The representative. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1893-1901, 1899-12-21
OLD LOVE-. TRUE LOVE

When an English lady determines to
elope from her husband 1t may be safely
predicated that she is very inexperienced
or very badly treated. The case of Lady
Laura Lyndhurst falls under the first cate
CORY. thus explaining, too her ENHANCEMENT
with Cecil Templeton, a gentleman who
followed the equally glorious and lucrative
profession Of officer in the army. His rea-
sons for suddenly finding that he could
exist no longer without the society of an
other mans wife fortunately need not be
given here; they were nearly as numerous
as his debts, and, seeing that foreign travel
was an urgent necessity. his astuteness in
discovering woman foolish enough to bear
the Incidental cost will recommend itself
TO the approval il not to the imitation of
the prudent
1t was 1920 o'clock Lady Lyndhurst
draped in dark cloth mantle, was nery-
ously adjusting travelling cape OF the same
material as she stood alone before her mir
ror On chair close by lay the splendid
dinner toilet which she had just made a
pretense OF removing before Diminishing her
maid for the night
She knew that time did not press indeed.
she was In advance of the hour appointed
by Templeton In his note, but somehow
everything seemed to 60 wrong at the last
moment; there were unforeseen diflculties
about her simplest acts, and her memory.
admirably under control on other occasions.
mad begun to grow curiously FESTIVE as the
minutes went by, Outside could be heard
the cold, fierce patter OF wintry rain upon
the window panes, while now and again
0p,n Nf ,{uht IND
their frames.
At length she had completed all prepara-
lions. and. leaving the glass. sat herself
down to write to her husband the letter she
understood was imperatively demanded by
tradition. She commenced, Dear Ralph'-
then paused. effaced the words and began
anew lower down, but, shocked at her i'll
breeding. flung the sheet away and chose
another. She got as far as the date-which
ne would hardly require to be reminded Of
and paused again. the tip Of her Quill to her
lips. staring at the noble motto above the
address. What on earth should she write?
women she remembered usually had good
deal to say on such emergencies; q senti-
mental barmaid, who the week before had
committed sensational suicide with the
aid OF oxalic acid, had been very fluent. and
the heroine of a novel she finished only that
same morning had displayed considerable
eplstolary powers when renouncing a brutal
husband, and here she sat without a word
to throw at dog, much less a spouse: It
was very puzzlng. She forgot that the
diffuseness of the former lady was owing
to an uneducated exercise of the faculty of
selection, defect painfully noticeable in
her chemical essay, while the prolixities of
the latter were due. like England's great
ness. to sound commercial policy In
cho tod
that this would be the second occasion on
which she wrote to her husband during
their IL months Of married life the thought
did not make the words fow To write the
treachery she meditated was not easy after
all. Still she persevered doggedly jotting
down phrase here and there the stealthy
hand of the little clock stealing over the
painted dial the hearth ire dwindlins be-
low
At last, weary of her task, she rose. and
throwing open the window nearest looked
out upon the night. MY God! nv Cod" she
whispered, must this be irrevocable? What
II shall learn to repent when repentance
will be in van?" The sleet drove pitilessly
against her brow, beating down the dainty
.curls clustering there but she did not heed
So she remained. pallid face questioning
the darkness which held no answer Slowly
a belfry somewhere away eastward chimed
the hour. the very hour at which she should
leave that house forever.
Starting from her reverie she returned to
the table, and taking up the discarded pen
forced herself to write anew until the mis-
sive was finished and sealed. Then pausing
moment to glance round the coy room
she ext!nguished the light stepped into the
passage and locked the door, thrustinR the
key underneath, proceeding for which she
NHp0
that 1t looked picturesquely final.
Lord Lyndhurst's apartments lay on the !
opposite wing Of the mansion, and it would
take some time to traverse the corridors. !
Mechanically she turned to the library as |
she passed and looked in; his lordship's |
valet was doing beside the fire. she |
thought Of leaving the letter there, but |
the mans presence deferred her Retracing |
her steps, she reached her husbands room: |
1t was tenantless, as she expected. Placing |
the sealed envelope conspicuously upon his |
dres ing case, she turned to leave the place,
but stopped short chilled by sudden
thoJ yht. my purse!" She had forgotten
that adjunct indispensable to sinner or
saint. and return for it now was out of the
question. Money she never lacked A few
words would she knew bring thousands
from her bankers tomorrow, but at that
precise moment she was poorer than the /
shivering flower girls in the square below
plodding home with their meager earnings
How absurd" she muttered. To 20 thus
vas unthinkable-a crime she might com
m!t-a betise never! She glanced at her
watch. Time had taken wings within the
last quarter of an hour. Whatever she would
do must be done at once, but what to do?
She looked around desperately. Close be-
side the case stood a small ivory casket-a
pretty curiously worked Indian toy She
knew Lord Lyndhurst frequently kept let
tiers OF consequence in such a receptacle:
why not money for current expenses also?
Her cheeks flushed.
Two Malay krises, mementos of foreign
travel. lay near She caught up one her
face ablaze with scarlet shame; she was
about to wrong the man she had sworn to !
love. but were there deeper depths still?
For q moment she wavered; then, grow !
Ing hot and cold by turns. she inserted one
Of the dagger points between the casket
lids. 1t was not quite easy to pry asunder.
the ivory being strengthened by steel bands
within, but, exerting all her force, she did
succeed in wrenching the cover aside. What
to her eyes was a confused mass of papers
lay atop; beneath, however, she saw the
CLEAN Of gold.
She hastily took the money, some score
Of sovereigns, and then was about to rush
ho vvho