The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1895-03-16

aalf way down the table. A timid little
woman mt the other end caught the look
and. hated her for it. The recipient was
the girls husband.
"And now tell me some delightfully."-
naughty scandal, Mrs. Marston said to
the horsy man. THE latest and best
you know"
Mrs Graham?'
ooh, she's an old story"
"Give you my honor-new edition.
Really! Go on
Warned off the bookstalls."
well, I'm not a bookstall."
As he paused she thought: Marie
can't have found Sir John. l wonder if
they have a good nurse. They might
have let me see her just for one moment.
Children rarely take to a stepmother,
but Daisy used to love every one." g.
80 Mrs. Graham has even overstep-
ped the bounds Of modernity. " she said
aloud.
Taken the barrier in one stride"
/ Bravo, l am always grateful to q
woman who gives me something notori-
Gus to talk about"
And she thought: II wonder if she
suffers much. ! wonder If she is con
scious. They said, No better Could
these people would chatter and whisper
if they knew the situation tonight Not
M Of them would be sorry-yes, Hilda
would, poor, frightened, little woman,
because her baby died, although / do
flirt with her husband. And my baby
o God, how happy I vas over Daisy!
and now-it's my W fault for leaving
her, but how could l know she was 60
ing to be ill?'
The room, with its brilliant lights,
its sound Of voices and its laughter, faded
from sight. In imagination she was car
ried far away to the little bedroom
next the nursery in the old house. She
bent over Daisy, who slept and dreamed
Of mamma-the real mamma, not her
new one-and she said to the cold.
stern faces around her: Have pity; let
me kiss her ono / won't disturb her.
! won't wake her" Perhaps they might
consent and let her creep away, having
seen her baby and kissed her, as in the
old happy days.
She heard the guardsman ask her a
question and replied at random:
Eyes, l am going to act as a Greek
goddess. It's q queer kind of play, but
one can do anything nowadays, and
Lady Lane acted in it, SO that makes the
whole thing 80 eminently respectable.
She died Of dullness, poor old dowd.
Her husbands q nice boyle got me
into the show"
She stretched out her hand and pulled
an orchid to pieces, and the room faded
from sight again.
She stood near the little bed. Daisy
was awake and knew her. They weren't
angry; they were kind; they let her
hold her close, let her stay to nurse her,
let her soothe her only as q mother,
even the most degraded, can. Charles
forgave for the baby's sake and let her
stay just till she got we'll.
She pulled herself together and rose
to leave the room. In all her dreams she
never saw q sad picture, save that it
was sad to see the child suffer. OF
course she was certain to get we'll.
As the footman handed her the coffee
when up stairs she asked carelessly:
HAS Marie returned?''
IAN hour ago, num-" he said.
She started. with no letter for me?'
"No, num-. She said not
"All right. Mrs. Barker has changed
her mind and will take some milk.
Hand it to her, please"
So she couldn't hear that night. The
notion made her reckless. Her fair,
placid friend shouted some gossip in her
ears as is the name Of deaf people.
The gentlemen joined them. and a singer
sat down at the piano. The song over,
amid loud applause o footman opened
the door to admit q gentleman. He had
asked to see Mr.. Marston alone, but the
man had blundered, misunderstood him
and announced him as one Of the even
ing's guests.
"Sir John Deane."
The painted, noisy wife Of his old
friend rose to greet him, and she knew
why he was there as we'll as if he had
spoken.
He murmured some excuse and drew
her husband out of the room.
The whole place swan before her
eyes. She was struck numb. Only SUBJ
lime pity could have forced him to visit
her again. Daisy dead! She had read it
in the trouble in his face. Daisy dead,
dead! Her own little baby cold and
dead, and she not there to hold her in
her arms, to kiss her just once more, to
weep over her, to
Her friend was speaking. She strug.
gled back to consciousness, to hear her
say in her loud, blatant voice: Fancy
Sir John coming to visit You again,
Dolly! What a triumph for you to.
night has BEEN"
The whole roomful Of people heard,
and they looked at Mrs. Marston. She
smiled family; the color in her cheeks
did not vary, nor were her eyes dim,
but her lips, for some strange reason,
had turned blue. and her voice when
she answered had . CHASTITY sound:
How funny you are, deari What .
triumph. did you say? What q triumph