Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1903-01-10

The girl they had called Rosamond
turned her wild eyes upon him. Some
gentle creature, maddened by the chase,
and driven to bay, might face the hounds
with such a look as hers.
DO you remember-nowf he asked
relentlessly.
A faint, inarticulate muir lnur answered
him.
Have you no mercyi" exclaimed Dare
bitterly. BE gentle with her. Look at
her, so delicate and young, so unfit to
endure this sufferingi How can you be
so harsh to her?'
1T is not easy for man who finds his
wife with lover to think of mercy!"
Il swear to you, by all | hold most
sacred" said Dare, that she is innocent.
She remembered nothing"
Dare! Darei | did not know For
give me-oh, forgive me!'' cried the girl,
finding voice at last
Are you his wife?"
Dazed and bewildered, she looked from
one to the other.
1T will be as well, perhaps" said the
marquis, that should recall the past to
madame's recollection, which seems still
imperfect
Dare looked down at his beloved. 1t
was evident to him that the events of
her former life we're crowding thick and
fast upon her mind; but in such con-
fused manner that she was unable to re-
call any circumstance clearly.
Shall it be told your" Dare asked.
Yes. 1t is all so mingled together
my brain is reeling. Take your arm
away, Dare! l must not lean on it now"
She sank back, and her long white
fingers We're locked fast together on her
Knee. The men remained standing, Dare
beside her, the marquis facing them.
More than two years ago." he began,
there lived in retirement, at the Chateau
d'Auray, in Brittany, an English gentle
man, named Philip Norvile. He was a
widower with one child, a girl, scarcely
l6 years old. She was called Renee, after
her French mother, but the country peo-
pie had given her another name-the
White Rose, for she was born on Christ
mas day, and was as fair and pure as
the flowers they call Christmas roses.
DO you remember that name, madame
that name of which you are no longer
worthy? Do you see the old gray
chateau, and the gandens where you used
to playa happy, innocent child?'
She sat looking straight in front of her,
her face working with emotion, her eyes
dilated, as if they actually beheld the
scenes his words suggested.
In the late autumn there came to the
Chateau DAuray an old friend of Phillip
Noryille's-a man he trusted so well that
when he was suddenly stricken down by
sickness, and knew death was at hand"
A cry from Rosamond's lips. The mar
quis paused.
"Oh, that scene cannot surely have
faded from your mind :" he went on.
You can recall, l know, the solemn still
ness of that death chamber, the noble
face of the dying man, the tears that fell
from your eyes, the voice of the priest
as he spoke the words that gave ME
the right to protect and guard you. 1t
was the last wish of your father that
should make you my wife. He died in
peace. leaving you in my care. How
would he have regarded you if he could
have foreseen the futureY''
'Father!-oh, father!" Almost with
relief, Dare saw her hide her face and
give way to food of tears For some
minutes there was no sound in the room
but that of her passionate weeping.
IF had only died-if had only died
with him!" she walled.
"Your soul was more fit for heaven
then, Renee" the marquis said, with the
first touch of sOftness he had shown.
"Yes-it would have been well for you
if you had died"
Her soul is stainless still!" cried Dare.
wait till have told all" De PEsparre
responded sadly. "She was to me. as vet,
a child. was called away, Immediately
after my friends funeral, to Vienna
Before | left the chateau had an inter
view with the girl who was now the
Marquise de l'Esparre. | found her a
small, childish creature in her sorrowful
black robes, i'll the room that had been
her fathers favorite, and with his dog
at her knee. l did my best to win her
trust and confidence. | left her, as she
pleaded to be left, with her good govern
ess and her old nurse, Mere Margot. For
more than a year l was detained from
her side, in Vienna, in st. Petersburg. in
Moscow. During that time | wrote often.
and received from her such letters as a
young girl might write to her guardian
1t was on Christmas eve that returned
to Brittany, to claim her as my wife
During his recital she had listened tear
fully, but as if following him, in fancy,
through the scenes he suggested. At the
mention of his return, she put her hand
to her forehead, with bewildered ges-
ture.
That was a year ago." said Dare, "and
on that night | found her, wounded and
dying, here in England"
TO BE CONTINUED.