The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1898-06-08
RESOLVED

III you please, ma'am, could speal
to you for one minute?" asked Mrs
Locksley.
Theodore Dale started from tn,
deep reverie in which she was buried
and looked up with large, startled
eyes.
Certainly, Mrs. Locksley." said
she. What is it," s-.
Its about the rent for the rooms
Mrs. Dale, said the landlady, drawing
herself up with little Jerk. 1.-TWO
good months you've occupied EN-
and it stands to reason, ma'am, as a
Woodworking widow woman, as has
only herself to look to, wants to see
the color of her money. Not as |
would have hurried you, ma'am,"
with a half-relenting glance toward
Theodora's deep mourning garments,
while the poor major lay i'll, nor yet
while he was being buried, but"
Theodore looked panied; the deep
scarlet dyed her cheeks.
Il am sorry to have incenvenienced
you, Mrs. Locksley," she said, but
I was, Of course, obliged to settle the
undertaker's bill at once, and that
has taken all the ready money which
| had at command. have written to
my husbands relatives, however, and
| expect remittances very shortly,
which"
Mrs. Locksley compressed her lips.
I've heard that same thing from
my dodgers before, ma'am," said she.
"All I can say is that would very
much like to have the bill paid as soon
as possible"
ut shall be paid tonight, Mrs.
Locksley, without fall" said Theodore.
her cheeks becoming even hotter than
before. And the instant the door clos
ed upon the short, stout figure of the
landlady, she let her head fall upon
her clasped hands, and burst into
tears, tears that were almost like
distilled fire, so scalding and bitter
were they.
Theodore Dale had been married
only three months. She had been a
schoolgirl of fifteen at Madame Bon
mercis establishment, just out of
Saratoga, when Major Lionel Dale saw
and admired her at the Springs. He
made some careless inquiries about
the young beauty with the gazelle-
like eyes, scarlet lips and blue black
hair that clustered so low upon her
forehead, and learned, in an incident
al sort of way, that she was an Or
phan. training at the expense of Ma
dame Bonmerci herself for a COVER
ness.
Hang i'll" said Major Dale, She's
too pretty for that! I'll marry her!"
Little Theodore Mayder, who had
scarcely left off playing with her dolls,
and was heartily sick of Madame
exactions on the one side,
and the unconscious tyranny Of the
children On the other, was half fright
ened, half pleased, when the hand
some, middle-aged major proposed
to her.
But l am so young!" she pleaded,
he carnations and lilies succeeding
each other on her cheeks.
you are the prettiest little half
bloom rosebud in the world" the ma
or made answer, CALAMITY.
Madame Bonmarci spoke word or
o of warning to her.
my child" said she, beware what
'ou are about. He is three times
our age-he CANDLES. 1t is true that
our life now is hard one, but"
Il shall marry him." retorted Theo-
ora.
AMI she did.
At the end Of the three months Ma
or Dale's favorite horse, Meg Mer-
lilies, ran away with him and killed
i'm, and Theodore, not yet sixteen,
'as left a widow. . &vot Y a,a.,..
Naturally enough she wrote to her
relatives, whom she had
over seen, and now, upon this Octo-
er evening, she was expecting an an
wer to the letter.
The color mounted to her face as
he postman paused under her win
ow-she caught the letter from his
ands and tore 1t eagerly open.
It contained nothing but her own
liter, returned to her with these
ords penciled across the envelope:
"Mr. Chandos Dale's compliments
the young lady who beguiled his
rother into a secret marriage, and he
confidently of opinion that her tai
ats in the misunderstanding line need
0 assistance"
And this cutting taunt, this gratui-
Jus insult, was all. D
Theodore sat pale and silent. She Il
new that her husband did not care s.
} refer to his relatives much, gener- ID
ly avoiding the subject when she
coached it, but she had never dream :
that he had allowed them to think
ar a mere adventures who had con- &
ived to entrap him into o disad-
'ntageous marriage. She had long
g this discovered that Lionel Dale
as a thoroughly selfish man, but she
I'd never dreamed how selfish. -,
But the blow, sharp and sudden as II
Is nerved her to further exertions.