Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1901-03-14
Continued.

There are ladies'. Lady hyVerS re-
joined sententiously. "You cannot
say she is a gentlewoman. Even
granted that you fell in love, Ran
doIph, you should have consulted me-"
/ acknowledge" he said, with that
graceful humility which sits so well
upon proud man, Il ought to have
done so. Still, mother, in love and
marriage a man is supposed to please
himself. 1t is the one great action on
which the comfort or misery of his
life depends"
For that very reason you should
have consulted me-" his mother per
sisted. Marriage is such an i'm
portant event Since you have grown
up it has been my greatest wish to see
you allied to some charming girl of
high position. The only thing was
that none seemed good or pretty
enough for you; and now"
The now was suggestive enough;
but Lord RIVERS would not
notice it, She went on:
81 tell you quite candidly, Randolph,
your marriage is the great disappoint-
ment of my life. Your fathers death
was a sorrow that was bearable; this
is unbearble. | shall be ashamed to
take my place in the world again.
You might have done so well, and you
have done SO badly. Your marriage
will make you the laughing stock of
all our friends"
Il do not think SO, mother; but even
if the world laughs until it is tired, I
do not care"
Il do" declared Lady RIVERS. "Our
name has hitherto been one which
men have uttered with respect. You
have brought the first shadow upon
it."
you are wrong" he said. at is
true that Violet had no money, no
position; but those are trifies com
pared with her beauty and her grace.
Then | loved her-I loved her! My
life would have been all dark" he
cried "but for her You will find that
when Violet takes her place in the
world she will be one OF it's queens
she has in her all the elements of
grand and noble womanhood. 1t IS
not as though she were ignorant or
though she were entirely uneducated
care very little about the laughter
or approval of the world, mother"
There were deep lines on Lady
RIVERS forehead, lines her son had
never seen there before. He stopped
down to kiss them away, and for half
a minute she chung to him with soft
ening of her proud face.
Your wife tells me some strange
story about not having known you
were Lord RIVERS" she said, present
Iy. "She even declared that she
would rather have died than have
married you had she been aware of
your position and title"
She is such Radical" he said,
smiling. 1T is perfectly true, mother.
am sure, if she had known that I was
nobleman and rich man, she woul1
not have married me. You have no
idea what perfect little Democrat
she is
How strange for you to ally your
self with a Democrat" cried Lady
RIVERS.
And then Lord RIVERS gave his
mother full account Of his love-affair
and his marriage, from the time he
had sung to himself in the bonny
woods of St Byno's of "June's pS1ce
paved with gold" until he stood be-
fore her. When he had finished, she
looked at him long and earnestly;
then she said:
Randolph, are you quite sure there
is no flaw in the marriage?"
Flaw" he cried. Certainly not.
took care of that. Why do you ask
me such a question:"
IF there had BEEN" she replied,
desparingly, 'I hate the marriage so
much that should have asked you to
set it aside"
Lady RIVERS had known her son
only as sweet-tempered and yielding,
out she saw the other side of the
picture now. She never forgot the
anger that flashed from his eyes, the
panied wonder and surprise that
1arkened his face.
Mother" he cried, 81 will not be-
Iieve that you mean what you say.
1t is vile, horrible? How you can
utter such words I cannot imagine
If there were a flaw, you may believe
me that | would very soon have the
ceremony performed a second time"
I may as we'll say all l think"
said the dowager, looking very white
and desperate. 81 hate the very idea
of your marriage, and would do any
thing in the world to see it annulled
From the first moment that heard of
your imprudent match l hoped that
some formalities had been omitted
that would render your union invalid.
You may call the hope vile, wicked,
desperatei Oh, Randolph, if there be
any change, let this horrible mes
alliance be ended"
Mother" he answered, "I think you
are madi | am a gentleman; | have
wooed and won one OF the sweetest
and purest of girls for my wife.
What wickedness is it that you sug-
gest! Can a man play with his own
honor? Can he trif1e with the fair
name of the woman he has married?
oh, mother, I wish you had never
uttered such horrible words,"
L repeat them. You will mar and
spoil your own life; you cover me with
shame and humiliation If there be a
chance to set aside this foolish mar
riage, seize it; you were only a