Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1899-10-05

ODer was Norma. Lord Chandos
heard nothing and saw nothing but the
wonderful face OF Norma; every note
OF that music went home to his heart
the love, the trust, the reproaches.
When she sang them in her grandly
pathetic voice, 1t was though each one
were addressed to himself. Three
tmies did Lady Chandos address him
without any response, a thing which In
her eyes was little less than a crime.
"How you watch La Vanira," she
said. II am sure you admire her very
much"
He looked at her with eyes that were
dazed-that saw nothing: the eyes OF
man more than half mad.
"And now look" she said, why
Lance, La Want "a Ia looking at me-
What eyes she has. They stir my
very heart and trouble me. They are
saying something to me-"
Marion, hush! What are you talk
Ing about?" he cried.
la Vanra's eyes-she Is looking at
me, Lance"
"Nonsense!" he said, and the one
word was so abruptly pronounced that
Lady Chandos felt sure 1t was nonsense
and said no more.
But after that evening he said no
more about going to the opera. II he
felt any wish to go he would go; it
would be quite easy for him to make
some excuse.
And those evenings grew more and
more frequent. He did not dare to
disobey Leone; he did not dare to go to
her house, or to offer to see her in the
her accidentally, but that happy acct
dent never occurred; yet he could not
rest, he must see her; something that
was stronger than himself drew him
near her.
He was weak OF purpose; he never
rosolutely took himself In hand and
said.
81 am married now. have wife Mt
home. Leones beauty. Leone's tai
ents, are all less than nothing to me,
! VIII w VI w w my WIG,
He never said that, he never braced
his Will, or his energies to the task of
forgetting her; he dalied with
the temptation as he had done before;
he allowed himself to be tempted as
he had done before; the result was that
he fell as he had fallen before.
Every day his first thought was how
he could possibly get away that even
ing without drawing particular atten-
ton to his movements; and he went
so often that people began to laugh and
to tease him and to wonder why he was
always there.
Leone aIw2ys saw him. If any one
had been shrewd and quick enough to
follow her, they would have seen that
she played to one person. that her eyes
turned to him continually: that the
gestures of her white arms seemed to
woo him. She never smiled at him,
but there were times, when she was
singing some lingering, pathetic notes.
1t seemed as though she were almost
waiting FOR him to answer her.
He did not dare go behind the scenes,
to linger near the door, to wait for her
with one eager desire to see her. He
went night after night to the box; he
sat In the same place; he leaned his
arms on the same spot, watching her
with eyes that seemed to flash fire as
they rested on her.
1n nYlv ,I at r.
gan to wonder II 1t could DE possible
that Lord Chandos, with that beauti-
full Vito, the queen OF blondes, was be-
ginning to care for La Vanira; he
never missed one night OF her acting,
and he saw nothing but her when she
was ON the stage.
Again one evening Lady Chandos
said to him:
Lance, have YOU noticed how sell
dom you spend an evening that Is, the
whole of an evening with me? II you
20 to II ball with me, it seems to me
that you are always absent for m hour
or two"
You have vivid imagination, my
dear Wife" he replied.
And yet ho knew 1t was on the nigh.
Leone played; he could no moro have
kept from going to SEQ her than he
could have flown; it was stronger than
himself, tho impulse that led him
there.
Then his nights Became all fever;
hiS days all unrest; his whole heart
and soul oraved with passionate long
ing FOR ono half hour with her, and yet
he dared moi seek it. Even then, had
he striven to conquer his love, and
have rosolutely thought OF his duty,
his good faith and his loyalty, he
would have conquered, as any strong
man can conquer when he likes; he
never tried When tho impulse led
! thought Of her; when the temptation
came to him to think OF her, he
thought of her, when t,.e temptation
came to him to love her. he gave way
20 1t and never once set his Will against
II.
Then, when the fever OF his longing
! consumed him. and his life had grown