The Bennington banner. [volume] (Bennington, Vt.) 1858-1894, 1893-11-02

I stared IN amaZement with the rest OF
the guests but just beyond Lovelace l saw
the woman in black standing quietly gaz-
ing into my friends face, Then she slowly
dropped her white hand from her throat,
and saw cash across it from which the
blood still flowed in heavy, sullen drops.
understood then what had made Lady -
faint, though when she recovered her con-
seriousness and tried to combat her hus-
bands and friends attempt to persuade
her that the woman had existed only In her
imaginatioh kept silence, and so did
Lovelace, from whom fortunately atten-
ton had been attracted in the stir over our
fair hostess.
She had felt, she said, an icelike hand on
her arm, and looking about had seen the
ghostly figure have described. When we
got back to the ship that night, put aside
the reserve had hitherto maintained to
ward Lovelace on this subject and asked
him for an explanation. He was very much
embarrassed, and have never known
whether he told me the whole truth or not.
At any rate, this was his story:
His sister, whom he had visited in Lon
don before starting on this cruise, had had a
decayed Church of England clergyman's
daughter employedas nursery governess
for her children, and in his idle moments
Lovelace had amused himself by making
love to this poor girl. He swore it went no
further than this, but that was question
as to the amount of confidence one could
put in the man. At last, as the time drew
near for him to sail, he had tried to with
draw from this Irritation, when the girl ex'
hibited despair and grief for which he was
not prepared and declared that If he proved
faithless to her she would kill herself. Not
believing this threat, he saw her no more
and left for this cruise without farewell
word to her. He knew as yet nothing of
her fate and had had his apprehensions only
aroused by seeing her that memorable
night in the bay of Biscay looking at him
from near the mast. From what had hap
pened since he could not help but believe
that she had fulfilled her desperate threat
Resolved on reaching Naples to know the
truth, he there telegraphed to his sister to
know what had became of Miss Raymond.
She replied coldly, with plain intimation
that she disliked his manifest interest in
her poor dependent, that on the day he had
sailed Miss Raymond had been found in her
room with that across her throat which
he had hardly cared to see."
On learning this for some time Lovelace
acted like thoroughly broken man, but
after some months his spirits began to some
what recover. We were still at Naples when
the end came to the retribution that fol-
lowed his heartlessness.
Though had taken a real dislike to the
man after hearing his story, we were still
much thrown together, and one evening we
had gone to call on some English ladies at
the consul's We had taken our leave, but
one of the ladies to whom Lovelace had
been paying some rather Jealous atten-
lions appearing on balcony above he
stood up in the open carriage we occupied
to catch the flowers she half mockingly
threw down to him.
All at once he turned his laughing eyes
on me, and as he did saw his face freeze
suddenly with the horror knew so well.
He started backward, and at the moment
the horses reared slightly, and before l
could catch him he had fallen from the car
riage into the street.
AS he did SO long sigh caught my ear,
and turned my head to see for a brief sec
ond the woman in black at my side still
holding her gashed throat. She was gone
then, and hastily tumbled from the car
rage and Joined the driver, who was bend
ing over Lovelace's dead body.
He had broken his neck on the stonesl
Some days after called on the lady re-
ferred to, who had also witnessed the acct
dent, and one of her first questions was:
"Who was the girl in black in the car
rage with you two that dreadful day."
Take the story for what it is worth, gen.
tlemen. Explain it if you can. These are
the bare facts.-Philadelph Times