Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1899-11-09
Story Of the Wedding Ring.
By BERTHA M. CLAY.
By BERTHA M. CLAY.


love, and that, before he had read hel
letter, she would be Thornton Came.
ron's wife.
He read the words with frown, an6
took an oath never while he lived tc
look upon her face again-an oath
whichshe kept unbroken.
He might have taken dozen differ
ent methods of Furnishing the man who
had robbed him of his daughter; he
adopted none Of them. He contented
himself with casting her off forever
She was no longer a Carlswood; his
love for her had changed into bitter
est hate. She had broken the long
spell-he could never say again that
no Carlswood had ever contracted a
low marriage; he could never boast
that the name twas unsullied. She
had stained by running away with
a low-bornt stranger; nothing could
restore its lustre, nothing could give
back it's lost glory. His anger was
something charlottesville in it's
depth, it's silence, its intensity. To
himself he said that if she were lying
at his feet dying of hunger, he would
not give her bread.
He made no loud complaints; he
never mentioned her name. If any
one attempted to condo1e with him, he
held up his hand with a stately gest-
ure that enforced silence. His scorn,
his anger, his terrible Indignation,
lay too deep for words. He went at
once to Bralyn, where all the house
hold were prepared to defend them
selves; but he did not condescend to
ask any questions. His game keep
ers wished to tell him of rambles in
the woods, of stolen meetings in the
grounds; the naughty nobleman re-
fused to hear syllable. He dis
missed the governess with a sardonic
compliment; he gave orders that
everything which had ever belonged to
the unfortunate Katrine should be re-
moved from the house; he refused to
say where they were to be taken or
anything about them, and they were
ultimately deposited in the gate-keep-
er's lodge.
Despite his pride, his sternness, his
terrible contempt and scorn, there was
something pitiful in the proud mans
silent, solitary despair He took down
the record of his childrens births: he
read over the names of his boys: and
then great mist of tears seemed to
hide the word "Katrine" from him
burning tears, all the more painful
because since his wife's death he had
shed none. He sat alone in his
library and before him rose like so
many ghosts all the hopes he had
centred in that beautiful daughter:
he remembered her as a lovely child
as lovely high-spirited girl. He
thought of the dead mother who had
loved her so dearly and a deep bitter
sigh came from the depths of his over
charged heart. His daughter-his
| daughterl
Never more was he to hear the gay
| young Voice-never more to watch the
beautiful face; she was worse, ten
thousand times worse. than dead.
Dead, he could have loved her still,
he could have visited her grave, he
could have spoken of her; but she was
dishonored and disgraced, she was I'M
|
brought the first stain upon the name
of Carlswood-she who had stopped to
deceive him.
Slowly he opened the silver ink
stand, and drew his pen through the
name
"Katrine Ismay Carlswood."
One by one the letters disappeared
beneath his heavy stroke, and when
they had all disappeared it seemed to
him that his daughter lay dead. In
silence more bitter than the silence OF
death he laid his face down on the
obliterated words.
Presently he arose and closed the
record, drawing his stately figure to its
full height.
Il have mourned my dead" he said
to himself: now it remains for me to
forget"
And forget. to all outward appear
ance. he did. He called the butler.
who from having been so long with
him was raised to the dignity of con-
tdential friend.
You know Mrs. Camerons hand
writing" he said BE good enough
} for the future to look over all letters
before | see them; and. il there are
any from her, destroy them"
And after that time Lord Carlswood
lived as though he had no daughter
, Only the Jutler knew how many
, eart-broken letters came to Bralyn
how many pathetic appeals, how many
cries for help. Even if Lord Carls-
J wood had known. il would have made
no difference would rather have
died rather than have yielded.
So time passed on, and the name OF
. the young girl who had been the pride
iof his race was never even heard. all
traces of her had disappeared. and
the servants had ceased, even in
) whispers, 10 refer to her.
Lord Carlswood grew prouder than
ever.
Il have three sons" he would say ia
himself. land they will do honor to
my name"
People said afterwards that he was
Justly punished for his pride. The