Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1900-10-17
Al End 70 AL THINGS.

III EID III I'LL IRINGS.
When they parted be had fallen at her
feet and kissed the hem Of her dress.
How ridiculous demonstration it APP
peared to him today, and yet he dreaded
to meet her again. She had treated him
atrociously he had considered at the time.
Enclished. she had amused herself with
him. and then given him his congo. She
was a married woman and he had been
a boy.
He recalled every incident of the fare
we'll. A Youthful passion it may have
been, but-he could not dispute; 1t even ,,l
now-it was passion that left It's mark.
There had been a conservatory open
inc out of the rooms she occupied. 1t
was in the conservatory that he had
made himself the most absurd-there,
and for a moment at the piano, at when
She had seated herself indifferently, and
where he had knelt to her like lover
in 1.-THE London Journals" She had
strolled along, shifting at the flowers, say.
ing cruel things to him IN her new and
careless voice, and he had followed her
wistfully like a whipped dog. pleading to
he readmitted to favor A spray of fern
that she had dropped had been captured
by him passionately-She had touched 1t
in their last moments together. She
shrugged her shoulders with sheer, and
his eyes filled at her cruelty.
''What do you suppose there was IN a
boy like you to hold a woman like me?'
she had asked.
It was the harshest thing she could
have said, and he remembered that at
that he had broken down altogether:
Good heavens how preposterous he had
been-how wrongly he mad gone to work.
always being pathetic and reproachful.
ST Ia jeunesse savait, ST Ia vicillesse pou-
Wait.
found balm for his wound in six
months as she had prophesied, but in
nine years he had married. and forgotten
her existence entirely until it was re-
called to him by the sight of her name in
the visitors list.
Now the recollections rushed back to
him, and while he laughed at his former
self as a fool, he was conscious of a
strange tremor at the prospect Of seeing
her once more.
He loved his wife sincerely. Twelve
months ago he could have contemplated
meeting Mrs. Jernyngham without mis-
giving. But he had been married twelve
months. The time had not lessened his
love, but it had naturally dispelled the
romance. After all, to be Sin love- with
q woman is a greater safeguard against
others than to Glove her. He was bound
to acknowledge to himself that he was
frightened at the thought of seeing Mrs.
Jernyngham again. He had, as mat
ter Of fact, avoided the Casino since he
knew she was in Dieppe.
He put down his paper, and looked
across at Nellie reading Tauchnitz nov
ell How pretty she was, and how trust
full! What would she say, could she di-
vine his present mood? Sinless as it
he was a foOl-Why should that make
him afraid to venture out of doors. He
was not fond of her still-of course he
was not
The Tauchnitz novel dropped to Mrs.
What are you thinking about, darl-
ing?' she asked.
L was thinking how charming you
look IN that frock, my dear he an
swered. He preserved the habit of MAX
ing graceful speeches to his wife Cyni-
cal bachelor friends said he forgot who
she was-that it was the force of habit
She shook her head doubtfully.
There was nasty black wrinkle be-
tween your eyebrows, Jack, and you
were tugglng your mustache, as you al
ways do when you're put out / do
look charming in this frock, I admit it
but you weren't thinking 500
He obeyed a sudden impulse
Nellie, come here. Do you remem-
Der, soon after we were married, you
asked me a question? You asked me if
than yourself"
Il remember" said Nellie ''Yes?"
L told you what an Internal idiot
had once made Of myself over married
woman. asked you, too never to use
a certain scent because it reminded me
of her. You know all that?"
II know; know; go on.
'Well, she's here, that's all, and-con-
found tim rather sorry"
Obi said Nellie. And then there
was a pause between them. She was
the one to break it.
Tits quite all over Jack? She
couldn't, she daren't, attempt to?
You're married-you would simply have
to bow and pass on. Besides, by your
own account she was-well, she didn't
care for you any more. Why should you
mind seeing her?"
81 don't know" he muttered. irreso-
lutey; I'D rather not that's all. Any
how, let's talk of something else We
are leaving Dieppe the end of the week
as a matter of fact, | dare say l shall
never come across her!'
Mrs. Maxwell, however was not salts
fed. For one thing, she wanted to re-
main longer in Dieppe than they had at
first proposed and for another. she OBJ
jected on principle to her husband be-
ing nervous of a rencontre with any wom-
an in the wide, wide world.
"Come for a walk she said, "and
don't be such a stupid boy. One would
think you were in love with her now. TO
hear you talk You'll make me jealousv'
And she made mirthless pretense at a
laugh which would have deceived no liv-
ing soul bat a husband. 'Get ready,
I'm going to put on my hat-and if
you're very good you shall come and
watch me lose all our money in the Ca
sino.'
She had never been more bewitching Or
coquettish in their courtship than she
was during that evening. Far more
plainly than the man himself she realized
that she had a rivalIthough it might be
only memory-and she put forth all her
forces to annihilate her. Beautiful,