Martinsburg independent. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1875-1900, 1898-01-08

with the tlfesteem of woman. If
you hurt a mans pride, he will
probably go off and sulk for great
er or less time; or it may be, if the
case is very bad, that he will even
kill himself.
But woman will have revenge.
You may think she has forgotten,
you may fancy she is impotent, but
there is this much of the oriental in
every woman-that she can wait.
Break her heart and she will still
let it be in the dust for you to tram
pie upon, and she will find the pain
pleasant; yet beware how you SO
much as wound her pride from the
wound will trickle stream of pois-
on that may flow slowly, but will
reach you in the end.
James Dudley's case went to
prove this. Very few knew why he
came to the end he did, but this was
the way of it:
When he was very young and just
out from the Point, he was sent to
a post miles from anywhere, and
there he became engaged to marry
the l4-year old daughter of Major
Gorschkov.
She was beautiful beyond the
dreams of art--far too gorgeous for
mere little girl. She should have
been historical. Such as Semiramis,
or the Queen of Sheba, or Zenobia
must have been, she was; therefore
it was natural enough that Dudley
should have thought himself in love
with her.
But he was clever fellow, with
very fair share of brains, and she
was an average child who was not
old CROUCH to return his love, but
was nightly pleased in an innocent
fashion at the importance the en-
gagement gave her.
At the end of year Dudley was
ordered away. Absenee opered his
eyes to tue fact that beauty alone
was not enough to make him happy
in his wife.
And he wrote to Esther and asked
her to release him, and to her par
ents he sent an explanation of his
conduct The mail orderly put both
letters into Esther's hands.
She read her own first. She was
Is years old now, and very proud.
She had also grown to care in
vague sort of way for the memory
of the lover OF her childhood.
The letter cut her through the
Russian down to the Tartar, and she
hated the man whom she chose to
think had BUNDLED Der. She tore it
and the one to her father into small
pieces.
There was one sentence in the for
mer that she did not understand.
The lieutenant had said: "In time
you will drink OF the waters of
Lethe, and forget me as utterly as /
deserve to be forgotten"
A few days later she told her
father she was not going to marry
james Dudley.
"Does he know it?' asked the
major.
ayes"
what is your reason ~
Nothing in particular. / simply
don't want to-
"Perhaps that won't satisfy him.
However, it is just as well. / never
supposed childish affair of that
sort would amount to much. You
are old enough to act for yourself
now"
In truth, Major Gorschkov had
ambitions that scared above mere
lieutenant for his daughter.
Esther was thankful to escape SO
easily. Presently she asked aPapa,
what does it mean to drink of the
waters of Lethe ~
The major explained.
"0h,' she said, 81 see,s and her
eyes narrowed cruelty.
Now it might have happened In
civil life that Dudley and Esther
Gorschkoy would never meet again,
but partings can only be temporary
in the service.
Some years later Lieut.. Dudley
walked into San Francisco theatre
one night alter the curtain had gone
up. The house was dark, and he
kept bis eyes on the stage At the
close Of the act he looked about him
and the first thing be saw was wo-
man whose beauty startled him.
Ard then he realized that she was