The Red Cloud chief., 1898-03-18

that they 40 to the other extreme. and
make their Williams such unmitigated
Williams that it is impossible TO find
one single ray Of virtue wherewith to
redeem their character from its iuky
pail of utter blac,,nCss. Dut let mo
tell you that il all the women novel
lists who write stories in the English
language were to concentrate their cf-
forts upon the task of trying to de-
pict the y~illainy of Lord Aylmcr's ma
tural deprayity. | am afraid that in
the end they would have to call In
the aid of their masculine confrcres
to adequately complete the portrait.
Fol the noble lord was all bad, thor
oughly bad what up in the north
country they call bad. corr through
Yet he had a delightful whea
he chose, and in early middle age Lad
made a genuine lovc-match with \
beautiful young woman at least SIN
teen years younger than himself-a
pennilcss as wei AS a beautiful young
woman. upon whom he had lavished
SO much love and attention that with
In three months of his marriage his
love had burned itself out. and was
as dead as any dead volcano. a few
weeks later Lord Aylmer practically
separated himself from his wife, al
though they continued to share the
same house. and he appeared before
the world as much as possible as "
no breach had ever been opened be-
tween them.
Not by Lord Aylmer's desire. this
oh! no. but because her ladyship had
never been so genuinely in love with
him as he had been with her. and was.
moreover, perfectly alive to the solid
worldly advantages of being Lord Ayl-
mer's wife. the mistress Of Aylmer's
Field and of the handsome town house
in Belgrave Square.
"Of course ! know that there are
Others" she said in reply to a dear
friend who thought 1t her duty to open
this young wife's eyes, and, of course,
/ know that Aylmer wants to get rid
OF me: but | don't mean to be got rid
of. and | put up with the others be-
cause | think doing 80 the lesser of
two evils. There is only one Lady
Aylmer, and she is Il strong and
healthy young woman. who means 20
be Lady Aylmer for at least fifty years
longer. Yes. | know. my dear, all
that you feel about It. | quite appre-
ciatc your feelings toward me. Oh, yes,
IL was your duty to tell me. but | am
not going to cut myself out Of all that
makes life worth living just to obligc
in three months"
To this decision Lady Aylmer had
from that time forward kept most
rigldly. AS far as her husband was
concerned, nothing seemed to annoy
her, and whenever she wished to do
so and condescended to try TO get her
own way by means Of Il little fiattery.
she generally succeeded; and now that
Lord Aylmer had got into the sixties
she was simply a stately, even-temper-
ed, iron-willcd and exceedingly healthy
woman, who looked as II she meant
to live to he ninety.
1t was partly on the subject OF his
wife's extreme hcalthiness that Lord
Aylmer was thinking that morning as
he smoked his cigarette and tried "a
assure himself hat the twinge in his
left foot were merely a sign OF a COM
ing shower and nothing in the world
to do with govt at all. And just as a
worse twinge than usual made him
vince and SILVER, the door opened gent.
~ and Il man-scryant made his I'D.
pcarancc.
(To be Continued.)