The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-06-21
The MANNED HAND.
BY MRS. CAMPBELL PRAED.

Author Of ''OutIaw and LawmaSer."

i
/ cal brutality. he was Jealous. too-ieal-
ous OF her admirers. Jealous Of her dis
slHction, morosely savage az being known
I a. mrs Hilary's husband"
/ Mr.. Hilary was a man of small intel
/ tecl, immense self-Will. poor means and
! long pedigree. Essledon Grange had been
! Tor centuries owned by Hilarys. but the
4and had dwindled as the race deteriOrat-
eu ana now. beyond a few acres Of wood
ana a rabbit warren, which furnished oc-
CdsluHdl amusement TO some unambitiOus
/ sportsmen, there was little except Mrs
! H-lary herself, to attract a visitor 10 Es-
sledon But the house itself, though IN
pretentiOus, was charming. II had been
IeDuilt in the period Of the early Georges
IL was of red brick, with lofty rooms
paneled walls, high corner fireplaces and
long, heavy easement windows. clamped
I and ridged, with iron, and opening on
deep window seats. where Mrs. Hilary
used TO sit in the autumn days when she
was at Essledon, and dream and watch
Tor the coming Of her lover.
He was in truth her lover; but in as pure
ana cnlvalrous fashion. as that in which
a medlaVal knight might have worshipped
Ardent souls both-both seeking and I'M
satisfied; both aching with the longing for
love- botn craving an ideal outside their
present ken. and yet believed in as de-
NOutly as the nun believes in the Beatifc
Vision. He had an odd, imaginative ten
uehcy-a sort OF mysticism, blended with
a soldiers rObuster qualities. Yes: he was
somewhat of the type Of the mediaveal
knight. He was looking for his Grail He
had read her first novel, and had been
fascinated by IL. He read her second, and
was more deeply enthralled. Ii seemed TO
him that this woman's soul was sending
forth cry, and that his own soul echoed
and responded to the cry. Here at last
was his ideal
He saw a portrait of her in a Book of
Beauty. Her melancholy eyes haunted
him by day and night. His only desire was
10 meet her. He did meet her at last-at
a London dinner party The Hilarys paid
periodical visits to town for the transac-
ton of business, and to keep the authoress
as Mr.. Hilary said, before the world
tountadn talked to Mrs. Hilary Her
low, sweet voice: her ardently truthful
utterances completed the spell. Before
the evening was over he
knew that there never had been and
never would be but one woman in the
world for him, and that the woman was
MRS Mrs; Hilary; Then ne found out that she
only few miles from the town where
ms regiment had just been ordered Thus
II came about that on many a day later he
rode over TO the Grange and had an hour
or Two of quiet talk with it's chatelaine
Cudly enough, Mr.. Hilary took rather a
fancy TO him, and used to invite him TO
ONE and to shoot. Fountain did not dis
gam the Indifferent sport which Hilary Of
Tered him. He was rich. He kept hunt
ers. Hilary could not AFFORD to ride good
hofses. EssledOn was within easy reach
Of a well known pack of hounds. Young
tountaln often mounted Mr. Hilary. Then
ne would ride back with him to Essledon
anu, IL often happened, was there for
days at a stretch.
He saw that Mrs. Hilary was very I'M
happy, though she tried to conceal her
wretchedness, and to find an outlet for her
emotional life in her books. He discoV-
cred also that the husband and wife We're
practcally separated, though they lived
under the same roof and so far as the
world knew seemed united. Fountain felt
mat there was mystery under the es-
arrangement but Mrs. Hilary never spoke
OF her conjugal troubles. and Fountain
had far too much delicacy, and too keen
a sense of honor, to breach the subject
decided mir tbar
was a dash of insanity in Mr.. Hilary
whose variable moods, queer Jealous tenn
per, secretive ways, and brutal vindictive-
ness towards those who offended him, all
lent themselves to the supposition.
Fountain told Mrs. Hilary that he loved
her, She listened with her sweet, sad
smile while he poured forth his tale cf
deVotion-of worship. Given the cond-
tions, it was one at which woman could
scarcely have felt deeply angry. He only
asked to be allowed to adOre-to know
himself her chosen friend, trusted beyond
other men-the only guerdon he craved an
assurance that We're she a free woman
she would return his love. Her eyes glow
ed as she listened, with that spiritual
passion which was part of her tempera-
ment, and seemed to infuse her deli
cate body like some pure consuming fire
My friend" she answered gently you
speak to me as other men have spoken
before you-men whom l believed my
friends, too, and who are now to me
nothing. They have gone out of my life
Do you know why? They were not con-
of loyalty were only as the first batter
ing rams to the beseged citadel. They
wanted much more than friendship And
so-they went away"
Trust me-" he exclaimed, impetuously.
You will find that 1 am less earthly"
Shall n" She looked at him in a trou-
bled way. ''I wonder-oh, you don't know
my type. You look upon me as the con-
ventional good woman And so I am
good in that sense. But am not the
good woman who is pure because she
will not allow herself to look temptation
in the face. For me the intense emo
tions have a fascination that is indescrib-
able. l am not afraid to draw the cur
tain. Only 1 shall never pass within it.
You don't understand the strange stuff
we writing women are made Of" she went
on-"our subtleties and our contradictions
and our compleXities-our eXaction from
the man who images our Ideal, of what
to most men would be the impossible"
could do the impossible for you"
you think so! But if you were put to
understand the type of US writing women
the extraordinary blending in 1t of fire
and ice-fire up to certain point, ice if
the line be crossed And them Oh. what
disillusions-what reVulsion! You don't un-
derstand that half morbid intellectual
and emotional curiosity which makes us
long to intoxicate ourselves with the aro-
ma of the wine, and yet put down the COB
let untasted You would misread me en-
tirely. If to prove you l were to place
myself in a position that, in the case of
laws of smoking-room philosophy, would
mean only one thing
'Try me-" he interrupted. 81 could
never misread you"
''If I were to show you that I was
capable of loving as ardently. as passion
ately as-as you love me-"
"Ah!' he exclaimed fervently, ''at least
it is certain that you don't misread me.
Indeed, do love you as ardently, as pas
sionately as It is possible for man to love
woman. And yet reverence you so ut
terly that l will not ask even to press my
lips upon your hand"
But if l were to tell you that-that l
love you," she went on, agitatedly, that
to be your SOULS companion to my lifes
end would, to me, make that life worth
the living and heaven beyond worth the
gaining. And suppose that were to wish
YOU to give me the greatest proof of trust
that a man can give a woman. Suppose
that /, in my turn, were to give you the
greatest proof of trust that woman can
give the man whom she desires to believe
absolutely loyal"
II think that 1 do understand you" he
answered. AT any rate l am certain
that l do not misread you. Put me to
the test Let me prove to you that I
am not governed by the laws of smoking
room philosophy. Let me show you that