Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-11-07
The Third Generation.

Of his sluggish nature. Years aIter
had forgotten the incident he would be
cherishing the hope OF vengeance. And
besides. had I not involved another In
this Idle feud? Should my friend Ernest
ever have a child. would not Welles at
least hope that Il might go wrong, SO as
TO verify his prediction? What would
Ernest say of my lack Of consideration?
But here the absurdity OF worrying about
the fate of q possible child whose pos
sible father was still careless young
bachelor drove away for time further
serious thought.
For a time; yet In the late hour Of
that night, AZ lay In bed unable to
sleep, serious thoughts. at least akin.
would keep recurring. I reviewed my
guardians history, and reflected over and
over again on these melancholy details
When James Blake was forty-hve. In the
prime Of experience and strength. with
vast fortune, number,ess friends, ana
the respect of all who came in contact
with him, he met under romantic cir
cumstances a young Spanish girl OF re-
markable beauty and grace, and married
her. Perhaps there never lived woman
whose every wish was SO speedily ana
willingly gratifed. Perhaps. too. this
dearth Of anticipation, this excess OF
realization, drove her unto desires Tor
hidden and unholy. through very weari-
ness. At all events. year after Ernests
birth she eloped. with a groom. after
having robbed her husband Of large sum
In jewels and money. and after having
attempted to poison him. Fate had been
quick and severe with this pair. The
transatlantic steamer by which they fed
foundered, and the ocean waves rolled
over two base hearts, even as they DO
roll over so many that are noble ana
pure. Such was the shame that had
come upon a blameless man, and OF
which / only knew through his own con-
idence. For never else. save by Welles's
ruthless tongue, had l heard reference
made to II. And the malignancy OF his
,ibe, as he had well appreciated. had
aid In such a breach of that oblivion
which popular sympathy had tacitly
greed should be observed. All, well.
reflected, l worried, and at length was
forced to be content with the resolution
never to think OF the incident again.
and especially to keep every hint OF 1t
from Ernest, lest thus he might haply
learn his fathers secret sorrow and
stain.
These sensible determinations were
more readily than usual carried out
through several reasons. Welles, as II
admitting his defeat and consequent
chagrin, came no more to the club. and
rarely ran across him. The subjects, too,
for discussion took different turn. and
| soon was as mindless OF heredity as
had been skeptical. Indeed, l became
mindless OF matters and things far more
sublunary and practical; for about TINS
time / met the lady who afterwards hon
ored me by becoming my Wife Singh
larly enough, a similar fortune just then
befell Ernest Blake, and our marriages
were. only a few days apart.
The record of prosperous felicity hath
but sparsely written pages. When l say
that l prospered in my profession and
continued calmly and constantly happy,
1 give the history of the many long years
prior to my wife's death; though when
that occurred how brief and short they
seemed! l was left sad and lonely Ola
man, with only my son Harry to give
met the consolation Of pride And, truly.
Harry was we'll fitted for this task: as
fine. manly a young fellow as ever Il
father could point to, dashng forward
In his chosen profession of the law WIFE
a zeal which put the easy-going amble oil
my life to shame. l had tried to eliminate
from our association all formal paternal
reverence, desiring only such respect
And I had so far succeeded that l know
Harry regarded me as he might have a
brother, both elder and better. And, yet.
as will be seen, there are condolences
which an ingenious youth viii deny 10
one even so close and intimate.
During all this time j had seen lttle,
although / had heard considerable. OF
Lemuel Welles. Indeed. he was much IN
the speech OF The people; but more In the
gossip Of newspapers, specially OF the
baser sort. He had developed-or. rather
let me say, degeneTated. for i hate to
apply the higher term TO him-into an
expert; and accounts were prolific or the
skill and acumen he displayed in reveal
ing obscure and secret evidence OF
crime. l can't say that this phase OF his
abilities had altered my aversion TO the
man. The nobIest function OF the pnysi-
clan, TO my humble mind, Is to cure. Be
sides, what is an expert but mercenary,
retained and paid. not to produce the
truth from certain suspicious circum-
stances, but to convert these suspicious
circumstances into truth.
Occasionally Welles and | would meet
in some public place: and then l would
see his lips compress, his broad Jaws
harden, his heavy shoulders lurch, even
as they had on the night OF our quarrel
still nourish q boyish resentment? Could
IL be that he dared hope that so sweet
a girl as Alne Blake would prove the
truth OF his Infamous prophecies? l would
laugh the ridiculous conception to scorn.
and. vet. there would succeed sense or
uneasiness: for should he remain SO per
verse and persistent what evil might ne
not plot which | would be powerless 10
foresee or forefend? For already the
inconceivable had happened, and between
Ernest Blake and myself there was
estrangement.
I have said, In speaking OF my mar
rage. that a similar fortune then befeil
Ernest Blake. / did not say good for
tune" though for the first few years his
marital horizon was cloudless enough
His wife was doll OF woman. whom
I don't think any one not In love with her
could have liked. Her one topic of con-
yersation was her charms; regarding
ANYTHING else she soon became silent and
sulky. Allne was born a year after our
Harry. and / remember that my wife
and | hoped that maternity would mean
Improvement for Mrs. Blake. On the
contrary, il brought deterioration In
health and spirits. She became a queru-
lous invalid, bemoanng her lost beauty
and struggling in every way TO restore IL.
I think the main cause OF her aversion TO
me was some plain advice I gave her
when / happened to learn that she used
certain cosmetics. Then. too, her regard
for Ernest had only single manifesto
tlon-a constant peevish Jealousy of his
thoughts. his pursuits. his intimacies.
Ernest was a reserved, scholarly man,
who took advantage OF an independence
TO devote himself TO literary work OF an
archaeological nature Never did there
live a more simple, harmless creature-an
IDEAL husband OF the submissive sort
Probably his very freedom from lapses
forced her fault-hndng TO be outrageous.
At all events one day. without apparent
provocation, she insulted me grossly and
ordered me from the house. And that
same night I received a formal note from