Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1896-11-16

thing written on his face which told me
it was not the face of a good man. AS
| rose from my chair he glanced from
me to Philippa with an all Of suspicious
inquiry.
"Dr. North, an old friend of my moth
| er's and mine.' she said, with compOsure.
MIR. Farmer she added and rosy
blush crept round her neck as she indi-
| Gated the newcomer by the name which
[ felt sure was now also her own.
| bowed mechanically. l made few
disjointed remarks about the weather
and kindred topics; then | shook hands
with Philippa and left the house, the
most miserab Gle man i'll England.
Philippa married, and married secretly.
How could her pride have stopped to q
clandestine union? What manner of
man was he who had won her? Heav-
ems! he must he hard to please il he
cared not to show his conquest to the
light of day. Cur. sneak! coward. vii
lain! Stay; he may have his own reasons
for observation-disclosures known to
Philippa and approved of by her. Not Il
word against her. She is still my queen;
the one woman in the world to me.
What she has done is right!
l passed a sleepless night. In the
morning | wrote to Philippa. | wished
her all happiness-I could command my
about the secrecy of the wedding, or
the evils so often consequent to such
concealment. But, with forebodlng
of evil to come, / begged her to remem-
Der that we were friends; that, although
| could see her no more, whenever she
wanted a friends aid, word would
bring me to her side. | used no word
of blame. | risked no expression of loye
or regret. No thought of my grief should
jar upon the happiness which she doubt
less expected to find. Farewell the one
dream Of my life! Farewell, Philippa!
Such a passion as mine may, in these
matter-of-fact, unromantic days, seem
an anachronism. No matter. whether
to sympathy or ridicule; | am but laying
.,are my thoughts and feelings.
/ would not return to my home at
once. | shrank from going back to my
lonely hearth and beginning to eat my
heart out. [ had made arrangements to
stay in town for some days; so stayed,
trying by course of what is termed
gayety to drive remembrance away. F,u-
tile effort! How many have tried the
81 me reputed remedy without success!
Four days after my interview with
Philippa, | was walking with friend
who knew everyone in town AS we
passed the door of one of the most eX-
elusive of the clubs, | saw, standing on
the steps and talking to other men, the
man whom | knew as Philippa's hus-
band. His face was turned from me-. SO
| was able to direct my friends attention
to him.
..Who is that man?'' / asked.
THAT man with the gardenia in his
coat is Sir Mervyn Ferrand.''
"Who is he? What is he? What kind
of man is hep
"a baronet Not very rich. Just
about the usual kind of man you see
on those steps. Very popular with the
ladies, they tell me-"
rs he married?'
Heaven knows! I don't l never
heard of a Lady Ferrand, although there
must be several who are morally entitled
to use the designation"
And this was her Philippa' s
husband!
| clinched my teeth. Why had he mar
knew that name by which she introduced
him to me was false, why was it as
sumed? Why had the marriage been
clandestine? Not only Sir Mervyn Fer
rand, but the noblest in the land should
be proud of winning Philippa! The more
l thought of the matter, the more
wretched | grew. The dread that she
had been in some way deceived, almost
drove me mad. The thought of my
proud, beautiful queen some day finding
herself humbled to the dust by a scoun-
drel's deceit, was anguish. What could
L do?
My first impulse was to demand an ex-
vyn Ferrand. Yet | had no right or au-
thority so to do. What was to Philippa
save an unsuccessful sutton? Moreover,
| felt that she had revealed her secret
to me in confidence. If there were good
reasons for the concealment, might
do her irretrievable harm by letting
this man know that l was aware
of his true position in society. No, /
could rot call him to account. But
must do something, or in time to come
my grief may be rendered doubly deep
by self-reproach.
She would at least tell me if the name
under which the man married her was
the true or the false one. Alas!
found she had left her home the day be-
fore-left it to return no more! The
landlady had no idea whittier she was
gone, but believed it was her intention
to leave England.
After this l threw prudence to the
winds. With some trouble | found Sir
Mervyn Ferrard's town address. The
next day | called on him. He also.
was informed, had just left England.
His destination was also unknown.
| turned away moodily. All chance of
doing good was at an end. Let the mar
riage be true or false, Philippa had de-
parted, accompanied by the man who.
for purposes of his own, passed under
the name of Farmer but who was really
Sir Mervyn Ferrand.
went back to my home, and amid the
wreck of my life's happiness murmured
a prayer and registered an oath.
prayed that honor and happiness might
be the lot of her / loved; / swore that
were she wronged / would with my
own hand take vengeance on the man
who wronged her.
For myself l prayed nothing-not even
forgetfulness. l loved Philippa; | had
lost her forever! The past, the present
words!
(To be Continued.l