The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1895-03-13
A HITCH.

Eva Darlington, the bride elect, was
. beauty.
Eva's soft blue eyes and bright little
ways wrought dire destruction in the
ranks Of the stronger sex, but she ap-
peared quite unconscious Of her power
or indifferent to it> To all intents and
purposes she had promised to marry
Charlie Nelthorpe. His will was her
law and to please him the chief object
OF her life In short, his programme
seemed in q fair way to be carried out.
Her total submission delighted him,
and he took every advantage Of it. 1t
was not in him to show generosity to a
woman or indeed to anything he
thought weaker than himself. He was
the sort Of man who is brutal to his
dogs and horses and overbearing to his
servants who, in short, tyrannizes
whenever he can do so without fear of
retaliation. His nature asserted itself
in his dealings with the woman he
loved, and he took the keenest possible
pleasure in trading on her forbearance,
taxing her endurance to the utmost and
showing off her plant will and obedient
temper to the world at large. 1t was all
a part Of the system that could not fail.
Charlie went ON giving his petty ar
rogance full play until, as was only to
be expected, things came to o crisis.
The wonder was they had not done SO
long before.
On the occasion of Lady Brown-Jones'
ball he went the length of f~orbidding
his fiancee to dance round dances with
any one but himself, and though she re-
ceived his commands without Q muir
muir her soul rose in passionate revolt
against his tyranny. This last test that
he had devised seemed to her the worst
' Of all. As a matter Of fact. she had SUBJ
mitted patiently to far harder ones, but
we all know the female capacity for
swallowing a camel and straining at q
gnat. and Eva was no less inconsistent
than the rest Of her sex. The gnat stuck
in her throat and obstinately refused to
be ~dislodged. There always must be a
last straw, and this wa it.
When the ball was half over, Lord
Dolly put in an appearance, and at that
moment Eva happened to be sitting
quite alone. Charlie had left her for a
minute or two to speak to a friend, and
she was looking w~istfully at the maze
Of couples that revolved before her. Lord
Dolly made straight for her.
mot dancing, Miss Carringtonl Luck
for me, by Jovei Ripping waltz, this.
Have q turn"
He stuck out his elbow invitingly,
but Eva turned away, biting her lip.
"No. thank you" she answered in q
low tone. Il can't dance with you,
Lord Dolly"
Can't" echoed bis lordship. "How's
that? What's up? Not Ill. are you?
Not cross with me, eh?"
Eva shook her head.
mo. l ain not i'll or cross, but-but
! have promised Charlie to waltz only
with him. He doesn't like to see me
Waiting with other men"
Lord Dolly choked down the forcible
but inelegant remark, cleared his throat
violently and ran his fingers through his
~ wv A"tNNA "Cko
signs OF severe mental disturbance.
There was slight pause.
And be dances so awfully badly"
Eva went on, with a queer little catch
in her breath. "He can't waltz a bit
not q little wee bit. He-holds you all
wrong"
Her voice Iuivered and broke on the
last word, ANA she looked up at the man
at her side with great fearful eyes, like
forgetmenots drowned in dew.
That look finished it. Lord Dolly was
only a man.
"Beastly shame!' he said hurriedly.
Come with me. Nice and quiet out on
the veranda. A fellow can talk there,
don't you know. Come along"
And Eva went.
Charlie Nelthorpe was bristling with
outraged pride and wounded self esteem
when he went to pay his customary visit
to Eva on the day following Lady
Brown-Jones' ball. The fact that Eva
could forget herself and the respect that
was due to him SO far as to sit Oh the
vsranda with Lord Dolly for half an
hour had been a severe blow to him, and
he had not yet recovered from the
shock.
She was reading when he went into
the room, but she laid her book aside ut
once
"Oh, Charlie, is that you?''
Charlie frowned.
"How often have l told you, nv dear
Eva. that a self evident fact requires no
asserting?" he asked in his most dog.
matio tone.
She shrugged her shoulders.
"How often? Oh, l don't know. A
hundred times, / dare say. You look
Cross, Charlie"
Charlie frowned again. There was al
intangible something in Eva's tone and
manner that was not wont to be there.
something that he could neither define
nor understand, though he felt it in.
stinctively.
81 ann ssof oro,e IT, -