Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1899-1903, 1901-06-13
[
CHAPTER /.
A Suppressed PASSAGE.

so the lmDerium club, and his short
hStouJlsh hgure, topped by chubby
fSpectacled face, might be seen enter
(sng that dignified establishment every
knay at lunch time, and also at the
Lhour of dinner on the days when he
mad no invitation elsewhere. He had
ionce practiced at the bar, and liked
70 explain that he had deserted his
procession for the pursuit of litera-
lure. He did not, however, write on
MS own account; he edited He would
edit anything, provided there was no
great public demand for an edition of
IL. HIS taste was curious and his
conscience acute. He was very
minute and very scrupulous, very
pa1nstaking and very discreet in the
exercises of his duties. Sometimes he
Tell into sore struggle between Gu
rloslty and discretion, having i'm.
pulses in himself which he forabore
to attribute to posterity.
He was in just such fix now. so
ne thought to himself, as he perused
the manuscript before him. 1t was the
5ournal of his deceased friend, Josiah
lCholderton. some time member of par
lament lin the liberal interest) for
the borough of BaXton in Yorkshire,
commercial delegate to the congress
OF Munich in "a, and inventor of the
hygroXeric method of dressing wool.
At times, and especially during his
visits to the continent, the diarist in
dulged himself in digression5 about
people he encountered, and these as
Sumed now and then a character so
personal, or divulged episodes SO pri-
Fate that the editor had recourse to
mis- blue pencil and drew it with a
Sigh through pages which he had him.
self found no small relief from the
6everer record of Cholderton's sery-
Ices to the commerce of his country.
MIR. Neeld sat now with blue pencil
budicially poised, considering the fol-
lowing passage in his friends recol-
lections, The entry bore date Heidel-
berg, 1875.
4 "At the widows (Mr. Cholderton is
speaking of certain Nine. de Kries)
pleasant villa, / became acquainted
with a lady who made something of a
sensation in her day, and whom
remember for her own sake and be-
cause ola curious occurrence connect
ed with her. A year and half before
Nor thereabouts) society had been
startled with the elopement OF Miss
4. with Sir R. E.. They were mar
fled, went to France, and lived to-
gether month or two, suddenly Sir
r. went off alone The lady was not
long left in solitude, and, when l met
her, she passed as Mrs. F., wife of
Captain F.. The captain seemed to
me an ordinary, good looking, reck-
less young fellow; but Mrs. F. was
a more striking person. She was tall,
graceful and very fair. a beautiful
woman Il might rather say girl be-
yond question. Talk revealed her as
an absolute child in moral sense,
with a child's infinite candor, a
child's infinite deceit, child's love
of praise, child's defiance Of censure
where approva. would be u dearly
I earned. The natara, feelings of a
woman, at least, We're strong in her,
and she was fretting over the pros
poets of the child who was soon to be
born to her. Captain F. shared her
anxiety. l understood their feelings
even more fully lin any case the sit
nation was distressing) when learned
from Nine. de Kries that in certain
events (Which happened later) the
lady and her baby after her would be-
come persons Of rank and import,
ance.
Sow comes the scene which has
stamped itself on my memory. l was
sitting in Madame de Kries parlar
with her and her daughter--an odd
dark little thing, or G years old
Suddenly Mrs. F. came in. She held
letter in her hand and waved it in
the air, crying, Sir Rs dead, Sir
Rs dead! We can be married
y, were In time, in time, in
tinne!'
extraordinary as such eXclama
items may appear, when the circum
stances and my own presence are
considered, have repeated them Yer,
Ibntim. Then she sank down ON tho
IGrfa. Madame de kr.as kneeling b.
!her. while the Imp as called the
child, whom | dislikel) stared at hel
open-eyed, wondering, no doubt, what
the fuss was about. Directly after
F. came in, almost as upset as Mrs
F., and the pair between them man
aged to explain to us that she had
received 8 letter from Sir Rs serv.
ant with whom she had apparently
maintained some communication
announcing that his master had, af
ter two days illness, died of heart
complaint on the 9Th of June. Think
of the difference it makes, the enor
nous diference!' she gasped, Jumping
up again and standing in the middle
of the room. We shall be married
directly she went on, with that
strange absence of shame or pretense
which always marked her, and then
it'll be all right, and nobody'll be
able to say a word in the future!
She went on in this strain for long
while. until Madame de Kries at last
insisted on her calming herself and
proposed to accompany her to her own
house. AT this point l made my ex.
cuses and retired, the Imp following
me to the door and asking me, as |
went out, why people had to be mar.
fied again when other people died
She was child WAC needed wiser and
frmer bringing UP than ner s.,otaee
gave hsr. ~ s
Il did not myself see Captain and
Mrs. F again, as left Heidelberg the
pexti day, the 22d of June. learned
however, from Madame de Kries that
i the waddjpp was htlr,iad IN op,J t>.1.