The River Falls times. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1894-1933, 1898-03-08

49,
lovely. She had two sisters and one
brother.
When Regina, for that was my
mothers name was about sixteen. there
came to Hiltland Manor a young man
named John Rudolph. He came as
sort of tutor to an orphan nephew of
Lord Hiltland's, whom he had adopted
into the family. Rudolph was just the
sort of person to attract the fancy of
romantic young girl, whose only
glimpse of life had been through the
highly-draWn novels she had read He
was gloomy and stern enough for a
hero. He had suffered much in his
short life, and had struggled hard with
poverty and by his own indomitable
perseverance had worked his way
through college. His pride was strong
even as Lord Hiltland's, and his cum
ming craft unequaled Far back for
some generations his ancestors had be-
longed to the gypsy race, and perhaps
to this fact he owed his dark complex
ion, and his great, passionate, black
eyes.
'His gloomy melancholy touched the
sensitive heart of Regina, and she be-
gan to be kind to him in various little
ways. She gave him books from the
rare old library, she showed him choice
engravings, she asked his assistance
sometimes in her little flower garden,
and by and by she learned to love him.
| think he, also, in his cold, rude fash
ion, loved her, but he was too selfshly
calculating ever to feel a genuine pas
sion. At one time he so wrought upon
her innocent heart with his pitiful story
of wrong and desolation, and his ardent
profession of love, that she gave him
her promise to be his when she became
of age. No sooner had he obtained this
promise than he began to prosecute her.
His calls for money were incessant, and
she, poor girl was obliged to supply
them, or to be denounced to her father.
1t is doubtful if the rascal would have
risked going to Lord Hiltland, but he
held this terror up constantly before Re-
gina And she, from loving him, grew
to loathe him.
'By some means unknown to me Lord
Hiltland discovered the situation of
things, and his wrath was terrible.
Rudolph was kicked from the house
like dog, and Regina was sent to the
continent under the care of paternal
aunt. While in Paris, my mother first
met Pierre st. Cyril, young French
man of noble family and fascinating
personal appearance. The beauty of
Regina attracted him powerfully, and
when he became acquainted with her,
his admiration rapidly deepened into
love. There seemed, for once, no i'm
pediment to the marriage. They were
of equal birth, both were possessed of
strict sense of honor, and both were
strikingly handsome.
est. Cyril's only fault-if fault it can
be reckoned-was a severely stern sense
of honor, that could not tolerate for a
moment the semblance of deception
Although he had been brought up in
the frivolous French capital, his heart
was as pure as that of little child.
my mothers first error lay in the
decision which she took by the advice
of her aunt, not to make ST. Cyril ac-
quainted with the episode touching
John Rudolph. She, to do her Justice,
was anxious to speak of it to him, but
her aunt, who was q fashionable,
worldly woman, treated the idea with
contempt, and won from Regina a prom
Use never to mention the affair to her
| ho
something of st. Cyril's sensitive tenn
permanent, and feared that he might OBJ
ject to taking one whom he knew had
at some time fancied she loved another
''They we're married, and st. Cyril
took his wife to his chateau near Au-
vergne. They were very happy St.
Cyril was the most devoted of hus-
bands; they had abundance of wealth,
and there seemed to be nothing wanting
to complete their content. At the end
of two years | was there. think it was
about this time that my mothers real
trouble began. Rudolph sought her
out. By some means he had managed
to ascertain that Mr.. St. Cyril had been
kept in ignorance of their old love af-
fair, and rightly judging that my
mother would sacrifice much before she
would now have it revealed, he came
to her, and threatened her with expo
sure, if she did not at once deliver over
to him a certain sum of money. My
mother was terribly frightened, and she
gave Rudolph all the ready money she
possessed For a while he left her in
peace-but not for long. The dissi-
pated life he led demanded large sums
of money, and he was too indolent to