The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1896-06-10
NEARLY A DIVORCE.

"Good morning, Mr.. Soldene ~ said
the solicitor, advancing with profess
sional effusiveness which suggested
that the latest bill of costs which Mr..
Soldene had settled had been well
nourished one and of goodly proper
tions. This was indeed the case, as Mr..
Soldene was an amateur vocalist and a
composer of songs which were suffi-
ciently good TO need the protection of
legal process against certain piratical
publishers. But the office smile i'm
mediately gave way to look of genu-
inc alarm as he caught sight of the
haggard face of his client
"Why, my dear Mr.. Soldene, you
look i'll ~ he exclaimed.
III am i'll, Bresford," assented Mr..
Soldene, dropping into a chair and
speaking in dry, hard voice.
"You want doctor more than a
solicitor at present." continued Bres-
ford, for his client sat huddled up in
the identical posture in which he had
sunk into the chair, an uneasy attitude
of listless detection.
NO; its my soul that's ill. You're
the physician want. And even you
can do no good. It's past healing"
Mr.. Soldene was speaking quietly
and slowly, with long pauses between
each sentence. He was obviously in a
state of absolute despair. He wanted
the energy to proceed with his COM
munication to the solicitor until Mr.
Bresford soothingly encouraged him
and drew him out of himself 10y means
of a, few leading questions. Mr.. Bres-
ford did not, in his sympathetic cate
chism, alight upon the cause of his
clients visit, but aroused Mr.. SOldene
to realization of the inconvenience to
which he was putting the gentleman
he had come to consult by delaying his
statement.
''No; i care nothing about any of
those Matters" said Mr.. Soldene, pull
ing himself together with an effort
and setting his features in stern look
of angered determination.
81 want you to file divorce petition
against my wife. The sooner the bet
ter" he added, working himself into u
fury as he proceeded.
The solicitor dissembled any feelings
the request may have occasioned and
took up quill and spread a sheet of
foolscap in front of him, for particulars
of the nature of the case and the char
acter of the proofs.
''The proofs are unfortunately over
whelming. Would to God they were
less clear. When | retired last night
was the most confiding fool alive. She
is slight, childish looking thing, my
wife, with dancing yellow hair and
laughing blue eyes. Who was the con-
summate ass who first called the eyes
the windows of the soul? Pah ! The
blinds of the soul would be nearer the
mark. Whenever / looked into them,
l could see nothing but devoted inno-
cence and happy purity. What do /
now find? That those appearances
cloaked and hid from the sight mind
fostering with deception and corrupt
with systematic infidelity."
The solicitor frowned and preserved
his glance of patient sympathy with
difficulty. This was not the language
of business communication at all.
But it might relieve his clients feel
ings little to give vent to them in this
way, he thought.
"Don't distress yourself, Mr.. Sol
dene,p he said. 'tJust give me an out
line of the facts in your own way, and
we'll see what is 10 be done"
"Yes went to bed, as / said, trust
ing implicitly in my wife's fidelity. L
imagined that she was spotless. l
arose in the morning with the convic-
ton of her guilt lying at my heart like
| ice."
IA confession or something of that
sort ?''
"Yes; a confession, but an involun-
tary one, and one of which she is even
now all unwilling. She kissed me
with the usual winning, frank, devilish
smile as left this morning, hoped l
would be brighter, forsooth, when l
returned, and obviously did not for one
moment imagine that | had discover
ed her ugly secret"
"And how did you discover it?n
al woke up in the middle of the
night with strange foreboding of i'm
pending calamity. / am a man sub
ject to presentiments. They rarely
mislead me, and | listened with such
intensity that could almost have heard
a fly walking on the ceiling. There was
not sound. | was on the point Of