The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-02-12
The Return.


tered this house. since he and his wife
had separated. They had been divorced
fooIishly.
The reason? A peccadillo. that she had
taken seriously. Both their lives ruined,
During this time he had seen his daugh-
| ter but once a month, and he had never
seen his wife, except one time, at dis
lance. in the Bots.
Now that Queen. the daughter,
was to be married he came 10
lead her to the altar The room
was filed with flowers. white roses and
boughs of lilacs The wedding presents
were placed on a table in a corner OF the
room.
Mr.. Saulius turned round at the sound
of footsteps His wife stood before him.
He bowed tremendously; she returned
his salutation, offering him chair
He seated himself They began to talk
upon Indifferent subjects. Then the scenes
of their former life passed before their
eyes. AT first, smiling, joyous, brilliant
with changing colors, illumined by the
sun, then sad, dull and wretchedly dreary.
Evoked by the circumstance that caused
them to meet again-they both recalled
the day when they were married, and,
Mrs Saulius, turning her head suddenly,
said almost involuntarily:
Let us hope that Queen will be happier
An unhappy marriage would kill her"
She stopped abruptly, regretting the
words
Mr.. saulius looked at her sadly and re-
piled:
Yes"
"Mr. .Guersac is a charming man." he
said again, after while. He loves Queen
dearly. 1 hear only the most favorable
| reports of him. One can only reproach
| t,sr t. xx-if n n laN IL OF
fortune But the settling of young girl
| whose parents are divorced is always diff
ficuIt'
Yes" said Mrs Saulius, sadly, I'VE
have no right to be too exacting."
There was another silence. Then Mr.
Saulius said
You will feel lonely now"
She bowed her head.
However, you will be able to see her
every day, as she will continue to live in
| the neighborhood.
'It will not be the same. Ny home will
not be her home.'' she said.
a cry of reproach escaped him.
What have 1 suffered then? I, who
have seen her but once a month for the
last ten years?''
81 have never denied you the privilege
of seeing her." she replied.
| yes! A half-day's visit brought by a
|
| Queen, little as she was, did not under
! stand? That she did not have the intui-
| ton of the injury that was done to me?
| That she did not suffer from it?''
Mrs. Saulius flushed, and, rising, ex-
! claimed:
''Ah! Injury, You exasperate me- How
| ever, you are right. Children always
suffer for the faults of their fathers
He coldly corrected her. "Of their par
ents."
She looked at him proudly.
with what do you reproach me?" she
asked.
Your lack of heart. You were relent-
less. For an error of a moment"
She interrupted him Indignantly:
"A friend of minei Whom you met
here in this room at my houser
Yes. 1 did wrong, but it was only
passing weakness. In reality, 1 loved
only you, and you were without pity.
| Guided only by your wounded pride, you
wished the separation and nothing could
change your determination. You pursued
your work of vengeance with a fierce te-
nacity You wished it complete, not only
in separating yourself from me, but in
taking away the child that 1 loved as
much as you. You broke two hearts but
your pride was satisfied"
She stopped him with gesture.
Sir you are mistaken
He replied more coIdly.
II forgot myself. I ask your pardon.
This is neither the place nor the hour for
explanation. And. then, what good will
it do? All is indeed lostI'
20, pray you, do not pose as a mar
tyri If any lives have been sacrificed they
are mine and our daughters. AS regards
yourself, you have certainly profited by
the liberty that I returned you. You did
not seem to suffer because you did not see
me any more"
ut is true said Mr. Saulus, trying
to steady his voice. 1T continued in nv
course, but did it for revenge I WISH
ed TO conceal my pain for you. I acted
indifferently. I wished to make you as
unhappy as you had made me, to make
you suffer in your turn. l tortured myself,l
in vain. I understood that if you were so
decided, If nothing could move you, you
certainly no longer loved me-
At this confession the poor woman gave
a cry of pain.
''I!'
Yes, and you joyfully seized this occa-
sion, which offered itself, to regain your
freedom" He went on: You were 50 |
much the more pleased because you loved |
perhaps some one in secret"
you thought that of me?" she cried.
Yes"
cit is lforriblei It is frightfulp'
She sank into chair, hiding her face in /
her hands
Then suddenly Selling his hand and pull |
ing him to her. she looked into his eyes /
and gave expression to the feelings so /
long concealed. q adored your she said: /
81 suffered thousand deathsl II I did /
as you say it was because thought you 1
had ceased TO love me. All. if 1 had 1
known We have both been deceived /
Neither of US would confess or make the I
first advance. Our pride has stood in the /
way of cur happiness. and for lack of 1
a moments frankness both our lives have
been ruined. We know It is too late. Our
youth is gone. II would be useless to at
tempt to reconstruct the ediice of our
happiness. We are not the same
Mr. Saulius looked at his wife intently /
He understood the mistake which had
separated them. Each had believed the
one had ceased TO love the other, and
wounded and indignant they had sepa-
rated. Her words, II adore you" sent
a thrill Of happiness through him. and
lighted for a second all his past lonely life
Ike the last fame OF a confagration burn
ed out
You loved me? Is It possible?' he cried
Yes" replied the woman in a broken
voice. You Will never know how muchi
The grief the regrets OF what have lost
through self-love have broken my heart
And the comedy Of Indifference that i'm
posed upon myself I wished to play untn
the end
He pressed her hand gently; Ny poor
Madeline, :. also. have been cruelty pun
ished- Al. II I had known
She made quick gesture
''OT Il We had taken time 70 consider"
YES"