The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1897-07-17
CHAPTER XIII.

DOMAIN, as soon as he had closed the door
did she, when she sent for you this morn
ing, mention any symptoms which would
support my idea about heart diseaseT
mot one, Lord Kildonan. and l thinr
you may safely dismiss the notion alto
gether from your mind. Lady kildonan
physical health appears to me to be per
fectly sound, and the only thing tha'
seems to be wrong with her is a sheh'
tendency to ennui, and a spirited cr9vlng
for little more excitement than lite III
the country can give her. think shop
ping expedition to Liverpool would make
her all right again, or the trip to LONDON
she seems SO anxious for
did she say that 10 you right out, III
so many Words"
well, yes. at last"
'Ah! 1t is generally her health, or my
health. or something like that. and not
Please take me away, am dying of dull
ness And she is not dull. That is the
strangest part of it. She is as gay as q
lark. day after day. entering into all the
pleasures of the country as if there were
no others, and then suddenly there comes
a change, and she gets one of these rest
less fits. in which nothing will please her
get. If YOU could tell me the reason OF
this. and how to cure her, you would dc
me the greatest service any one has rem
dered me yet"
Armathwate said he would do his best
and he thought there was no need for
Lord i\ildonan to worry himself over the
natural caprices of lady accustomed tc
the instant qualification of her wishes.
But he remembered the flashes of fierce,
feverish longing in her eyes, and thought
of DR.. Peele and his secret. After listen
ing to MS assurances. Lord kildonan said;
well, | should like 70 comfort myself
with rhe belief that you are right. You
will understand my fear better if | show
Won letter | received from her father a
few days before her marriage. There is
only one passage | need trouble you with;
| have read it again and again.
There was little necessity for this eX-
PLANTATION: the letter itself betrayed the
fact. Worn in the folds SO that it scarce
ly held together, the old letter, which Lord
Ki.donan took from a case in his breast
pocket, showed evident signs of the mum
Der of times he had taken it out to pore
over it's meaning The particular passa &c
thus:
There are two injunctions which. be
fore you marry Aphra, | wish particular
~ to impress upon you. The one is to
let her live always in the country, an ar
rangement which will | know. cause you
no inconvenience, as it is directly in ac-
cordance with your own tastes. From her
earliest childhood this has been impressed
upon me by the medical men who have
seen Aphra. for they point out to me that
her buoyant health and spirits are not
such n sign of a robust constitution As
we should like 10 think, and that in the
vitiated air and distracting excitement of
town, she would pine and die. | beseech
YOU not to he coerced by her girls cray
ing for amusements into doing anything
So hurtful to her as residing i'll town
would be. particularly Il great city like
London or Liverpool. The second thin z
| wish to impress upon you is said not in
her interests. but in the interests of the
estates which will after my death be IN
YOUR care: Buy her everything in the
world she wants, in reason. but pay for
II Yourself. Do not let her have any
command of money. for living in the coun-
trv where there is nothing to buy, the
reckless generosity of her nature will
cause hor to become the prey Of every
scamp and idle baggage who chooses To
appeal to her. and encourage the pauper-
ism which il has always been my endea-
yor 10 suppress earnestly enioin you
70 follow nv advice in these two things
a believe you will do absolutely in con
sideration of the entire confidence | have
placed in you, of the Importance of the
trust | make over to YOU, and of the hap
piness | feel in the knowledge that my
dear child and everything else | care for
in this world will be in the charge of q
man | respect and esteem as do YOU.
That is the passage said Lord Xii
DOMAIN, when Armathwaite had got As far
as this. II read it quite simply when
first received il. But since then the fire.
nuent recurrence of her fits of feverish
melancholy has made me wonder whether
there vas not a deeper meaning in her
fathers words whether in fact the del
icary tn which he referred was not really
q disease. which might carry off my wife
At any moment if she We're exposed to the
strain of undue excitement Now. doesn't
il strike Won in that Light
III is certainly possible interpreta
ticn 70 put upon il. On the other hand
Won must make allowance for the eSaC
eerated sentiment of a father with an
only child: especially as you see from the
other clause. his far-fetched fear that a
little indiscriminate charity would breed
pnuperism. to what wild ideas his morbid
sensibility could lead him
Yes. yes. that is true: that notion is
far-fet ched. Of course. Yes After n
pause he raised his head. DIR. Arma-
thwaite you have given me great COM
fort. Young blood ike yours is sanguine.
aud You see things in trlier. healthier
light than we old fogeys. who Groom over
our real and imaginary troubles. Yes.
yes: far-fetched. that's what it is-far-
fetched. might have had the sense 10
see that for myself"
And row let me venture upon a word
for yourself. Lord kidonan. Get her lady
ship 70 take You out with her on her long
drives. and give up your night work. and
you Will he different man"
"A different man. All, its too late
too late, And my night work. can't
give up that. The night is the worst time;
ances and ones follies. My studies keen
me occupied: l couldn't give them up
Not 10 please your wife,:
His face changed. and he shook mis-
head.
If she wanted me TO- yes-I would
then. But how should she. poor child ?
She thinks they make NE happy. and |
would rot for the world undeceiye her.
Since the seizure had in the autumn. |
can't bear The light and the buzz Of talk in
-,