The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1895-07-07


this story and found thar the woman
lived next door 10 her. she watched her
face as she went IN and out, and she
made up her mind that tho story was
true. She could not believe that the
face of Marie On Plessis was the race
OF a woman really bad. she was con-
WINGED that 10 WAS the face or woman
who could be saved from herself even
al that late day. SO she tried 10 save
her. She called upon her and treated her
in a way that Marie could not understand.
She neither seemed 10 be a part or the
wickcducss which surrounded her NOT ~
stand out Of 10 obtrusively. Ihat ls' sne
did not 20 10 Marie in the way lhat
is usual to phllanthropists, ana say 1
have come TO reform you. DO as L 10
and you will be good she treatei nee
exactly as she would have treated Il iady'
she made her acquaintance as formally
as possible and then kept IL up IN a mat
fer Of course way After the second or
third vi-it-probably the only times IN
her whole life when Marie had met
woman of responsibility aud position on
an exactly even erOund-Maric began 10
look forward To her coming as 10 tns
nnrst pleasant episode Of the week. rms
was what my friend wanted. Aiter II
rad gone on for "A long time she began
70 LEI Marie see what her real object was
Marie could not misunderstood her then'
She could not FOR moment think thdt
there was any Of the 1 am holier IMAM
thou caddishncss about this woman ana
her own heart. really and truly sood
heart. could not fail 90 respond TO inc
love and kindness Of the woman VINO
was trying to save her. l cannot say
that she reformed. but | can say that
IL. al. rrHaHf D.
reformed had il not been for the tOrtures
which this mistaken lover, discarded for
his own sake. constantly inflicted on her.
lie finally drove her 10 desperation, and
during the six or eight months which
Immediately preceded her final illness,
she abandoned herself unreservedly 70
the fever Of dissipation. But from my
knowledge of the woman / can say that
she excrted honest efforts TO harm no one
but herself. and l do not believe that
she did harm any one but herself.
"On the occasion of the little dinner
Of which I spoke. she had called me over
from my friends house just as IN the
story. Camille called Prudence. She was
very far from well. IL Was only by the
use Of many cushions that she sat up
right in her chair. and two or three times
during the meal she arose 10 rid herself
from her lungs. She told me the whole
story very much as ! have written 1t. 1
have tried 20 make the lover In the book
exactly the kind OF man lie was IN real
life. ana / do not believe that l have. eN-
aggerated the good qualities in Cam.lie's
character Indeed, / have often thought
that l have moderated them. There are
some things in which / had 20 make her
seem worse than she really was, IN order
70 prevent tho construction OF a woman
whose contradictions would not for a
moment be accepted by the reading pub
lie. IL is so true that truth Is stranger
than fiction. you know, that every novel
ist finds situations in real life which nc
would not dare use on the pages OF his
books. because he knows beforehand that
he would be condemned as a man OF zoe
much Imagination By the public II ne
did. I was among the few people VINO
went 10 Marle's funeral
1T was after her death that ] wrote
the play. The afternoon II was finished
l went to my father and said:
Father I have written a play
"He did not ridicule me. although he
would have been almost justified in so
doing.
"He laid aside the work ne was do
ing and looked at the kindly. Wei. my
SON said he suppose you read your
play to me?'
Il read the first act. He had grown
] interested. but not especially enthusi-
astlc quite good he exclaimed when
/ had finished. Then read the second
and third acts TO him. They made the
old man cry. Just there the reading wal
broken of. because had an engagement
with a friend. and would not wait &c
read the rest, despite my fathers re-
quest. l promised TO read the other act