The times., 1901-05-26
The Lady Of Lynn.
copyrighted 1900 by Sir Walter Besant,)
BY SIR WALTER BESANT.

3 ''I tell you, Jack. by promise and COM
pact. l must go back TO another discourse
with YOU 1t was on a certain evening
year ago. You had made the fine discoy-
cry that Lord Fylingdale was a gamester
and the rest OF It. You told me. You also
told me that Molly would not keep her
promise and would certainly not be at the
church in the morning. Do you remem-
ber?"
= remember that We talked about
we did. Go back a month or two
earlier. BY a most m0nstruus deception
I was brought here. / was told first that
il was in order to further some political
object, which l did not believe; next, to
help him in getting the command OF this
I money-some women, ] said, easily lose
their sense of honor and of truth when
they want TO please their lovers. As for
marriage, he declared for the hundredth
time that there was but one woman in all
the world whom he would marry-myself.
! Now do you understand He had de-
/ ceived me Very well. Then | would de-
| ceive him. - first my purpose was to
await in the church the coming of the
! bride and expose the character of the man
Since she was not coming l would take
! her place"
What? It was you. then-you-you?"
Yes. Jack. | was the woman you saw
at the rails. l had a pink silk cloak ike
that OF Molly. l am about the same height
IS Molly. l wore a domino, as had been
arranged You took ne for Molly.
But if you were the bride"
Il was the bride. / am the Countess of
FylingC5le-fOr my sins and sorroWs-IlS
wretched wife"
But you would be revenged. And yet
you suffered this monstr0us fraud.
I was revcnged. Yet why did ! say
nothing? Did I not say that you could
never forgive meo Well 1 have no ex-
cuse only when I said that women like
me. with nothing TO do, sometimes go
mad after man, and for his sake cast
away honor and care nothing for shame
and ill-repute. l say Jack" she repeated,
earnestly, that make no excuse. ! tell
you nothing but the plain truth. Lord,
| said nothing, only stood still, waiting
When I took off my domino in the
vestry. my lord, with the man Purden,
only being present, he was like mad
man. That / expected. After raging for
awhile and crying out that he was now
ruined indeed and after cursing Mr.. Pur-
den fOr not destroying the registers, he
listened to Mr. Purdsn's advice that he
should consider way out Of it. Accord
ingly, in my lodgings. the man Purden,
who is the greatest inventor and encour-
/ ager Of every evil thing that lives set
forth the ease with which this marriage
could be claimed unless there was any OBJ
stacle such as sudden illness which might
prove to have made Molly's presence i'm
possible In other words. We We're to as
sure The unfortunate Molly that she was
already married, and We were to act as if
out trouble that she had not left the
house that morning. How? We sent the
| musicians to congratulate the bride. and
the captain sailed forth in his wrath and
drove them off"
And to this you consented out of your
passion for the man."
Partly. There is always more than
one reason. you know, for a womans
acts and words. In this case there was
! bribe- I confess that / have always ar
IDENTIFY desired jewels l cannot have too
many jewels. He promised, Jack, that
should have them all. Perhaps-I do
/ not know-the promise of the jewels de
cided me. Oh, Jack, they were wonder
| fui No such bIibe was ever offered to
a woman before.
/ gazed upon her with amazernent Tru-
" IN explanation completei Yet what
confession for proud woman to makei
Love that made her trample on honor
and truth and virtue and bTibe to quick
en- her footsteps,
And now / said, you are willing to
make this story public
i have thought about the business a
good deal. 1t has caused me more an
noyance than You would believe" An
noyancet She spoke of annoyance. Be
sides, / have been cruelty abused. I have
been the cause of that poor girl losing
great part. perhaD the whole. Of her for
! tune. l have been robbed of the jewels.
He Sw0Te to me a dozen times that he
had never had them. l may by tardy
confession save something from the
wreck for that poor girl! He has wronged
me in every way-in ways that no woman
will or can forgive. / revenge my wrongs
months before he can come to the end OF
his mOrey-'
So In this distracted way she talked till
one could not tell whether she was most
noted by the thought of revenge or by
pity for Molly or by a wholesome repent
ance OF her sin.
Jack" she said, your honest face is
pulled out as long as my arm. / could
laugh if I were not so miserable. Tell me
what I should do next. Mind I will do
exactly what you bid me do. l have lived
Ion k4ssFr 4
birds Of prey. with foul creatures and
crawling reptiles. that merely to talk TO
an honest man softens and subdues me.
Take me in the humor Jack. Tomorrow
or next day, should the idea of the man
possess my soul again, if he should stand
over me and take my hand. / know not
I know not what would happen. Per
haps even for Molly's sake / could not
resist him. l am but poor, weak. mis-
cradle woman. And he has led me hither
and sent me thither and made me his
slave so long that he has become part Of
my life Quick, then, Jack-tell me what
to dor