The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-07-11
that of my child, was amply provided


for.
Had 1t not been for Allan, the re-
lations between Lisa and me, strained
by the rude shock to which they had
been subjected, might have widened
into a considerable breach. But his
almost constant presence in our midst
dtspelled the shadow of aloofness that
had threatened to settle between US,
and his ready tact by degrees blended
into new harmony the sad discord
that had made wretched our hearts.
I had another talk with Lisa the
day after the denouement. What l
said to her was little more than a
repetition of what 1 had urged the
previous night, but she was in far
calmer mood, and 1 felt that what
said would gain better and more
reasonable hearing now than it had
gained then. She was still very nom
committal, however, and I felt that
her prejudices had suffered no abate
ment. | finished by beseeching her to
suspend judgment until she had had
better opportunity to form an unbiased
opinion of those things she deprecated
than had been afforded her within the
seclusion and contracted limits of
convert school.
And there we left the matter; and
there, heaven be thanked! 1t has re
NAMED safely buried under an &C.
cumulating heap of sacred tokens Of
mutual love and esteem, which have
formed a sort of druid's cairn above
the vault where all hideous disaffec-
tons lie inferred We are one now
in love and comprehension and SYM
pathy. 1 have but one secret from my
child, and that is my own. 1 have
miser's greed concerning it. Have
l not purchased the right to keep 1t
at such a price as warrants in me the
desire to hoard it?
1 watched the development of that
wonderful germ of love-at- first-sight,
which had been generated at a single
glance in my dressing that fate.
full night, with a satisfaction and
pleasure that, assuredly at first, were
quite impersonal 1t was not until it
had become full-grown that the idea
of a resulting benefit to myself oc-
CURED to me. And was it strange
that, when it did present itself to me,
the thought that the contamination of
Lisa's happiness would be the key
to unlock the door to my union with
Richard should seem a good omen
for the prosperity of my love for him
He came not over-frequently, but
occasionally, to see me. 1 had not
thought it necessary quite to forbid
his visits, and his own good taste kept
him, at present, without the bounds IF
intimacy. 1 no longer saw him alone,
although we managed to hold tete-a-
tete in the full presence of Lisa, Allan
and JEANNE. We both felt that we
were undergoing a term Of probation.
and, assured Of each others love, we
bided the issue with admirable pa
tience
And so matters went on for a time
with the uneventfulness which marks
prosperity. Lisa and I gradually drew
closer together again, and 1 found
compensation for the occupation 1 was
denied in the novel pleasure of her
dear companiOnShip, and in the prom
Use of yet nearer and more intimate
union, the realization of which hung
contingent upon her marriage. It
seemed, as the days passed, as if, the
child grew repentant of her harsh jEdg-
ment of me, and, though she made no
open and pronounced manifestation of
her regret, she testified to it in a thou
sand tender and endearing little acts
and ways
One day I spoke to Richard of the
attachment which was springing up
between his son and my daughter
You have noticed it yourself, have
you not?' l asked, after abiding to
From the first" he replied.
ut has your sanction
Il could ask no more desirable wife
for him." he returned, with unmistak-
Than the daughter of the Queen of
Hearts'?" 1 asked, ENTHUSIASTICALLY
half-bitterly, for the thorn of his dis
appreciation still ranked in my breast
Than the daughter of the woman
L hope some day to make my wife," he
answered gravely, and the light and
fire in his eyes flooded my spirit and
held me wrapped in ecstacy and ST.
lent.
We were standing apart from the
young people, pretending to be engaged
with some rare old china which I had
recently bought at auction. After a
short pause, which was rendered al
most solemn by reason of the reflec-
tions that engrossed it, he said, softly
and gently, yet with passionate inten-
sity and the strong emphasis of long
depressed emotion:
Pauline, that day must not be need
lessly deferred"
Of late the air had been more than
usually tanned with sinister reports
concerning her whom gossip called
Mrs, Dicky." Barron had been SUI
scandalous character, but of such So
cial prestige that many women Of the
world contended for the dishonor of
his notice. Irene Quintard had f1aunt-
ed her conquest of this notorious black
guard, Belmont Cooper, boldly and tri-
uI1phantly before the world, and it
had fallen to my lot to hear many of
her husbands acquainances comment
upon his passivity in a matter where
the honor of his name was endangered.
L looked searchingly at him now, and,
as had not trusted myself to study
his face much since our reconciliation,
L was surprised and panied to see how
sadly it had changed in the interim.
There were now many creases on the
brow; that expression of determined
laisser-aller or philosophic resignation,
which in the past had been it's most
salient characteristic, had given place
to frowning moroseness; the always
thin cheeks had grown absolutely hol-
low, and upon the lips loved there sat
a grim spirit of harsh resolve.
My heart went out to him in uncon-
trollable yearning. No words of his
were necessary to assure me at what
cost of suffering to himself his wife's
reckless emancipation had been grant
ed. l could read the amount of paw
ment which had been eXacted from his
pride and honor in plain signs written
upon his features. My heart swelled