The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1897-10-29

oarinlnow' s side-to the delight of his
liother' Who watched the two from her
.'ii-cnalr ny the fireplace, where she sat
h1u OF seml-royal state, with Mrs.
Nulciber for her lady in waiting.
MT Nestorius seated himself near a
reading lamp, and opened his portfolio.
FIRST, let me restore the original pa
pers, lie said, handing Lashmar a pack
e.' Ihey are there, unreadable to the or
ulnarE eye. You will keep them in trust
LOT stella. Here are the copies. -Four
are love letters, pure and simple, written
by the future Mrs. Boldwood to her hus-
nand. The fifth and last is from Mrs.
boldwood's father, and it dated two years
after the date of the other four, and was
written, as l understand it, just before
stella's birth. 1t is letter that may
nave helped to bring around the mothers
untimely DEATH"
W!ll you be good enough to read them
10 me!' asked Lashmar, hating himself
Tor never having learned Spanish.
N-Fum, n-yum, n-yum" began the
statesman, murmuring gibberish, as he
ran MS eye over the page. perhaps it
is hardly worth your while to hear the
love letters. Such things are always
alike"
will have every word," answered
l.ashmar. "If you don't read them /
shall think YOU don't know Spanish"
THAT is challenge, said Nestorius,
$50 here goes"
He cleared his throat and began:
Alas! dear one, know not where or
when can hope to meet you again. Not
IN the church, or on the way to the
church. 1t is too dangerous. Nita never
leaves lnc-and l had hard work to pre-
vent her telling my father of our last
meeting. will be in the garden between
seven and nine o'clock every evening. If
there might be chance that way it would
ne so sweet to see you again, just for
few minutes by the little door, while Nita
mas gone into the house on some errand.
You know how watchful she is, and how
she always brings her sewing out into
the garden to sit with me. There is so
little for her to do in the house of an even
ing. My father is almost always out of
doors at his club or with his friends.
How can you talk of your shabby coat,
dearest? Do you think value people for
their coats? And if you are ever so poor
now, yoa, who are so clever, are sure to be
rich some day. Or, if you are always poor,
it will make no difference to me. Nita saws
my father has large fortune; but I have
never seen any signs of riches in our
house. We have no fine furniture, or
plate, or Jewels-only the things that my
greatgrandfather had before the PENN
sular war. We have all we want, but no
more. II YOU could only see my father
and talk to him and get his consent to our
marriage should be the happiest girl in
Madrid. Yours everlastingly,
"INEZ."
The next letter was more impassoned
and glanced at past meetings, at vows
interchanSed. The next, again, was still
wilder outpouring of a girls all-confding
love. No more talk of the fathers con-
sent All was surrendered to the lover.
Whatever may be your fate 1 will share
it. l will go with you to the end of the
world" n second suitor had appeared, of
noble family, wealthy, middle-aged, ia
vored by the father. The girl shrank
from him With loathing, flung herself in
to the arms of her out-at-clbows English
man. ",rake me away from them, dear
est" she pleaded, ''or my father will make
me marry that man. He ragged with
anger when l told him that there was
some one else cared for. He swore he
would lock me up till my wedding day.
Take me away, Juan: make me safely
your wife before he can lock me up. No,
dearest, l am not afraid Of poverty with
YOU"
The last of the four letters was the
briefcst, arranging rendezvous which
was to end in an plOpement
Then, after an interval of two years,
came the fathers letter-curt, icy, in
cisiye:
"You chose your own path in defiance
of me. You may keep it. Whether it
lead YOU to the gutter or the grave is of
no matter to me. You disobeyed and you
deceived me for the sake of an English
adventures You have your recompense
in your adventurer's love. You say that
he is still devoted and that by the labor
of his hands he earns your daily bread.
You are better off than you have any
right to he-you, the disobedient, deceit
full daughter. You tell me that child
will soon be born to you and that you
would Win my forgiveness for yourself
and bespeak my love for that unborn
child. 1 answer you that l have plucked
you out of my heart, that you are for me
neither loved nor hated, but non-eXistent.
AS for your unborn child, there is no beg
bars brat about to be spawned in the al
leys of this city whose birth will be more
Indifferent to me. X. o..
These initials were the only signature.
The only address was Madrid. Difficult
to trace the writer by such indications.
care the language and orthography
those OF an educated pcrson!' asked
Lashmar.
"Undoubtt dly."
"And the date would agree with that
of Stel!a's birth. Then we may dismiss
the idea of Il gypsy origin
II think So This X. o. may have be-
longed 10 the professional or the CONNER
cial classes. There is nothing in the girls
letters to imply that her people were no
BILE; and, indeed, her fathers cagerness to
marry hcr to suitor of good birth indi-
Gates that such a marriage would have
been promotion
And this vindictive father is perhaps
the original of the miniature"
Most likely" answered Nestorius, clos
ing his portfolio. "The costume is that
Of five and twenty to thirty years ago. A
snonish pirl's elopement with m English