Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1901-02-01

brought into the drm.
You begin," she answered.
Il brought fair ability, energy, ambi-
ton, decent position, means Of COM
Portable life and an unblemished name.
Everyone said wasn't a bad sort and
more than all, l brought deep, true, pas
sionate love"
Said the woman: 81 brought beau
ty"-her statement was splendidly true
youth, physical purity-to which you
do not lay claim" He bowed. per
haps little else, for it was generous Of
you to marry the daughter Of an undis-
charged bankrupt"
What have we got out of our mar
riage?" continued the husband. Let
me speak. OF course the honeymoon
was a failure. Poets and novelists"-
he spoke bitterly-"tell wicked false
hoods about honeymoons. They are
never wholly happy, unless, perhaps,
when it's the wifes second honeymoon.
After that, three months of exquisite,
almost mad joy, then four months of
happiness, followed by three of con-
tentment. ending in a year of gradually
increasing misery"
of course the honeymoon was fail
ure," she answered. ''The next three
months were happy, the following four
not bad, the subsequent three indiffer-
ent, and the year was intolerable. You
got more out of the business than l, for
you put more in. Alas, had not the
mad loves capital, and yet"
And yet" interrupted the man, mis-
understanding, you have wasted that
capital, and the beautiful mad love has
gone, and l, who once would have died
for you-more than that, would have
lived disgracefully for you-am content
TO dissolve partnership, willing that we
should part as friends"
Content? William?'' she asked.
'Tell me, what do you regret most?'
Il regret my bankruptcy" he said. Il
began our partnership with what l
thought a splendid, inexhaustible fund
OF love. l look back to moments Of hap
piness beyond description, and now
am insolvent in love. After all, be-
lieye," he continued, with a pleasant,
manly smile, Il believe that it is bet
ter to have loved and lost even If it be
the love and not the sweetheart that
one has lost. Do you regret nothing?
What clings to your mind?"
She shook her head.
Come, you should tell me. There, on
the table near you is the deed Of disso-
luton, the separation deed-it hasn't
even been engrossed on parchment, but
is printed on paper. At the end are
two seals. We execute the dissolution
deed by putting our fingers on the seals.
The partnership was executed with our
lips. In quarter of an hour, Mr.. Haw-
kins, the lawyer, will be here to witness
the execution. Tell me-"
She shook her head again-her splen-
did head, regular in feature, delightful
in complexion, crowned with gorgeous
auburn hair, illumined by deep, large,
violet eyes.
you regret nothing?"
With sigh she answered: 81 regret
that you have cast your pearls before
me. l regret that have misprized and
lost your love; that l gave you little
in return. l regret that my very in
ability to return your love truly has ir-
ritated me by making me feel your
debtor; that feeling Of irritation has
made you miserable and me miserable,
too"
Il did not use the word regret quite
in that sense" he answered. 81 meant
is there nothing you look back to of
happiness that yet lives in your men,
ory?"
She put down the fan that had flut-
tered in her tender hands, and, with
half a smile, half a blush, she an
swered, 'There was one thing, one
moment, that l regret"
He rose and walked up and down the
daintily furnished room, everything in
which was a note in dead love song.
"a year ago to-day we were at Eta
pies, you recollect?'
at was for economy 1 went because
1t was ridiculously cheap and very
pretty and 1 hated Boulogne"
81 remember how we wandered
about, how, alas, we quarreled in the
pine woods, or, to be exact, uuarreled
and you suffered, and the splendid sea-
shore, where 1 said bitter things be-
cause my friends were at Trouville and
at the little quiet Paris PLACE, and YOU
were sad and silent"
MY DEAR" he Interrupted, 81 was
greatly to blame"
"Hush! You must not interr,1nt
Then one day we took boat-a clumsy
boat-and sailed out despite the warn
ings of the fishermen. 1. didn't care
you didn't care-what happened. We
had quarreled, or, rather, 1, at lunch,
said harsh things"
My DEAR" he interrupted. "there
were faults on both sides. They rem
dered life intolerable and love impossi-
Bile, but"
Hush. We rowed out. You had the
sculls and l steered-at least lay in
Ae stern and spashed the waves with
my hands-the hands you used to kiss
so often"
She paused to look at the hands
firm, plump and white and decked with
rings Of curious workmanship. He. too.
looked at them and sighed. She sighed
But out we went. Then the skies
became darker, the water darkened,
too, and grew rough and you tried to
turn. We were far out from shore.
You must have been looking at me in