Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1900-05-31

was not eligible
He stopped suddenly, for the beauti-
full. colorless face wore such an ex-
preston of pain that he was startled
by it; he remembered what his wife
had said-nothing ever distressed
ethel so greatly as talking to her about
herself. Thinking to disturb her
thoughts, he asked:
why did you not like him, Ethel
this unfortunate MANI"
She was silent for some seconds. and
then she replied:
Il liked him at first, papa, but after
ward / fancied that he was not true
that there was something insincere
about him."
Even as she spoke she seemed to hear
Laurie Carrigton's voice. with it's tone
of passionate devotion: 81 love you so
i love you SO dearly, my beautiful
queen"
He might have been false in every
thing else, but he was true In this, his
great, deep, passionate love for her.
Forger, thief. criminal. reckless gam
bier, dishonorable man he might be,
yet he loved her with truth, depth, and
purity, and she knew It.
She had answered all the questions
Lord st. Norman asked, but the effort
to control herself had been great; her
limbs trembled. her hands shook.
Il must leave them" she thought to
herself, "or they will discover my Sc
cret.'
That was her one dreadA-the dread
that haunted her by night and by day,
that stood like grim. gaunt skeleton
by her side. that darkened the sun
| shine, that took the last lingering
brightness from her life.
How do people live" the unhappy
girl would ask herself. "year after year,
with a secret like mine? How do they
bear the dread. the suspense, the cen
slant haunting fear? But would
rather die any death than that my ter
rible secret should be known"
There were times when she could
hardly realize her position when 1t
seemed to her that she must have been
IN some long, terrible dream. She was
only eighteen, young and beautiful. a
wealthy heiress, one of the most adj
mired beauties of the day, the daughter
or one of the nohlest peers of England:
and yet she had been privately mar
ried to a felon. She wrung her hands
In silent dismay as she thought of it.
and great dread cloud of hopeless
ness came over her. OF what use was
her life? She could not enjoy 1t. OF
what use was all these richest gifts Of
providence? She was bound in heavi-
est chains, and nothing could free her
she often wondered IL the law could
not free her. She was married to a
man with a false name, and she would
nave given much to know whether that
made her marriage illegal: but she
never dared ASH the question. II
seemed to her that, II she did so, every
one would at once suspect. Even If
tue law could free her. she dared nor
apply to 1t; she could not make that
wretched story known. Married at
eighteen. In secrecy and haste-married
less from love than from desire OF re-
venge; who would believe her? She
could not bring such unutterable shame
and disgrace en- her proud. induigent
Iather. There was no resource but to
bear her lot with as much patience as
she could.
After all, ;" she would say to herself.
1T is my own fault. | was so proud
SO wiliful, so defiant. l thought of
nothing but revenge ON the woman
whose Kindness and gentleness have
never yet failed me. Ii Is my own
tault; but surely no sin was ever so
terribly punished. Peopel have com. |
United crimes thousand times great
er than mine, yet have not been nun
ished one-half so hardly"
Even to herself she never excused |
herself.
1T was all my fault she would re-
neat. i have no one to blame but my
self" ny
she looked sometimes in the napers
III the vain, vague hope that there
nisn' De some news of her husband;
that she might discover wnere he was
undergoing his punishment: that she
might know whether he was living or
dead. VI
Perhaps one OF the hardest trials she
nad TO bear was that veil of obliyion
mad fallen over him. Since she parted
with him at the gate leading to tha |
woods at st. Ina's, she had no word
rom him; since he had covered her
race and her hands with parting. pas.
slonate kisses, she had never seen him.
II she could have heard that he was
.lVlng, it would have been some relief
rom the terrible anxiety that weighed
upon her. The oblivion that seemed 10
u lave fallen over him and over every
mug connected with him. had its own
'erro's for her.
looking back, she could not imagine