Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1901-10-03

II cannon I0L ]" Il NV
loved him: 1t seemed then as IL tAu
known him and loved him an my nus
But he soon knew the state OF my
heart. for he had experience, tnougn !
had none; and. blinded thougn L was
by a girls first passion, 1 0 unoer-
stood that he was not a good man.
He made furious, passionate loVe 10
me: but he never spoke OF marriage
till he saw he could only win me by a
wedding ring. lie found the priest ana
found the ring. for, though ne was
evidently a gentleman born, and a Dne
| scholar, he was, just then. as poor as
myself. But l was not critical.
at remained in my situation, though
7 told my mistress that / was married
and showed her my marriage lines.
She scolded me ro1ndly; but l had be-
come useful to her, so she did not dis
charge me-.
II was happy, deliriously happy, for
a few short months, n then Antonio
disappeared. Day after day ] hoped
and prayed for his return, but he did
not come. Then I mourned him as
dead. for I would not believe that he
had deserted me.
1T grew sick; my health failed so
that I could not attend to my duties,
anr my mistr ess discharged me. Some
months of misery followed, until. afts n
weeks Of suffering in a public hospital,
I was enabled once more TO obtain a
situation as lady's maid. Ny new mis-
tress. an Italian lady Of tank, the Mar
cheese del Castellani, was a ~singularly
unprepossessing lady of great wealth,
but Of a kind and gentle nature. -
MY mistress loved the child. too:
she never tired OF gazing on him n
holding him in her arms. She would
have given half Of all her wealth and
estates to have had Tonic for her very
own. Her husband-the Marquis del
CT stellani-I had never seen. They
were not separated. as I learned from
the talk OF the other servants, only be-
cause the marchesa was infatuated
about him.
Zone day when I came down TO
breakfast there was a rumor among
the servants that the marquis had re-
turned, and as soon as / saw the mar
J chesaa I knew that II was true. She
looked radiant. Her pale, sallow face
was TRANSPORTED by an expression Sc
Joyous thai she was almost handsome,
Il was seated in a room opening off
the grand salon, darnirg a fine lace
curtain which a pet dog had torn, when
my mistress called &c me:
"Leonce, come here and bring To-
nio!'-for my babe was playing at my
feet on the floor while / sewed, and my
attention was divided between my
work and the cherub who was cooling
and smiling up at me. %
~ gJDaV, AarNa TnnAHnf nsI hnr gnf
bring the brat here; you know ! hate
children!' said a voice in italian.
II only half-understood the foreign
words-but the voice! My blood seemed
to curdle and grow thick in my Veins.
1 caught up Tonic, clutching him tight
ly, inc then 1 made one step out in the
salon and looked at the man who a
spoken. Yes; it was my child's father
Antonio. the Marquis of Castellani!
II did not faint, madam; l did not
cry out; I merely stood before him and
stared mutely in his face. No sign OF
recognition there-not even a look that
told he had ever seen me before that
instant.
IT turned and left the room, my little
Tonic clasped to my heart that Eeemed
to have become stone. My mistress
only thought / felt wounded at the re-
ception given to my child, and when we
were next alone, Iaughingly a~pologizei
for her husbands lack of appreciation.
She had no suspicion of the truth, and
1t would have been cruel and useless in
me to have enlightened her.
81 cast about in my mind for some
excus to leave the house. I believed
that / hated the man who had wronged
me, and / felt that I must see him no
more. But I soon found hat the pow
er, the fascination he possessed over me
was greater than ever.
II fled with my child to America.
Away from this terrible man, my
horror Of him increased to positive de-
testation. I no longer loved him, and I
felt that IL / never saw him again I
was safe, and could defy his power. I
have lived in comfort in New York for
nearly four years. l easily secured q
situation as lady's maid, End my little
Tonic was cared for by a kind country
woman of my own.
"a few months ago n mistress de-
cided to go to France, and she was anx
ius to haYe lie go with her: but all
Paris would not have tempted me TO
return there, n so we parted.
h fortune favored me, madam,
for l entered your service, and here 1
would have been so he ppy, so content
ed, but for the sorrows that have over
taken madam, and then-ah, Mon Dieu,
l met him again. My evil fate directed
me to this house. We met face to face,
n I knew that ] was in his power
again!"
But why leave me, Leonee? You
have told Inc u whole story, my poor
girl. There Is nothing for me to dis.
cover. You have my pity, my sympathy.
You shall also ha re my help. I will
protect you against this monster to the
utmost of my ability. You shall even
nave your child; bring him here; he
shall be loved and cared for as he can
not be now; he will be the pet of the
house. My mother will love MIN; she
has a perfect passion for children"
Leonce wrung her hands in anguish.
do not tempt ME, madam!" she
cried. "oh, for heavens sake, do not
tempt me-! You don't know what 1t
costs me to refuse. but + dare not &C.
cept You cannot understand Antonio's
power over me. He has even planned
Il q hu 01aru ~ thin 49,. a..