland. He surely was the
best Judge of what would conduce to the
welfare of his son.
eve were discussing the probability
of your remarriage, not mine" he re-
sponded coldly; "the reports in circula-
ton have reached even me at last"
"What reportsg" with defiant inquiry.
THAT you are seeking freedom from
your allegiance to one man in order to
swear fealty to another. That your VOWS
to me are irksome because they prevent
your taking other vows to Cecil Cumber-
land. pass over the moral aspect of the
affair; that must rest with your own con-
science" Gt was astonishing how exem-
plary Thorne felt in administering the
rebuke); "that rests with your con-
SCIENCE" he repeated, land with that
I've nothing to do. The existence of
such reports-which lays your conduct
as a married woman open to censure-
gives me the right to dictate the terms
of our legal separation. I'm obliged to
speak plainly, Ethel. You brought about
the issue and must abide by the conse-
quences. I've stated my terms, and it's
for you to accept or decline them"
Thorne leaned back in his chair and
watched the flames eat into the heart of
the hickory logs. He had no doubt of
her decision, but he awaited it courte-
ously. The broken log had burned COM
pletely away, and little heap of Witty
gray ashes lay on each side Of the
hearth.
Ethel sat and pondered, weighing at
full value all the advantages and disad-