Omaha daily bee., 1902-12-07

words cannot express my contempt for
a man who breaks his word as easily as
YOU break yours. A year ago, when you
were my fathers guest, you told me that
you loved me and urged me to marry you.
At first l laughed at your proposal; then
when / found you really serious, l pointed
out the difference Of our ages YOU IN
return, declared that you loved me Win
all the ardor of a young man; that l
was your ideal; and you promised by all
YOU held most sacred, that II l consented
I should never regret, believed you, and
helieved the false words of feigned devo-
tion which YOU wrote to me later under
seal Of s~trictest secrecy. You went 10
Cairo. and none knew Of our secret-the
secret that you intended to make me your
wife. And how have you kept that prom
Use? Today, my father has informed me-
that you are to marry Mary! imagine
the blow to mel My father expects me 10
rejoice, little dreaming how nave oeen
fooled; how lightly you have treated a
woman's affections and aspirations. some
there are who, finding themselves IN my
position, would place in Mary's hands the
nacket Of your correspondence which Is
before me as l write, and hus open her
ewes TO the fact that she is but the dupe
OF n man u6NOlu VI OhO
No. Rest assured that shall not. II my
sister is happy let her remain so. My
vendetta lies not in that direction. The
Are OF hatred may be stihed, but 1t can
never he ouenched. We shall be quits
some day, and you will regret bitterly that
YOU have broken your word so lightly.
NV revenge, the vengeance Of a Jealous
woman. will fall upon you at a moment
and In a manner you will little dream or
I return you your letters, as you may not
care for them to fall into other hands'
! and from today shall never again refer To
| what has passed. am young, and may
still obtain an upright and honorable mar
as husband. You are old, and are totterint
slowly to your doom. Farewell.
"ETHELwYNN MIvART."
The letter fully explained a circum'
stance of which / had been entirely ignor'
ant, namely that the woman l had lovec
had actually been engaged to old Mr.. Cour'
tenay before her sister had married him
It's tenor showed how intensely antagonis
tic she was towards the man who MAJ
fooled her, and In the concluding sentence
there was a distinct II covert threat
threat OF bitter revenge.
She had returned the old mans letter
apparently in order to show that In he
hand she held a further and more powerful
weapon; she had not sought to break OF
his marriage with Mary. but had rathe
stood by. swallowed her anger. and ealml
calculated upon a fierce vendetta at a mo
ment when he would least expect it.
Truly those startling words spoken b
Sir Bernard had been full Of truth. | re
membered them now, and discerned hi
meaning. He was at least an honest. up
right man who, although sometimes
trlhe eccentric, had my interests deeply q
heart. In the progress / had made in tn
profession / owed much to him.. and eve
In my private affairs he had sought to guild
me, although I had, alas. disregarded hi
repeated warnings.
took up one after another OF the letter
my friend had examined. and found 1t I
be the correspondence Of a woman VIII
was either angling after a wealthy hus
band or who loved him with all abe strengt
/ OF her affection. Some Of the communi
cations were full Of passion, and betraye
that poetry Of soul that was innate in he
/. The letters were dated from Neneford. fro
Oban, and from various Mediterranea
ports, where she had gone yachting wit
her uncle. Sir Thomas Henton, the grei
Lancashire coal owner. Sometimes she hl
3 addressed him as Dearest" at others
Beloved" usually signing herself "Yol
Own" SO full were they OF the ardent Dai
sion Characteristic Of her that they he
me in Amusement. II was passion develops
|. under it's most profound and serious aspec
thoy showed the serious and thoughtful, n
the brilliant side OF intellect.
In Ethtlwynn's character the passiona
and the imaginative were blended equal
and in the highest conceivable degree
combined with delicate female natur
Those letters, although written to a mi
e In whose heart romance must long ago
a dead. showed how complex Was her cha
e aeter, how ~fervent, enthusiastic and SCI
forgetting her love. AT FIRST l believed III
= those passionate outpourings we're mere
designed to captivate the old gentleman I
his money. but when I read on l saw h
intense her passion became toward t
end and how the elimination OF It all "
that wild. reprOachful missivs WRIT